queerhedgehog:beatbrox:seriously thook, the thing about this tho…Lego Friends has been WILDLY
queerhedgehog:beatbrox:seriously thook, the thing about this tho…Lego Friends has been WILDLY popular and sold double the amount they expected it to when it first came out. (I’d like to point out that Lego Friends outsold Galaxy Squad, and is still being produced, whereas Galaxy squad isn’t.)This comic also points out the shopping mall and juice bar sets. Ok. But it neglects to point out the science lab, the roadster set that comes with mechanics’ tools, or the skate park. There is a wide diversity of themes within the Friend’s sets–cars, houses, jungle adventures, and yes, shopping malls.The truth is the Lego Friend’s sets do something so many other girls’ toys don’t; it gives a VARIETY. Yeah, there’s the hair salon, shopping, etc etc, but then there’s things like the ones I’ve listed above and tons more that you don’t see elsewhere. Yes, they all come in pink and purple and pastels for the most part… but so what? Honestly, it’s cool to see some of the “girl” toys have this sort of variety. That in conjunction with the fact that Lego has been better in recent years about including female figures in their regular lines (I was tickled to see one of the bandits in a recent police set was female, and the new pirate line has female pirates,) and Lego is probably one of the companies doing a better job of including girls. But I truly feel like most people see the Friend’s Lego line and trivialize it BECAUSE it is marketed to girls, not because of what it actually is.It’s not perfect. I’ll admit I’m a bit “meh” about the minifigures, because they are very different, and are skinny, etc etc etc. but it was due to market research saying some girls wanted a more “doll like” figure. Which.. the sales support. But other than the different minifigures, the Friend’s sets are complex, well detailed (sometimes MORE detailed) sets that appeal to girls (and probably some boys.)And as for the shopping mall and juice bar sets… who cares if that’s an option? There’s nothing wrong with that inherently either. The problem is when it’s the only choice, which it clearly is not in this case.And if people who wouldn’t otherwise buy girls a building set of some kind will buy Lego Friends for them because it’s clearly marketed as “A Girl Toy”, then some girls who wouldn’t have otherwise had access to Lego now do. That’s a plus. More Lego in girls’ hands is a good thing and encourages creativity. Most toys (and children’s books, which is a different discussion) are chosen (at least in part) and purchased by adults. Marketing works toward adult biases and gender-policing as much as kids’. -- source link
#lego#comics#gender