"that's a world they have to operate in" absolves Lego of responsibility a bit much, IMO. They chose to stop marketing their product to girls, and they chose to let the Lego world evolve into something that was full of heavily masculinized themes. They could have included more "feminine" aspects in the Lego world years ago, instead of acting like they have suddenly discovered the secret to girl minds through "research".
Many girls like stereotypically feminine toys, no problem! It's the fact that Lego acts like this segregation they're creating is normal and unavoidable that rubs me the wrong way. They're saying "well, we have to do beauty parlors and vet offices or girls won't buy our product". Girls would have bought their product more if it had been marketed to them in the first place, and beauty parlors and vet offices should have been a part of the great "people Lego" world from the start. Not something you tack on after, through years of "research", you discover that these sorts of things are part of the world as well. It may be a step in the right direction, perhaps, but it's a very clumsy step that does not make the company look intelligent or aware of gender issues.
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Many girls like stereotypically feminine toys, no problem! It's the fact that Lego acts like this segregation they're creating is normal and unavoidable that rubs me the wrong way. They're saying "well, we have to do beauty parlors and vet offices or girls won't buy our product". Girls would have bought their product more if it had been marketed to them in the first place, and beauty parlors and vet offices should have been a part of the great "people Lego" world from the start. Not something you tack on after, through years of "research", you discover that these sorts of things are part of the world as well. It may be a step in the right direction, perhaps, but it's a very clumsy step that does not make the company look intelligent or aware of gender issues.