Lego makers target of feminist group

[AngrySailor302]

This seems to be the easiest link to actually read without having to register with a "news" site.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/20...ny-executives/

So there is a feminist group called the SPARK movement that has condemned Legos for being sexist, due to some sets the building toy giant has released that is geared more towards girls, with more realistic figures that are not little blocks with jaundice.

So now it is not acceptable to make toys that little girls would like, that acknowledging that men and women are wired differently is a mortal sin.

With more pressing issues out there, why is there a group of clucking hens going on about the "evils" of toys for girls?

[wiiGod]

haven't read the article, but i have seen these new legos sets and as an avid lego fan, i was very disappointed. why does there have to be a special set for "girls" to play with it? I liked the idea that everyone in the Lego universe was the same, except for the color of their hands and the type of hair or hat they wore. actually, my biggest issue is that the new figures are a different size than the originals and therefore distorts the scale at which I built all my other Lego sets.

[scott777s]

Way back when I was a kid, there was one kind of Legos. That original set of plastic, colored blocks were completely gender-neutral...they were simply building blocks. Girls built what they wanted and us boys built what we wanted.

But then, like any business looking to expand its market, Lego started marketing specific sets with specialized pieces designed to make themed objects: racing cars and jet planes to start, then onto Star Wars and Pirates. These sets were very successful, but Lego noticed the sales skewed to boys. It only made business sense to expand the market even more by creating themed sets more attractive to girls. This isn't sexism...it's just marketing. Like Secret antiperspirant is targeted to women and Ax is targeted to men. No more, no less.

For those who feel differently, the original plastic blocks are still out there and still fun for boys AND girls.

[polstand]

Why doesn't this group go after Barbie or one of the other many companies that make dolls like that too?

[garison808]

Originally Posted by polstand

Why doesn't this group go after Barbie or one of the other many companies that make dolls like that too?

They did, but everyone either laughed at them or ignored them, so they moved on.

[geekazoid]

DAmnnn..that Lego chick is FIIINE!


um...did I type that out loud?

[jim gatton]

Originally Posted by geekazoid

DAmnnn..that Lego chick is FIIINE!


um...did I type that out loud?

You did. And it shows what a sexist you must be.


Those SPARKS people need to get back in the kitchen and make sandwiches.

[AngrySailor302]

I decided to go visit the SPARK Movement site, and ughhhh.

It seems as though the group exists solely to whine about how "women are equals to men, as long as women are more equal to men" about everything.

Legos, movies, clothing, you name it, they have a rant about how everything is anti-women.

A lot of what they have is complete malarkey, twisting "facts" to fit their idea.

I remember them complaining and trying to stage a boycott of Volvo some time ago regarding the Volvo YCC, a concept car that was designed by an all-woman team that many feminists railed against, such as that car having an indent in the headrests for pony-tails, no gas cap (ball valve), no hood (just a bolt on panel), and a built in computer that would call mechanics for the owner to schedule oil changes and repairs.

Just another example of why the feminist movement by large in the US has not only lost it's purpose, but has also outlived it's need.

[Captain_Fantasy]

In college I was working at a small time art retailer run by women where I was often given the worst shifts, told that because I'm a man I'm no more useful than a hammer, and was dismissed unceremoniously because they felt once all the loading, unloading, assembly and heavy lifting was done, I no longer fit their business needs.

What did I do? I got another job.
What didnt I do? Form a busy body group and file a needless lawsuit!

FFS if you don't like the product, don't buy it!

[BigCambo]

All I got from that article is a bunch of whiney women looking to attack something new. All sorts of toys that were made especially for girls and why don't they attack those toys? Barbie, bratz, etc..... Most other little toys for women are like dollhouses, kitchen appliances. It's like teaching girls they can grow up to be a stay at home mom.

This whole thing is ridiculous and the husband of these women needs to get them, tie them to a bed and give it to them until they scream with retardation.

[12941]

I don't disagree with most of you guys, really.

However, I have to say that tolerance for different views seem to at an all-time high in this thread.

[Shaken_Not_Stirred]

So what they're saying is.... we need a MALE line of dolls for little 10 year old children... that wear wifebeaters and drink beer and watch sports all the time right? wouldn't that even it out so they can stop their god damned bitching for once and look at reality?

[AngrySailor302]

Originally Posted by Shaken_Not_Stirred

So what they're saying is.... we need a MALE line of dolls for little 10 year old children... that wear wifebeaters and drink beer and watch sports all the time right? wouldn't that even it out so they can stop their god damned bitching for once and look at reality?

It probably would do nothing to stop them from whining. If anything what that would do is make them bitch even harder about how dolls like that would enforce anti-women mentalities, like the women's group that came up with "Take Your Daughter To Work Day" had a "Boy's Pledge" where they wanted boys to promise not to focus on doing only "masculine" things and focus on their feminine side, so they can be "proper" boys.

Even if the SPARK Movement stopped bitching about LEGOs, all they would do is start whining about other over-blown "travesties against women", as it seems like this is one of those groups that is not happy unless it is being offended.

[Hamish++]

dear gawd, everything is sexist or "anti-women" these days. I would sympathise if women were unable to vote or something but feminism today has gone beyond a joke and its sell by date.

I wonder if they realize all they are doing is giving this lego product free advertising (as is often the case when someone complains about something)? I wonder if companies secretly like it when they stir up a little controversy because of all the publicity?

[Madduke]

Unless the lego has genitals painted on, this is a beat off...beat up.

Sorry, I just looked at the picture of the lego chick.

[AngrySailor302]

Originally Posted by Madduke

Unless the lego has genitals painted on, this is a beat off...beat up.

Sorry, I just looked at the picture of the lego chick.

The way some of the SPARK Movement gals are bellyaching, you would think that those figures were anatomically correct and nekkid.

Those figures are about as sexualized as Joe Leiberman, with half the plastic and double the IQ.

[Hamish++]

They would be complaining if the figures had big boobs, so what the hell do they want?

[c4715]

The little girl toy legos are bigger than ALL of the 'old' boy legos. Therefor they are superior to all the 'old' boy legos. I think we men should complain and start a anti-stupid bitch hate group called UDUMBSLUTS which stands for.......udumbsluts. What?????

[witty0ne]

Originally Posted by c4715

The little girl toy legos are bigger than ALL of the 'old' boy legos. Therefor they are superior to all the 'old' boy legos. I think we men should complain and start a anti-stupid bitch hate group called DUMBSLUTS which stands for.......dumbsluts. What?????

I think I might just have to start a local chapter.

[c4715]

I think I might just have to start a local chapter. [/quote]
That works. I'm terrible with acronyms.