female Lego mini-figures (check this out!!)

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I cannot express how awesome i think this is. Basically there is this chick trying to get Lego to make more sets with female figurines, which are traditionally male roles (paleontologist, scientists, astronaut, construction worker, firefighter, etc). Supposedly if they get enough supporters (10,000) Lego will agree to make these proposed sets w/ these figures.

http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/15401

Like I said, looking over all these sets, i cannot get over how cool i think this is. I would buy one of these in a heartbeat. Growing up my brother and I were very much into Legos and it always irked me how all the figures for the space sets, police, mechanic/car garage sets were all male. Grr. The kids do have a ton of Duplos and like to play with them, and i noticed that while we have a few firetruck sets, and a construction sets, and while they have introduced people of color (yay, Lego), the figures are all still male. :S We do have a zookeeper that is a lady though, as my DS pointed out the other day (yes, even at 3yo they notice these things).

anyway, i couldn't get over the awesomeness of this. i love love the chemist and astronomer one, as well as the mechanic one, and the judge. if these get produced, i'd be tempted to buy my DC all of these. :)

[BunnyBee]

That's very cool! :)

Maybe some female criminals in the advent calendars next year? ;)

[lkarp]

Love the chemist and engineer, especially! Thanks for sharing!

[anonomom]

This is super cool, and finally put my finger on why the Lego Friends line bugs me. I love the idea of working more female minifigures into the "regular" Lego lines in a matter-of-fact way, because that's the way the world is. As adorable as some of the Friends sets are, I don't like that they're presented in such a way as to signal that they're different, special, and not for boys. They just reinforce gender segregation in toys.

Anyway, I joined that site just to support this project. I'd buy all of these sets for my kids.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

This is super cool, and finally put my finger on why the Lego Friends line bugs me. I love the idea of working more female minifigures into the "regular" Lego lines in a matter-of-fact way, because that's the way the world is. As adorable as some of the Friends sets are, I don't like that they're presented in such a way as to signal that they're different, special, and not for boys. They just reinforce gender segregation in toys.



Yes, i totally agree! I can't say how much it bothers the heck out of me that at TRU, the kitchen/dolls signs are all pink with the girly toys, and the science kits, trains, are all blue with "boys" stuff. Shaking my head here.

[georgiegirl]

Very cool! I would definitely buy these sets. The garbage truck did come with a female minifig. And we have 2 others I think.

FWIW, my kids play Legos together...mini figs and lego friends play side by side. However, since they are different sizes, the friends can't ride in the regular lego vehicles.

[boogiemomz]

Awesome! I just joined to support and shared on FB. Hope to see these in stores!

[Seitvonzu]

i supported and reposted on my facebook. my favorites are paleontologist, chemist and JUDGE (we always have said that our daughter has a supreme court justice name ;))

i'd probably buy them all :) we DO like lego friends. my daughter LOVES them... and i'm cool with it because , eh, it has my 5 year old following step by step instructions , working on spatial skills, becoming engrossed in an activity for a LONG time, having a sense of accomplishment, and then in the end playing imaginatively with her creation. she also takes the extra parts available and MUST make something, and then she'll take the creation apart and "do her own thing"-- that's alot of play/learn/work value in one toy, even if it's marketed specifically to girls

that said... my child is five. and five year olds are gender-biased. it's a natural deal. girls like girls and boys like boys. i'm cool. before i know it , she'll like boys right? and then , worse problems ;) more career characters that look like her? totally great. she LOVES digging for dinosaurs and doing science experiments. she already negotiates and presents arguments like a little lawyer. so-- bring on the minifigures!

[lizzywednesday]

This is super cool, and finally put my finger on why the Lego Friends line bugs me. I love the idea of working more female minifigures into the "regular" Lego lines in a matter-of-fact way, because that's the way the world is. As adorable as some of the Friends sets are, I don't like that they're presented in such a way as to signal that they're different, special, and not for boys. They just reinforce gender segregation in toys.

