40516 Everyone Is Awesome

[RichardGoring]

4 hours ago, Graupensuppe said:

I did it first (kind of)

Also, this didn't get enough love. It's superb!

[Aanchir]

4 minutes ago, Graupensuppe said:

Wait, what?

That was what i heard. I take it I was misinformed? Maybe it was only certain retailers that refused to carry it.

Regardless, it certainly stands out as one of many themes that have generated political controversy over the years, and yet I suspect there aren't too many of us who feel that it was a mistake for LEGO to even take the risk of introducing it.

[Graupensuppe]

Just now, Aanchir said:

That was what i heard. I take it I was misinformed? Maybe it was only certain retailers that refused to carry it.

That's the first time I hear of it. They were definitely available here.

[Clone OPatra]

12 minutes ago, Aanchir said:

That was what i heard. I take it I was misinformed? Maybe it was only certain retailers that refused to carry it.

Are you sure it wasn't Russia with the Crystal Skull sets, rather than Germany with the other ones? I remember something about it.

Regardless, I found your initial post very well put personally.

[Aanchir]

31 minutes ago, Clone OPatra said:

Are you sure it wasn't Russia with the Crystal Skull sets, rather than Germany with the other ones? I remember something about it.

Regardless, I found your initial post very well put personally.

It might've been Russia with the Crystal Skull sets! That could explain my confusion — I know there was also a lot of discussion about the lack of Nazi iconography in the sets being at least partly out of compliance with German hate speech regulations, so I suppose I must have gotten some of those various memories muddled in my head.

It doesn't help that a lot of those discussions happened back when I was still just a "lurker" here, since I wasn't old enough to join Eurobricks until 2009 (and all the other LEGO fansites I was really active on before that were primarily Bionicle-focused). But in any case, apologies for the misinfo!

Edited May 19, 2021 by Aanchir

[2lazeetomakeaname]

32 minutes ago, Aanchir said:

 I know there was also a lot of discussion about the lack of Nazi iconography in the sets being at least partly out of compliance with German hate speech regulations

I doubt that was the only reason....

[Robert8]

11 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Awesome set  The blue minifig’s hairpiece is a new mould, right? I wonder if it was specifically designed for this set or whether it was originally intended for another set that got pushed back or something. Can’t think of a licensed character with that hairstyle though

Someone on IG hinted is a new hairpiece for a yet to be announced set

The hairpiece looks exactly like this

 

[BrickBob Studpants]

My $0.02 on the matter: Being neutral in regards to every single subject matter simply isn’t possible, nor desirable or morally sound (and I’m saying that as a Swiss ). LEGO represents a lot of different messages and values (like creativity, imagination etc), and inclusiveness has been one of them for a while now, hence the introduction of the wheelchair piece, hearing aid print, guide dog harness, and a more even split between male and female minifigs in in-house themes  So to me, this set is a natural step in the same direction.

People getting offended at an innocuous message like this says more about them then anything else 

And as I’ve brought up in another context before, demanding something to be apolitical is in itself a political stance 

[Agent 86]

What an awesome set!

It’s very early days, but I wonder whether the spirit of inclusivity and representation will eventually translate to the makeup of families in Duplo, City and other themes?

[Kim-Kwang-Seok]

11 hours ago, TheMainBricker said:

People are too wrapped up in Western ideas to think that this set isn't political. You can't just say recognition of civil rights and liberties is not political. The fact that this set won't be able to be sold in certain countries is enough to be classified as political, this is creating a debate around particular issues, therefore it is political. I don't recall other sets then raising question over charitable donations etc.

Is this set purely for LGBT people? Are straight people allowed the set? How was Lego not inclusive before? Did LGBT feel that Lego was not for them? What has my sexual orientation got to do with Lego?

Again the fact that we are now discussing these issues means that it's a political set. I don't want to come out on one side or the other, but again as there are two sides, it is a political issue. And there will be pressure for Lego to start doing other sorts of sets.

Psst - I tell you a secret: everything is political. Always. As people mentioned: Indy or Harry Potter sets were political - Marvel sets are highly political. Even Star Wars with all it's Empire/Nazi aestetic, against the Rebels is political. Ewoks are political.

All of these things are big topics. But having a rainbow set can simply be about having a cool looking set with cool pieces.

I bought the women of NASA set mainly because I thought it was a really cool set.

And if people of any age and origin or orientation feel strengthened in their confidence - then what's the problem with that? So according to your arguments no Marvel sets should be sold ever because some people in some countries have issues with Marvels slightly propagandistic content?

