Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
 

glowing

(12,233 posts)
15. Not only is the "girl's Lego" demeaning in color and horrific
Wed Feb 12, 2014, 03:41 PM
Feb 2014

about "doing make-up" and looking "pretty", it also takes away any spark of creativity a child should have with their toys. Did Lego really need to teach the child, like a teacher giving instructions, how exactly to play and what exactly the story headline should be.

Seriously, do your make up to look pretty, tell a story about cake, follow up with the weather, oh and the boy character is going to film this because women wouldn't possibly interested or capable of handling a camera or editing or covering a news report completely different. The person at Lego designing this toy must be a Gox News watcher. There they literally do purposely hire and put on the air, women who have a tendency to be blonde, look a bit stepfordish, and sit on couches or behind glass desks so that men viewers will be drawn into watching lots of leg and pretty bobble heads regurgitate talking points and lies. I'm not sure that I've seen any Fox woman, besides Gretta and guests, where anything but short skirts/ dresses with tight tops. No pant suits for this crowd.

It really bothers me that there are assigned colors for girl and boys. Little boys should be able to wear pink and purple and have toys in these shades without being called effiminite; likewise for little girls. Disney is one of the worst offenders of doing gender specific colors and toys... Even their character drawings for women and men are stereotypical. Pretty young gal, who normally needs rescuing, drawn with big wide eyes, normally white, with large breasts spilling out of whatever small costume they have picked, and with a small waste. The little mermaid wore clam shells, and her hair was perfect even in the water. Belle from Beauty and the Beast didn't seem to own a dress that could contain her breasts, Jasmine from Aladdin had a basic strip of clothe across her breast area and lots of flat tummy shown. And then they take these characters and create "kid's costumes" for little girls to wear.

On the other side of the play spectrum, it is frowned upon for little boys to want to play with a baby doll, push around a grocery cart, play "house", play with Barbie's. When I was growing up in the 80's, my playmates were my sister and my boy cousin. We would play with barbies, cabbage patches, collect garbage pail cards, play with matchboxes, thinks trucks, regular unisex Legos, etc. We all had just as much fun playing with "boys toys" as our cousin had playing "house" with the Baby dolls. Best was when we combined play and had Barbie crashing out of a tonka truck or using the Legos to build houses and garages for our match box toys. AND some of our best imaginative play came about when we would use a large boxes to make up forts or had an old set of pots/ pans etc to play with (we would make mud pies or use the collanders or sives to pretend we were archeologist on a dig).

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Awesome! shenmue Feb 2014 #1
I refuse to buy 'girl' Legos for my granddaughter. Just the regular ones. sinkingfeeling Feb 2014 #2
Same for us. Our daughter all about Cars and Jake the Pirate Duplo blocks. kysrsoze Feb 2014 #9
best thing my parents did, and they were good, they raised us as people, not gender. seabeyond Feb 2014 #20
I can't even FIND "regular ones" any more! Xithras Feb 2014 #13
We are lucky here in Chicago mikeysnot Feb 2014 #16
Fabulous! And I do believe she's right. Kids haven't changed... Triana Feb 2014 #3
Different? reusrename Feb 2014 #4
? Bernardo de La Paz Feb 2014 #7
Sorry, it's from the ad. reusrename Feb 2014 #14
? Bernardo de La Paz Feb 2014 #17
That's it, the objectification in the new Lego campaign. reusrename Feb 2014 #23
Thanks. I agree with you about the objectificatiion in the new Lego object. Bernardo de La Paz Feb 2014 #24
Both the author and the subject seem very accomplished. reusrename Feb 2014 #25
Actually LEGO had been using gender specific marketing before this as well. progressoid Feb 2014 #5
they are not color coordinated though, ya, get your point. why would we become MORE seabeyond Feb 2014 #21
Agreed. It's much more extreme. progressoid Feb 2014 #27
In The Fifties "engineering" for kids was a non color issue grilled onions Feb 2014 #6
Amen. Hope it goes back to that. kysrsoze Feb 2014 #10
i was so excited to find the old lincoln logs and got for 4 yr old nephew. seabeyond Feb 2014 #22
hate to crash the party, but i can't read this site from my college campus alp227 Feb 2014 #8
Thanks for the warning. I am scanning my computer right now. JDPriestly Feb 2014 #12
scanned that URL, no problems. alp227 Feb 2014 #19
I scanned too and it was fine. JDPriestly Feb 2014 #26
What is this with all these pink toys for girls? JDPriestly Feb 2014 #11
Not only is the "girl's Lego" demeaning in color and horrific glowing Feb 2014 #15
made it to here, full stop seabeyond Feb 2014 #18
The same holds true for boys BrotherIvan Feb 2014 #28
i can't stand it when people tell a boy "that's for girls" JI7 Feb 2014 #29
My 23 year old son still enjoys pedis and sparkly pink toenails. JTFrog Feb 2014 #30
Nice! ismnotwasm Feb 2014 #32
I totally agree BrotherIvan Feb 2014 #33
Legos ismnotwasm Feb 2014 #31
As a parent, I find this gendering of toys as disturbing as well Nikia Feb 2014 #34
Latest Discussions»Alliance Forums»History of Feminism»The Little Girl from the ...»Reply #15