Feminism and Gender Theory

Feminism & Gender Theory

'No boys allowed:' Legos for girls

In her book, As Long As It is Pink, author Penny Sparke notes the great 'distaste' she felt when wrapping up some glass ornaments she had bought for her mother. She knew her mother would delight in such items, but for her, these glass, ultra-feminine delicate 'dust collectors' signified being held hostage to both class and gender. Even the Victorian middle class ideal of domesticity, which the statues mimicked, was considered somewhat valuable for the refuge it offered from the public world of work. In mass-produced America, now everyone could buy glass ornaments and thus they had been devalued as a marker of class. In cheapening this representation of the home, the role of women as decorators and homemakers has likewise been cheapened, suggests Sparke (Sparke 1996: 3-4). In 21st century America, we are likewise in the uncomfortable position of attempting to answer the question as to whether femininity is valuable for members of the upper class to aspire to, including girls. This discomfort is manifested in the existence of a new line of Lego toys for children, explicitly marketed to girls. The design of the Legos cultural artifact both seeks to subvert feminine stereotypes which value women solely based upon their appearance, yet also simultaneously affirms the cult of pink spoken of in Sparke's work.

Legos have traditionally been marketed to boys, and have something of a cult following. Rather than merely being regarded as derivative toys, they are often praised for their ability to inspire creativity in children and are said to encourage children to enjoy building and understanding spatial relationships. The skills reinforced by Legos have historically been masculine ones. However, many parents of girls today want their children to have the same benefits of playing with Legos as their brothers. With this in mind, Legos has created Lego Friends. "It features five main characters -- teen and pre-teen girls, each representing a different archetype, all of whom reside in the fictional Heartlake City...Mia the animal-lover, Olivia the smart girl, Emma the beautician, Andrea the singer and social butterfly Stephanie" (Gray 2011:1). The figurines are shapelier than the standard Legos 'for boys' and larger and more expressive in nature. The settings with which the different figurines come with attach to stereotypically feminine interests, such as puppies, horses, beauty, and bunnies. The color palate, of course, features a great deal of pink.

One obvious question arises is why girls cannot or will not want to play with 'boy' Legos. In fact, until Legos were recently gendered by this decision to construct such pink-and-purple sets, Legos were not specifically marketed at boys alone. The manufacturers felt that consumers tended to see building toys as male and noted from their research that even liberal-minded parents would hesitate to buy such products for their girls. "These toys were designed based on research conducted by Lego Group, looking at the differences in the ways that boys and girls play. Researchers discovered that while boys tend to build a model from beginning to end, and only play once it's completed, girls prefer to pause mid-build and play with their Legos as they go" (Gray 2011:1).

The toys seem to offer a compromise between conventional toys for girls such as Barbie and encouraging girls to play with solely geometric 'boy toys.' On one hand, the human element of dolls is introduced in the construction of the highly differentiated characters, which are distinct in a manner that the usual boxy protagonists of Legos displays are not. However, the toys offer some comfort for parents who might worry about girls playing with the purely passive Barbie. There is some intellectual engagement involved in the creation of the Lego homes, even while the new pink Legos simultaneously reinforce gender norms by their subject matter and characters. "Unlike tiaras and pink chiffon, Lego play develops spatial, mathematical, and fine motor skills, and lets kids build almost anything they can imagine, often leading to hours of quiet, independent play" (Wieners 2011:1).

The question arises: are these new Legos somehow cheapened by their association with girls? According to one neuroscientist: "If it takes color-coding or ponies and hairdressers to get girls playing with Lego, I'll put up with it, at least for now, because it's just so good for little girls' brains" (Gray 2011:1). Bloomberg Business asserts that today's standard sets of Legos are not for everyone, given that they feature "rows of classic building kits for police helicopters, rockets, and trains soon give way to contemporary releases such as Lego Alien Conquest" (Wieners 2011:1). It is assumed that such subject matter alienates little girls and discourages them from the potential educational experience of Legos.