[Karalora]

18 hours ago, TheMainBricker said:

It's a nice colourful set, but the very fact that this set won't be allowed to be sold in a lot of countries means that it is a very political set, and one that I think breaks Lego's own rules about political statements. The fact that there will be debate around Lego doing this set means that it's political, I'm really surprised Lego want to go down this route.

I wanted to address this point because the takeaway here is that if any government bans something for any arbitrary reason, that thing becomes "political." If LEGO adopted that policy, they would be putting the decision-making power for what sets can be released in the hands of entirely outside entities, and I don't think they would or should do that.

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

It's always wholesome for me when the LGBT community gets recognition and support, and this coming from Lego was a nice and pleasant surprise. Really happy for our LGBT Lego fan friends.

[SpiderSpaceman]

1 hour ago, BrickHat said:

It's always wholesome for me when the LGBT community gets recognition and support, and this coming from Lego was a nice and pleasant surprise. Really happy for our LGBT Lego fan friends.

I just hope everybody can get it before nasty “news” networks make a day of coverage to whine about it and how “you used to could be non-inclusive and now you can’t and we don’t like it”

Edited May 19, 2021 by SpiderSpaceman

[TheMainBricker]

16 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

In addition to all the things that Aanchir said, LEGO very publicly supported Black Lives Matter.

I see this as LEGO embracing diversity and representation. I celebrate that. And, FWIW, it's an awesome set that looks amazing!

 

And then the question is why isn't there a BLM set? Last year Lego removed advertising for police sets to avoid any controversy with the BLM movement, Lego are typically risk-averse when it comes to controversy, so much so that we've seen bizarre decisions like the Criminal Hideout cancellation.

This set is a controversy generator, and there already appears to be substantial backlash for it on social media. It could've been avoided, and this subject matter is a minefield, with me basically being called a bigot for a typo or by saying that this is a political set, even though my own sexual orientation isn't disclosed here.

I just find this talk of inclusion strange, because I didn't know that Lego wasn't inclusive? I didn't know that my sexual orientation had anything to do with being AFOL. Will Lego now have to make sets with identifiably LGBT minifigures? Will there being a Gay Pride set every year? Will they make charitable donations, and if so disclose what charities it's going to? It's Pandora's box.

I personally find it disappointing that we can't come together as Lego fans, but rather have to be known as gay Lego fans, gay Afro-Caribbean Lego fans etc.

19 hours ago, FrkW said:

The fact that the right to be yourself have been politicized in some countries doesn't make it inherently political. 

Also, it's fun colours! Colours are great. And for everyone. I'm sure the Lego staff won't ask us for gay credentials when we get it, just like they don't ask us if we celebrate Christmas or Easter or Lunar New Year, or are really getting (heterosexually) married when we get any of those sets. 

It sounds like you've never been in an official Lego store!

I would probably receive less question from the KGB than I do at a Lego store!

"Who are you buying this set for?" "What have you been doing today?" "What are you going to do now?" etc. All questions asked by staff at the Leicester Square store. I'm just like "can I just buy the set and get out of here?".

[williejm]

*sighs in gay* 

[Lion King]

Ok, so this set will be release don June 1st, right? 

[Aanchir]

1 hour ago, TheMainBricker said:

This set is a controversy generator, and there already appears to be substantial backlash for it on social media. It could've been avoided, and this subject matter is a minefield, with me basically being called a bigot for a typo or by saying that this is a political set, even though my own sexual orientation isn't disclosed here.

You're right, releasing a set like this one is a risk. And LEGO has decided it's a risk worth taking. Is that really such a bad thing? I strongly doubt that the existence of this one set will bring the entire company toppling down, even if a handful of parents decide this is something worth boycotting the company over (just as some did after LEGO made their BLM statement, after some of their previous Pride-related statements, after they cut ties with Shell, etc).

For what it's worth, I haven't called you a bigot, and generally refrain from making that sort of accusation unless somebody is so persistently disrespectful that it becomes clear they're doing it deliberately. Even when people misgender me, I usually just offer a brief correction at the beginning of my reply, and then the person in question corrects their mistake, and then we move on. Easy-peasy.

1 hour ago, TheMainBricker said:

I just find this talk of inclusion strange, because I didn't know that Lego wasn't inclusive? I didn't know that my sexual orientation had anything to do with being AFOL. Will Lego now have to make sets with identifiably LGBT minifigures? Will there being a Gay Pride set every year? Will they make charitable donations, and if so disclose what charities it's going to? It's Pandora's box.

