Hmm...I agree that 'girly stuff' and figures and characters are great--my favorite parts of Lego growing up were the figures and the little bits of kit like trees and sharks and guns and tiny gold pieces--but I also agree with broader criticisms that designating their scrupulously constructed 'feminine play' as THE 'Lego for girls' isn't helpful. I'm not convinced that the limited color range is a good point of argument either. Yeah, pastels worked for My Little Pony in the 80s; it's something basically EVERY 'for girls' toy does, because it's now a quick, easy way to designate who is supposed to like their product. Which is stupid and pointless, and really doesn't help infant misogyny--how many boys in the last twenty years have been honestly scared to like pink because the toy industry says it's not okay? How many girls and gender-variant kids have refused to wear it because it makes people see them the wrong way? The version of My Little Pony that's catching everyone's attention, NOW, has a bright gorgeous full-color palate. And good characters. And a predominantly female cast. The pastel-only thing is stupid and harmful.
As a personal point, I also really feel no need for one more pink girl-toy with breasts. Barbies never taught me anything about appreciating or anticipating grown-up female bodies; I preferred to play with Kelly and Stacy and their familiar androgyny. I liked Legos for the same reason. And American girl. And, for that matter, Quints (which I also liked for having boys as well as girls) and Polly Pocket. The girls were still girls, the women were still women. They didn't need breasts to do it. This is not to say BREASTS ARE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR KIDS; that's stupid and misogynistic. And girls are allowed to want them, in every sense! However, there's nothing in the toy industry's presentation of female beauty that makes me thing they're saying, "breasts are great and it's okay to have them!" so much as "this is what you'll turn out to look like, so get on it!" I didn't like it then and I still don't like it now, especially when it's basically the ONE kind of (physical) figure the new Lego line is offering as correct for young ladies. Oops, we're making girl-toys now! Better add tits!
Huh--but I'm also not interpreting the old Legos ad the way you are. As I read it, it's not defending her Lego creation as masculine play that's acceptable for a beautiful girl; it's defending a weird lopsided not-quite-anything-recognizable as a legitimate piece of Lego art by a creative kid. Perhaps that's not cynical enough, but it's what I read.
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Hmm...I agree that 'girly stuff' and figures and characters are great--my favorite parts of Lego growing up were the figures and the little bits of kit like trees and sharks and guns and tiny gold pieces--but I also agree with broader criticisms that designating their scrupulously constructed 'feminine play' as THE 'Lego for girls' isn't helpful. I'm not convinced that the limited color range is a good point of argument either. Yeah, pastels worked for My Little Pony in the 80s; it's something basically EVERY 'for girls' toy does, because it's now a quick, easy way to designate who is supposed to like their product. Which is stupid and pointless, and really doesn't help infant misogyny--how many boys in the last twenty years have been honestly scared to like pink because the toy industry says it's not okay? How many girls and gender-variant kids have refused to wear it because it makes people see them the wrong way? The version of My Little Pony that's catching everyone's attention, NOW, has a bright gorgeous full-color palate. And good characters. And a predominantly female cast. The pastel-only thing is stupid and harmful.
As a personal point, I also really feel no need for one more pink girl-toy with breasts. Barbies never taught me anything about appreciating or anticipating grown-up female bodies; I preferred to play with Kelly and Stacy and their familiar androgyny. I liked Legos for the same reason. And American girl. And, for that matter, Quints (which I also liked for having boys as well as girls) and Polly Pocket. The girls were still girls, the women were still women. They didn't need breasts to do it. This is not to say BREASTS ARE NOT APPROPRIATE FOR KIDS; that's stupid and misogynistic. And girls are allowed to want them, in every sense! However, there's nothing in the toy industry's presentation of female beauty that makes me thing they're saying, "breasts are great and it's okay to have them!" so much as "this is what you'll turn out to look like, so get on it!" I didn't like it then and I still don't like it now, especially when it's basically the ONE kind of (physical) figure the new Lego line is offering as correct for young ladies. Oops, we're making girl-toys now! Better add tits!
Huh--but I'm also not interpreting the old Legos ad the way you are. As I read it, it's not defending her Lego creation as masculine play that's acceptable for a beautiful girl; it's defending a weird lopsided not-quite-anything-recognizable as a legitimate piece of Lego art by a creative kid. Perhaps that's not cynical enough, but it's what I read.