Girls Use Pink Legos

When I was a child, I played as a child; I understood as a child; I thought as a child, but then I stupidly put away childish things.*

Lincoln Logs

While legos were fun, I preferred Connectors and Lincoln Logs as a kid. I remember using lincoln logs "wrong" so they'd build what I wanted. While I assume I must have owned legos, I don't have memories of playing with them in my own home.

I spent my college years wondering if I should attempt to be more into legos and RPG because so many of my friends were. I ended up not worrying about it

I don't spend much time in the toy aisle at stores, so I'm not really up on current toy trends. I heard of Brat dolls last year, but they've apparently been around "forever."

Legos, though, they're legos. I thought I knew legos.  Sure there are more kits than ever, but they're blocks you build things with! And if you are in the downtown Boston area someone fixed the corner of a building by adding a Lego market!

Congress Street, Boston (two blocks from the Children's Museum)

Unfortunately, legos aren't as cool as they used to be. The company has created an extreme gender divide in what should be an easily "shared" toy.  

Legos BOYS Timeteacher

Girls are pink and purple.

I really like that they've added the pinks and purples to the product line. Yay for more colors, but by separating it so that the boys get the primary colors and the girls get pinks and lavendars they're making it impossible for kids to enjoy the benefit of the increased color selection!

I can't believe that such a classic has also fallen the route of strict childhood gender separation.  Back when I was a kid lego boxes had boys and girls on them, and everybody was playing with the same legos. We all used the same red wagon.

No, we didn't all use the same dolls (girls had Barbies and boys had GI Joe), and I have no idea what the boys had instead of the Easy Bake Oven. The 1970s were not a utopia of joy and happiness, but a lot less toys were separated by sex. Google "1970s Legos" and check out the ads. Everybody played with those red and blue bricks!l.

However, now the Lego Girls kits are princess theme or filled with puppies. Lego Boys kits are cars, trains, and police vehicles. Instead of a castle you have to choose either a princess castle in pink technocolor or a primary colored castle forest.  Boys can build ninjas and ninjas and helicopters.  Girls can build ponies and stables.

What a great moneymaker lego has stumbled onto! You can't let your macho 3 year old boy play with his older sister's pink tiara and homemaker legos! No, he needs macho pirates instead. Your little girl then throws a hissy fit at the idea of using her big brother's  police cars because she needs a PINK  princess carriage kit!

Gender marketing isn't a new thing, but wow, it's so damned specific now!  When you follow these instructions to make gummy lego candy, make sure not to specify if it's boy or girl candy. Let people decide for themselves if they want the extra calories.


04/05/16 UPDATE: NPR published a piece on where the Lego corner came from.  http://tinyurl.com/hhua3qm


On a side note - I'm not sure why so many people felt it necessary to comment when a woman in a dress and high heeled sandals crouched down on the ground taking a photo of the corner of a building repaired with legos. I mean, there's a lego market right there on the corner where I'm taking the photo!`
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*Purposeful misquote of First Corinthians xiii. 11. from the Bible.