The Little Girl from the 1981 LEGO Ad is All Grown Up

[Miss Kyle]

Contributing a tiny bit of useless information here: my two-year-old checked out a Lego Friends book ("Friends Forever" by Helen Murray) from the library, one that I had the pleasure of reading to her before bedtime. Within the first few pages, the reader learns that Olivia, the new girl in Heartlake City, wants to be a scientist, inventor or engineer when she grows up. Later, we learn her mother is a doctor.

Thank you for pointing it out - the Friends lore is providing girls with lots and lots of opportunities to live their lives, and it also says that whatever you want to be and do is okay and cool (be it baking cute little cupcakes or playing the drums and starting a rock band). And all this happens in a nearly girls-only space with nobody to impress or to please around but their supportive friends who love them for what they are. I think this is a very positive message for girls and although the news van story is a bit of a facepalm, overall I am very pleased with what Lego is doing with the theme.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Miss Kyle

[Deathleech]

She points out the vanity gear and states that there is NO equipment. Clearly when I check the news van there is both a computer, an antenns and a camera. So she omitted the real truth, what more has she omitted?

This, this, and THIS!

I looked up the Friends Heartlake News Van set on Lego's site to see the specific details. This article paints a very sexist view when the actual set isn't nearly as bad. At first I thought the cake story was a bit sexist (women always portrayed baking?), but after seeing the set I recognize Lego was trying to invent a story that could actually appear in the set itself and be reported on. What else is Lego going to make the breaking story about and still be able to show in a $25 set? Someone robbing a convenience store and shooting the clerk? A dog drowning? A sports team winning a big game? All of these are either inappropriate for children, or would require to many pieces to properly portray in a $25 set. I mean sure they could have someone rescuing a cat in a tree or something, but even that would require a fairly large tree build, an extra minifigure, and the cat. That adds at least $5-10 to the set cost.

As for the rest of the description, I suppose Emma looking her best is a bad thing? Sure the set has lipstick and a brush, but it also has a news desk, what appears to be a video feed in the van, a big light, a computer, and a weather display. Absolutely none of these other things are mentioned in the article nor are they sexist in any way. I think the set actually does a pretty good job of imitating a "real" news team in a smaller condensed set. News crews often cover silly stories like the worlds biggest (insert food item). And this is the worst of the Friend's sets? Really?

As for Lego's other themes, sure they could try to appeal to girls more, but I think Lego knows it would hurt their current sales with boys. Little boys generally don't like girl figures in their sets and the inclusion of more could hurt the sales with the market they already have a tight grip on. Why jeopardize that to make the set slightly more appealing to females (and may not even help that much)? I mean if adding a female fig to a City Police set makes its sales drop 5% with boys, but only increases it by 1% with girls, that's not a very good trade off for Lego is it? Lego is just following the trend and making Friends sets that appeal to girls while not hurting their other themes' sales with boys. Lego is just conforming to what our society has created and it obviously is working for them what with the boom is Friend's sales. I can't blame them for trying to make money.

[TheLegoDr]

^And I suppose no news anchor (male or female) ever puts on make-up before a broadcast. Granted lipstick may be in a different genre, but it adds up all the same. Most people like to look their best, especially when in front of a group of people. If make-up is needed, then I guess it is needed. I really hope the writer of the article NEVER wears make-up then, otherwise they are sexist!

I also agree about what they could actually report on as far as news in Heartlake City. It isn't a crime ridden city, but a fun loving peaceful area. I think the rescuing the cat is a good idea, but it would add a lot of extra to the set that they didn't need.

[naf]

As for Lego's other themes, sure they could try to appeal to girls more, but I think Lego knows it would hurt their current sales with boys. Little boys generally don't like girl figures in their sets and the inclusion of more could hurt the sales with the market they already have a tight grip on.

I know that even when I was little I always wanted to have both boys and girls in my Lego town. My son was most excited about the Wyldstyle figure when he got his Lego Movie set. Granted, if Lego started making all of their toys pink you'd probably see a drop in male interest, but I don't think adding female figures would matter that much to boys.

I remember when I got my Black Seas Barracuda I thought it was very cool that they included the female pirate. I appreciated having a bit of diversity with my minifigs, and I was 9 years old.

^And I suppose no news anchor (male or female) ever puts on make-up before a broadcast. Granted lipstick may be in a different genre, but it adds up all the same. Most people like to look their best, especially when in front of a group of people. If make-up is needed, then I guess it is needed. I really hope the writer of the article NEVER wears make-up then, otherwise they are sexist!

If this was a set in the City theme with a male news anchor, there wouldn't be a vanity in the news van but I get your point. The criticism is probably being a bit overblown. Even though I don't personally like the Friends theme, it's not as bad as other toys aimed towards girls. I just think it makes for an interesting discussion.

Edited February 18, 2014 by naf

[TheLegoDr]

^Exactly. People need to look at all toys aimed towards girls. LEGO incorporates a lot of new colors, but it isn't ALL pink/purple. MegaBlocks Barbie license is ALL pink. So there is a major difference. Granted, I'm the type of person that bought the Twilight Barbies for my daughter because they were at least covered up with interesting clothes, instead of wearing a skimpy dress and calling them a teacher/docter/pilot, etc. Major difference. People can get mad at LEGO all they want for the Friends theme, but it is way better and value oriented than other brands.