It's not, really. You're making a mountain out of a molehill here.

In the future, LEGO certainly might start including more identifiably LGBTQ+ characters in sets — though it wouldn't necessarily have to be all that obvious in the character design, and could just as easily be communicated with things like a sticker showing a family photo or a pride flag decoration on a desk or bulletin board.

And the LEGO Foundation (a separate entity from the LEGO Group, but also owned by the Kirk Kristiansen family) might start donating to LGBTQ+ related charities.  If they did, they'd probably be ones specifically aimed at supporting LGBTQ+ children, since children's charities tend to be their more general focus.

LEGO might even make a pride parade set in the future, although I don't have any idea why you think they'd make new ones annually unless it turned out to be a tremendous hit on the level of stuff like the Winter Village sets.

But none of those possibilities really seem like they'd impose any sort of harm or burden. Most of them aren't even all that far removed from stuff that LEGO already does — like releasing seasonal sets, including married couples and disabled characters in City/Friends/Duplo sets, including romantic subplots and detailed character backstories in their more story-driven themes, supporting charitable causes via the LEGO Foundation, etc.

1 hour ago, TheMainBricker said:

I personally find it disappointing that we can't come together as Lego fans, but rather have to be known as gay Lego fans, gay Afro-Caribbean Lego fans etc.

There's no reason we can't belong to multiple categories and subcategories at the same time. I am a LEGO fan just like anybody else. But I'm also a female LEGO fan, a lesbian LEGO fan, a transgender LEGO fan, an American/Canadian LEGO fan (depending on whether you base that on where I was born and hold citizenship or where I'm currently living), an adult LEGO fan, and a disabled LEGO fan.

And literally NONE of that stuff prevents me from being part of sites and groups like Eurobricks, Brickset, AFOLs of Facebook, and GayFOLs where most other members DON'T belong to all of the same sub-categories that I do. There's no reason I can't come together with other LEGO fans on a general level while also being open about the various demographics I belong to, bonding with other LEGO fans who have other stuff in common with me, and discuss the ways those other aspects of my life and identity affect my interest in LEGO (and vice-versa).

These are all just different ways of engaging with the LEGO fan community, and none of them are mutually exclusive or require me to abandon the wider AFOL community in the process.

11 minutes ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

Ok, so this set will be release don June 1st, right? 

I haven't heard any specifics at this point, but that seems like a pretty reasonable assumption.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Aanchir

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, TheMainBricker said:

And then the question is why isn't there a BLM set?...

...I personally find it disappointing that we can't come together as Lego fans, but rather have to be known as gay Lego fans, gay Afro-Caribbean Lego fans etc...

They've not said no to a BLM set. And the direct answer to the question could be any number of reasons, including time, resources, release schedules, market opportunity, too much corporate risk, they don't know what they'd do, the rights are owned by another toy company - OK that last one is probably the answer to why only 1 set from the bumper collection of Ideas is chosen... ;)

I thought we were coming together as LEGO fans? I think this set it great. If you do too, that's awesome. If you don't and prefer something else, that's awesome. Do you enjoy LEGO? Great! So do I! It's nice for some people to build sets/MOCs that are cool and fantastical. It's nice for some people to build sets/MOCs that are very personal. And it's nice for some people to do both. Or neither. Or anything else.

And then back to the set itself, I think it's cool, and looks very elegant.

[Lion King]

33 minutes ago, Aanchir said:

, and a disabled LEGO fan.

 

I haven't heard any specifics at this point, but that seems like a pretty reasonable assumption.

I totally agree with you on what you said! 

I apologize if it’s way off tropic and it totally doesn’t relate to LBGTQ+ at all. But personally, I really don’t like “disabled” word, just let you know. There is a certain difference between “disabled person” and “person with disability”. Please don’t get me wrong - I am actually a deaf-blind (Usher’s syndrome, a combination of deafness and gradual loss of vision) and I find being labeled “disabled person”, well, not ok. I mean, I can walk/run but I can’t hear and I can’t see very well. I would say I am a Lego fan with disabilities. 

I am very sorry but I just wanted to let you know! Again, I apologize if it goes off topic, everyone! 

 

Ok, thanks. I thought I saw someone mentioned June 1st somewhere here on Eurobricks but I could not remember where. I guess, we will wait for an official announcement then!

