Lego and Gender

The Lego mashup was a clear example of the how specific toys can be gender segregated and advertised to appeal to a specific gender. After doing the mashup, I found myself watching different videos about Lego and their attempt to appeal to both boys and girls, but in very different ways.

The "boy" Lego sets included trucks, dragons, police, boats, Star Wars, and many more. All the sets had red, blue, green, black, yellow, and orange color Lego containers, blocks, and people. The colors pink and purple were nowhere to be found in these Lego sets.

On the other hand, the Legos "for girls" were called Lego Friends. These Lego sets had very different themes, including baking, hair salons, pets, beach, and horseback riding. The colors were almost all pink and purple, with a few other pastel colors. The makers of Lego even changed the girl "people" to look more like a mini doll or barbie with curves and skirts.

I found this research on Legos and gender to be very disappointing. It seems as though they are fostering social constructs that are not only stereotypical, but also limiting the world that women live in. As seen in one of the videos I watched, if there is an emergency in "Lego Land", only the boys can respond, and if the Lego people are hungry, that is the girls' job. Toys like Lego are forming these gender walls very early on for children. I believe this is a key reason why our society is so divided and focused on gender.
 
As a teacher, I found this video very interesting and eye-opening.
Gender Bias in Education Video