Anyway, I joined that site just to support this project. I'd buy all of these sets for my kids.


Yes, i totally agree! I can't say how much it bothers the heck out of me that at TRU, the kitchen/dolls signs are all pink with the girly toys, and the science kits, trains, are all blue with "boys" stuff. Shaking my head here.

:yeahthat:

I joined & tweeted it, too. I've got a few moms of girls on my feed who might love the idea of this project as much as we do.

DD absolutely ADORES LEGO and taking her to our "local" LEGO store is a huge treat. She spent nearly 2 hours with the "build your own MiniFigures" stand the last time we were there ... and nearly another hour at the play table just building a wall with me.

[AnnieW625]

......that said... my child is five. and five year olds are gender-biased. it's a natural deal. girls like girls and boys like boys. i'm cool. before i know it , she'll like boys right? and then , worse problems ;) more career characters that look like her? totally great. she LOVES digging for dinosaurs and doing science experiments. she already negotiates and presents arguments like a little lawyer. so-- bring on the minifigures!

:yeahthat:

I love all of those sets! My DD1 is 7 and she is all over Lego Friends and I don't have a gender issue with them at all. At 7 yrs. old as well it is still very gender based too and my DD wants girl Legos vs. boy Legos although she really does like the Lego Ninjago show, Ninja Turtles, Transformers, and Star Wars but rarely if ever admits that to the boys or the girls in her class.

[edurnemk]

Awesome!

I just joined to support it! I want my DD to know that she can be anything she wants when she grows up!

ETa I just posted in on FB and tagged all my female engineer friends.

[ang79]

Love the paleontologist one! 4 yr. old DD2 is sooo into dinosaurs right now and wants to be a paleontologist when she grows up :)

My DH was huge into Legos as a kid (and still is, I gave him a large set from Pirates of the Caribbean for Christmas and he built it that day). He has all his old Legos and the girls love to pick out any girl mini-figs and play with them, or have daddy build them castles so they can use the girl characters in the castles. They would love to have the chance to get more girl mini-figs.

[s7714]

Awesome! I just joined to support and shared on FB. Hope to see these in stores!

:yeahthat:
My girls will hunt down sets just because they have female figures. They'd snatch these in a heartbeat!

[emily]

very cool. none of our DCs are into Legos yet but I would so buy these! Very cool.

[canada]

Supported!

Less than a 1000 votes to go!

Takes less than a minute to register and then it' a simple click of the Support button.

Go out there and vote!

[sunshine873]

This is super cool, and finally put my finger on why the Lego Friends line bugs me. I love the idea of working more female minifigures into the "regular" Lego lines in a matter-of-fact way, because that's the way the world is. As adorable as some of the Friends sets are, I don't like that they're presented in such a way as to signal that they're different, special, and not for boys. They just reinforce gender segregation in toys.

Anyway, I joined that site just to support this project. I'd buy all of these sets for my kids.

:yeahthat:


Yes, i totally agree! I can't say how much it bothers the heck out of me that at TRU, the kitchen/dolls signs are all pink with the girly toys, and the science kits, trains, are all blue with "boys" stuff. Shaking my head here.

Yes, this! Both of these! Has it kept me from buying Friends sets? No, because DD loves them and she's still building with them. But I hate the expectation that girls are only going to like the "pink & purple" ones, as if they aren't capable of enjoying science, trains, and typical jobs that make the world work. We buy both kinds & DD plays with them both.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Did you see the chemist (scientist) in series 11?

http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/MinifiguresBios/images/pic4CEFD0B906C3087A7DB59EF1D15EAC32.jpg

http://minifigures.lego.com/en-us/Bios/Scientist.aspx

3358

[citymama]

I want that paleontologist! Bring it!