That is true. You probably don't need a vanity in the news van, but most girls like to play dress up or makeover, just naturally. So incorporating that into the sets makes sense.

I'd love more female minifigures outside of the CMF. I had a few when I was a kid so the ratio is significantly different now compared to when I was young in the 90s. But I'd still welcome more that would fit better with the rest of the figures, not the minidolls.

[Deathleech]

I know that even when I was little I always wanted to have both boys and girls in my Lego town. My son was most excited about the Wyldstyle figure when he got his Lego Movie set. Granted, if Lego started making all of their toys pink you'd probably see a drop in male interest, but I don't think adding female figures would matter that much to boys.

I remember when I got my Black Seas Barracuda I thought it was very cool that they included the female pirate. I appreciated having a bit of diversity with my minifigs, and I was 9 years old.

I just recall reading that with action figure lines, toy companies generally try to steer away from the female characters because they never are as big sellers as the male action figures. I would assume the same is true with Lego, but to a lesser degree. Obviously females are going to be wanted in City sets because the sets are trying to imitate real life and there are just as many females as there are males in the world. Lego sets generally have a few minifigures as well so it's not just buying a single female character, it's buying a few males and females. However, if a kid is presented with a set that has 2 different male cops, or a male and a female cop they are probably going to pick the former since they themselves are males. They also might feel pressured into it because they don't want their peers seeing them playing with female figures, that wouldn't be considered "masculant" in our stereotypical society..

Edited February 18, 2014 by Deathleech

[naf]

They also might feel pressured into it because they don't want their peers seeing them playing with female figures, that wouldn't be considered "masculant" in our stereotypical society..

This x1000. Peer pressure sucks. With the current trend of boys into things like My Little Pony, I'm hoping that kids are becoming more open minded.

[Lyichir]

I don't think most boys would balk at the inclusion of a female fig in a set, but I do think there are some considerations that limit more widespread use of female characters in "boy-oriented" themes. Primarily, I think they might avoid making action sets with a majority of female characters (which contributes to the tendency for female characters to show up primarily in the largest sets which already feature multiple characters). It does reek of "token girl" syndrome, but I would hesitate to call those sorts of considerations unfounded without hard data on sales or focus testing. Kids having a character to relate to could easily contribute to the quality of their play experience, and even a bit of hesitation could make a difference at the point of sale.

[parksroad]

It seems people only get upset when a certain subset of play-themes are exposed in toys. They don't have problem with cars or police or fire. Only with the dollhouse and makeup type themes. So girls who like the former are lauded and girls who liked the latter are dismissed as being just a product of their programming.

I dunno, I see girls discouraged from taking an interest in cars or firefighters...

[Kai NRG]

I think the entire topic is made way too much of. Believe it or not, a kid isn't too concerned about whether the figs they are playing with are female or male. Peer pressure may influence them but you can't expect LEGO to be able to do anything about that! The same goes for every other influence. Personally I usually prefer male figs (I am a FFOL). I don't know why, just for some reason I think they're cooler. I don't particularly like Friends (especially the mini-dolls) - in fact Ninjago is one of my favorite themes (though I don't particularly like any of the female characters). Maybe LEGO does stereotype girls to a certain extent, but you can't get around that. They have to do the same with boys - come on, is every boy interested in being a fire fighter or a policeman - or a knight or ninja? How come people aren't crazy over the fact that there are very few male chiefs, scientists, etc? It's the same with girls. Yeah, they aren't all interested in the friends type stuff. So what? LEGO has to cater to the majority or it will loose sales (and yes, though you may have run across plenty of kids who didn't fit the mold, they aren't the majority!). If the 'stereotype' ever changes, that will be reflected in the sets. What you see in the sets (and the same goes for virtually all products) is a reflection of what society is like... not the other way around! (Yes, they can have a subtle influence - especially a perpetuating influence I suppose, but, again, it's inevitable. When society changes, products, including LEGO sets, change as well.) You can't expect a toy company - or any company - to lead in something like that - they'd just go bankrupt!

[Sarah]

I just recall reading that with action figure lines, toy companies generally try to steer away from the female characters because they never are as big sellers as the male action figures. I would assume the same is true with Lego, but to a lesser degree. Obviously females are going to be wanted in City sets because the sets are trying to imitate real life and there are just as many females as there are males in the world. Lego sets generally have a few minifigures as well so it's not just buying a single female character, it's buying a few males and females. However, if a kid is presented with a set that has 2 different male cops, or a male and a female cop they are probably going to pick the former since they themselves are males. They also might feel pressured into it because they don't want their peers seeing them playing with female figures, that wouldn't be considered "masculant" in our stereotypical society..

My son did just this for his sixth birthday when presented with two Superhero sets with figures he liked. He chose the one without the girl in it.

I was absolutely shocked. (especially because the person in his class he calls his best friend is a girl, and he absolutely loves playing with the girl next door. So I don't see a lot of disliking girls in RL)

Edited February 19, 2014 by Sarah

[naf]

While clearance shopping for bday and christmas presents, I noticed that two sets featured female minifigs:

60004 Fire Station - female firefighter

4429 Helicopter Rescue - female paramedic

Nice to see these in the City line.

[Vindicare]

These articles are really sad and annoying to read. The author either didn't do proper research on the theme, or just doesn't care to include it. As mentioned earlier, there's plenty of non stereotypical girl things in the Friends theme, yet these articles never mention them...