Lego Friends, a new range of the iconic Danish construction toy explicitly aimed at young girls, will feature five Bratz-esque 'mini-dolls', each with their own personalities, names and interests, such as animals, performing arts, invention and design.
The action will take place in the excruciatingly named 'Heartlake City', with sets representing downtown, the suburbs, the beach, camping grounds and mountains. The range will launch on Boxing Day in the UK, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.
When this particular member of the CNET UK team was a little girl, those yellow mini-figures and their multi-coloured bricks, along with other building toys such as K'Nex and Meccano, were the source of many hours of construction-related joy -- so is this shameless pandering to the doll-loving demographic really necessary? We think not.
Lego has released an astonishing 545 different building sets over the last year, and is also rumoured to be heading to the big screen sometime next year, but it's a saddening thought that its focus on 'masculine' sets such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones has prevented girls from developing an interest in the toy.
Previous attempts to win over young girls, with ranges such as Lego Belville and Lego Clikits, have been largely unsuccessful, and so this latest endeavour seems unnecessary and desperate. Not every set in the range is an abysmal patriarchal stereotype, however, with this Friend enjoying herself in a workshop. (We would kill for that cute robot, by the way.)
Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, Lego CEO, offered a different take on the range, arguing that it would "breathe fresh air into a toy category filled mostly with pre-fabricated play experiences for girls".
We're not convinced though -- while many of the recent ranges have been related to franchises popular with young boys, at its heart Lego has always had a distinct appeal which offers something unique to all children, regardless of gender.
Are we right? Is this latest attempt by Lego to win a place in the toy boxes of little girls a shamelessly patronising pursuit, or a shrewd marketing move? Let us know in the comments below or on our unisex Facebook page.
Image credit: Geekologie
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anonymous 19 December, 2011 19:19
The vast majority of girls don't like lego and I admire their efforts to get them interested. I can't imagine your business plan of "Try twice to break into a new market then give up in case people think we're desperate" would do very well in the real world.
anonymous 20 December, 2011 00:05
Go muck yourself commenter above
anonymous 20 December, 2011 03:37
My daughter, who loves LEGO, and is a fan of Star Wars, pirates, and Disney princesses, saw these sets and immediately told me she wants them. Personally, I don't see the stereotypes being as damaging as the ones we see in Barbie, Bratz, or other toy lines that seem to tell girls that they are only important if they're beautiful. In fact, it's refreshing that these girls are defined by what they do instead of who they know or how they look.
I may change my tune when I see the actual biographies of these characters, but so far I don't really see anything damaging. And unlike Belville, these figures can use most of the current minifigure accessories. I will be surprised if my daughter DOESN'T equip these figures with swords, blasters, and pirate hats as often as she gives them pies and ponytails.
anonymous 20 December, 2011 09:43
Don't knock it - I love it - I was just thinking about that when #boy9 was opening his Lego Star Wars calendar - how cool it would be for a girl's version. RESULT :)
Tom Davenport 20 December, 2011 11:06
I would call it patronising, but Deux Ex Machinatio (http://www.deusexmachinatio.com/blog/2011/12/15/cut-lego-friends-a-break.html) make a great case for why this lego set is simply a means to fool retailers into putting the genius of lego in front of more girls:
"It's great to think Lego are for everyone. But the market reality is this: "unisex" toys are by and large mixed in with the boys' stuff ... Lego Friends, on the other hand, is cunningly designed to be shelved right by the My Little Ponies and Littlest Pet Shop lines."
Credit is due to Lego for the content of these scenes too. Deux Ex Machinatio again: "They've planted the seeds of adventure, intellectual and otherwise: a tree house, an inventor's shop, and the best, most progressive rendering of a fashion design studio I've ever seen, showing it as a place where you do math, not a place where you look pretty."
anonymous 20 December, 2011 14:31
I just don't get the stereo type thing here, lets rearrange the pictures into reverse order and see if the story is the same.. First off we have a science chick messing with robots in a workshop surrounded by power-tools and microscopes.. second we have a career girl enjoying here fashion designer job.. and third up we have party chick preparing cakes for her friends... well it just doesn't ring those stereo-type bells for me! in fact for me its quiet the opposite it seems to be opening up the possibilities, we should encourage our girls to be interested in science, they can dream of having successful careers, and they can have fun to..
To be honest I'm really glad that the fairy princesses and unicorns have gone!