I don't get why that judge couldn't be a woman. Or the welder for that matter. Flashdance, anyone? :rotflmao:

[vonfirmath]

:yeahthat:

Yes, this! Both of these! Has it kept me from buying Friends sets? No, because DD loves them and she's still building with them. But I hate the expectation that girls are only going to like the "pink & purple" ones, as if they aren't capable of enjoying science, trains, and typical jobs that make the world work. We buy both kinds & DD plays with them both.

I don't think there is any expectation that girls can't enjoy science, trains, etc.

What is true is that most Lego sets are NOT built in the way most girls like to play -- to roleplay typical day to day activities.

Friends sets are houses, high schools, shops. With lots of accessories to play with.

The girls, by and large, were not finding the regular LEgos appealing enough to buy. We can shout all the time "Girls can play with Legos too" But if they won't buy it -- what's the point?

Friends is being bought. In some places, Lego is having trouble keeping up with demand. (The Advent calendar last year was cannibalized for parts to be able to keep regular Lego Friends sets on the shelves. Thus why it was so unavailable). So there was pent up demand for a different type of sets. The other Lego is still out there for every girl wanting to buy it. But for those who prefer a different type of set -- a different type of set is now available

[♥ms.pacman♥]

Did you see the chemist (scientist) in series 11?

http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/MinifiguresBios/images/pic4CEFD0B906C3087A7DB59EF1D15EAC32.jpg

http://minifigures.lego.com/en-us/Bios/Scientist.aspx

3358

ooh i love it!! so awesome.

[citymama]

The girls, by and large, were not finding the regular LEgos appealing enough to buy. We can shout all the time "Girls can play with Legos too" But if they won't buy it -- what's the point?



Hah, be careful of stereotypes - my younger girl is lego crazy - just the way they are!

Older girl is not as interested, but I bet she would be into the new sets.

For every budding girl (and boy) engineer out there not as into legos, there's always GoldiBlox! http://www.goldieblox.com/

[vonfirmath]

Hah, be careful of stereotypes - my younger girl is lego crazy - just the way they are!

Older girl is not as interested, but I bet she would be into the new sets.

For every budding girl (and boy) engineer out there not as into legos, there's always GoldiBlox! http://www.goldieblox.com/

What stereotypes?
Some girls love Lego (I had a huge collection as a kid that I have started parcelling out to give to my son; though in looking back I realize that my real loves in Lego were exactly the things that Lego is doing in Friends sets now. Maybe the reason I lost interest in Lego was NOT because I grew older but, rather, that they stopped making the types of sets I enjoyed. After all, you hear time and again about the kids that are playing with Legos into their teens!)

Some girls obviously did not love Lego before and are buying them now. The Friends sets are flying off the shelves in a way that Paradisa and Belville sets did NOT. So evidently it is not a matter of "If you make it look girly they will buy it" but there is something different about these sets than the previous tries that are actually attracting folks to buy and buy again.

I'm not that interested in Goldieblox. They seem way too one-dimensional for the price. But great for those who like them.

I very deliberately used "Most" because obviously some girls WERE buying and playing with existing Legos and making it work for how they wanted to play. (evidently the Harry Potter sets attracted a lot more girls as well.) Just like some boys are buying the Friends sets because it has made entirely new parts of towns that you just don't find in the City line.

Note: one of the first Friends sets was a science lab with a miniature robot.

[georgiegirl]

My 7 year old DD loves lego friends. She also plays with the regular city sets her brother gets and she wants some of those sets too. She recently used her birthday money to buy Olivia's House, and she and the neighbor boy (6) spent all afternoon putting it together. He's very jealous and wants the friends house too. The friends sets have so many cool pieces that aren't available in the city sets. I can see some sets are more "girly" than others (like the beauty salon), but many of the others (vet, cafe, treehouse) appeal to boys and girls. My kids are much more likely to fight over friends pieces than city pieces. I agree that the friends sets appeal to the type of play the girls like (role playing). I'm sure DD will want the girl minifigs.