http://www.sparksummit.com/2012/04/17/why-are-we-still-talking-about-lego/ (continued article)
LEGO has recently
made a LEGO Friends line which is specifically for girls. The line
consists of packages of Lego’s with themes such as decorating homes, getting
hair done, cooking, and anything stereotypically related to a girl. This is
when the article stuck out to me. Just because it is cliché for a girl to do
such things, doesn’t mean every girl in the world wants to decorate homes or
cook. The boy’s line of Lego’s has themes like ninja quests, policeman,
doctors, construction workers, and fighting alien invasions. This once again
not only shows the stereotypes of girls, but also to boys. Who says that boys
can’t decorate homes or be interested in cooking? This is what media, toys, and
society say is not the “norm”.
A group called SPARK,
whose mission is to challenge the sexualization of girls, has asked LEGO to “Stop
selling out girls.” Having toys like this automatically makes little girls
think they can only take certain paths in life. LEGO is basically telling
little girls and boys what they can or cannot be. Also, because these are little
girls playing with these toys, they are being exposed at an early age of what
society thinks a girl should be in life. That then does nothing but block girls
from being whatever they want to be. SPARK states, by telling LEGO what they
want, “And we
want them to improve the Friends line by giving the characters more diverse
story options, and maybe even introducing some male characters.”
I don’t think LEGO
should separate their lines by gender. If a little girl wants to be a policewoman
or have ninja quests, then they should be able to do that. This issue could
relate to various topics we speak on in class, such as how women are seen to
only do womanly things and not take on what is considered, “a mans job”. This
article just reinforces the cage women are stuck in.
-Jazmyn Hudson
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