Go ahead, you call it stereo type, I call it reaching out from a well tried (50 years) and loved theme which clearly has not been as successful with girls as it has been with boys.
I congratulate Lego in their attempt to broaden their range, form its dominantly male position.
anonymous 21 December, 2011 00:11
Let's face facts,the whole world is full of stereotypical toys for kids so why shouldn't Lego provide girls with their very own range? As an adult that still loves nothing better than to get down on the floor with a Lego kit and the grandchildren i am excited that as well as pirates and Harry Potter I will be able to make caf'es and pet stores! I think Lego should be applauded for filling an area that was sadly lacking in their range and will be ready and willing to buy as soon as it appears on the shelves.
anonymous 23 December, 2011 08:37
I love it and am sure my girls would love it - in the same way we/they have loved play kitchens, hoovers, mixers etc. They have had barbies, Bratz, lego, sewing machines, wood working benches with real tools - a bit of everything! At they end of the day, they both have been drawn to anything pink and glittery (but as they head towards the teenage years deny all love of pink), but are still perfectly able to put together flat pack furniture, bake cakes, use power tools, build a decent fire, use a sewing machine......a bit of everything really. And having barbies (but no pink lego kitchen) didn't stop me from becoming an aerospace engineer who loves quilting and cooking and trying to keep on top of the ironing, tho I did make her a stretching rack and guillotine when we were studying the Spanish inquisition and French revolution.
James Shields 25 December, 2011 22:02
In an ideal world, there would be no "boy's toys" or "girl's toys", and nobody would be laughed at for playing with toys that don't meet the correct gender stereotype. Unfortunately we don't live in such a world. While Lego have done a superb job of creating toys both boys and girls love to play with, many of their most popular play themes have the strongest appeal to 6-10 year old boys. I think it's great when Girls can also enjoy these themes, but not all girls do, so I hope this theme will meet the play needs of girls who aren't currently attracted to Lego. That doesn't mean that girls can only play with this theme, or that girls that currently enjoy Lego have to switch to it. And indeed, there is nothing wrong with boys playing with it too.
I think the fact that in addition to kitchens there are architects and scientists is a positive thing, and I hope that this theme broadens the appeal of Lego.
anonymous 29 December, 2011 12:53
My daughter (6) loves Lego and when she saw these new sets her eyes lit up. She was so happy to have some Lego that was not cars or robots or pirates etc etc. Personally think its great and if it makes her happy and encourages her to keep building, experimenting, playing and using her imagination I really can't see what the problem is.
anonymous 29 December, 2011 14:18
I do find it slightly amusing that almost every person who responded to this article disagrees with you.
Being a long-time fan of Lego, and having followed this line and others since their inception, I feel like you may not be giving the Lego company the credit they deserve. The amount of time and effort they have put into developing this line is staggering, and is based on real research as opposed to perceived gender stereotypes.
Finally, I offer a Lego enthusiast rant that made me smile...
http://www.brickshow.com/my-rant-on-those-attacking-lego-about-the-friends-theme
anonymous 2 January, 2012 17:51
Kate Collins, really?? Is this the most important thing in the world? I appreciate you have a job to do but is this the best you can do? Why should you force your feminist opinions on us? Can parents really not make their owns minds up about what they can buy their children? Do we not have opinions and thoughts of our own that means people like you have to ram this nonsense down our throats every day of the week? Face fact little girls are allowed to like pink, fairies, princesses, unicorns etc. but many also like blue, pirates, cars, lego! It's people like you that enforce these things as being stereotypically for boys or girls!!
Ann Waters 12 January, 2012 22:19
Just purchased this set for my granddaughters and they absolutely love it! Lovely vibrant colour pieces and the new mini-figures are very detailed with stylish hair that can be swapped. We have been hoping for some new lego sets for girls for sometime now and we are pleased with are very delighted with the theme.
Very good review here:
http://canidoit.org/new-lego-friends-review-heartlake-or-heartache
anonymous 15 February, 2012 08:55
What is the problem? When i was a little girl i loved Lego, but it was just bricks, windows, doors, tyres etc and you used your imagination to build whatever you liked. Over the years it has progressed in a predominently masculine way - i don't need to list them. My 2 girls age 4 and 7 have some of the "creator" range, but love the new Friends range, although a bit expensive for what it is. Isn't it all about having fun? Isn't everyone taking this all a bit seriously. Well done to Lego.