Edited May 19, 2021 by DBlegonerd7

[MSY-MSP]

I think that there are so many different ways to look at this set and I feel that this set is not so much a pride set but a set celebrating humanity as a whole.  The name of the set "Everyone is Awesome" is about including everyone.  So what i feel that Lego is doing is saying we don't care who you are, or where you come from: we want you to enjoy our products. 

I think a BLM set won't be coming out from TLG ever.  The donation is one thing, a set is another thing.  Living in Minnesota and being around the BLM movement for awhile have shown me that what this movement is about is dealing with a systemic issue that is mostly an issue within the US as a result of both our history as a slave nation and segregation and legalized discrimination, and primarily focused on policing.  BLM is not a world wide issue in the same way that LGBT+ is truly world wide.  Further one is about celebrating  who one is and the other is about attempting to right a history of wrongs. 

I am not a member of the LGBT+ community, though I do have friends and family who are.  I come from an ethnic minority, but am lucky in that I don't appear to look like a member.  It has prevented me from being subjected to the levels of discrimination and violence that my ancestors have been subjected to.  Though I haven't been immune to them.  Regardless, this new set celebrates humanity, and I as a human feel celebrated by this set.   And as Luke Bryan sang:  I believe you love who you love, Ain't nothing you should ever be ashamed of,
I believe this world ain't half as bad as it looks, I believe most people are good

[FrkW]

2 hours ago, TheMainBricker said:

just find this talk of inclusion strange, because I didn't know that Lego wasn't inclusive? I didn't know that my sexual orientation had anything to do with being AFOL. Will Lego now have to make sets with identifiably LGBT minifigures? Will there being a Gay Pride set every year? Will they make charitable donations, and if so disclose what charities it's going to? It's Pandora's box.

While it's not neccesarily NOT inclusive, fact is every single set that includes a wedding couple, a couple in general or a family shows a heterosexual relationship. Representation matters, and it's easy to forget that when you are a part of the majority because your life is already mirrored everywhere around you. 

And Lego doesn't "need" to do anything. They do want they want, and what they think makes sense from a business perspective. Lego doesn't owe the LGBT+ community, with or without this set. But it doesn't owe you to stick to your interpretation of their principles either.  If you don't like the set, don't get it. If enough people agree with you there won't be anymore. 

And calling a rainbow family set or two and a few pride sets "pandoras box" is a bit rich. 

[williejm]

If nothing else, this new set is sorting out a lot of megablocks for me 

29 minutes ago, FrkW said:

And calling a rainbow family set or two and a few pride sets "pandoras box" is a bit rich. 

So much tsunami of pandering 😱

[TeriXeri]

Is the yellow figure the first time they made an unprinted yellow torso/leg combination in 1 set/figure?

Brickset/Bricklink list 6872: Xenon X-Craft (Classic Space 1985) had one, yet the image of the set itself has printed space logo.

Edited May 19, 2021 by TeriXeri

[williejm]

3 hours ago, TheMainBricker said:

 Will Lego now have to make sets with identifiably LGBT minifigures? 

Smithers. Patty Bouvier.  Dumbledore. Batwoman. Valkyrie. Black Cat. Sally Ride. 
Let alone figures based on Ian McKellen, Jim Parsons, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Stephen Fry, Miriam Margolyes, Ezra Miller, Fiona Shaw...

Special mention to Bert & Ernie, Dorothy & her friends, and Rainbow Bear.

Edited May 19, 2021 by williejm

[Kim-Kwang-Seok]

3 hours ago, TheMainBricker said:

 

Hey - I've read the comments here and I find it just sweet how anyone is having a nice conversation and giving information about themselves, how nice they write what wording they feel more comfortable with and so on. You don't have to agree with it but if you comment here your opinion, people will comment theirs. It's called a conversation and I am glad you are part of it.

And we can talk about capitalism, the background for such sets and many other things. But I think this is the most beautiful way to make such a set. It's inviting anyone - though of course I know some will feel uncomfortable with it. Can you imagine how a gay person feels if we always just see sets about a bride+groom? Now I didn't say that such sets cannt be done anymore or are offensive. But how could it hurt you if - for a change - Lego did a set of two women marrying? You wouldn't need to buy it, you wouldn't need to look at it. It would simply exist amongst many conventional sets. It would simply be a depiction of two minifigures in love with each other.

And as others have mentioned: we already have gay characters and figures depicting gay actors and actresses. We already have feminist theory in the ninjago TV show (Nya), Rebels vs. Empire, Marvel's Avengers aka products of movies (like them or not) financed partly by the pentagon. As I said - it's always been political.