I bought something out of desperation today……new Legos for Boo. The only reason that I bought them is because I am buried trying to finish up a big project launching soon and I knew they would occupy her for about 6 hours straight. Guess what? It worked. She played with Legos…..for six. hours. straight. She built every single picture in the Lego book.
Of all the Lego choices, I talked her into getting the “pink” Lego set. The one with the horse, the pots and pans, and all the flowers. They should have thrown in a vacuum and a sewing machine. And a baby doll and a wedding dress. That would have made it even cuter…..and yes, even more gender specific.
I don’t have a problem with that kind of stuff. I got a lot of flack at Christmas time for my DIY stocking stuffer roundups being too stereotyped:
Girls: a first sewing kit, toy makeup, baby doll diapers, etc.
Boys: marshmallow guns, wallets, and car shaped crayons, etc.
I wasn’t sure how to respond because: I like sewing, makeup and babies. I’m not that interested in a bi-fold wallet or cars. I would, however, use the marshmallow gun. I’m not trying to change the world here. Some of Boo’s past stocking stuffers? Well……there was a harmonica, a polar bear that pooped jelly beans, a slingshot, animal socks to start. I think I’m smart enough to choose things that she’d like….not because someone has labeled it girl or boy.
I’m sure that there are many people that have a problem with the pink Lego set being marketed towards girls. I’m more worried by the fact that I totally bribed my kid today…..
If I buy you these Legos will you play quietly all day so Mommy can finish her work?
Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to get at is that I’m glad there are cute pink Lego sets. It’s great that there are options. And if I had a little boy I’d probably talk him into buying the cute pink set too…….just like I’m trying to talk Boo into saving up for the $400 Lego Death Star.
P.S. I shamelessly linked the $400 Lego Death Star to Amazon secretly hoping that about 50 of you will buy it. Then I can afford to buy one….or at least the Millennium Falcon.
P.P.S. If I could raise about a trillion dollars maybe we could raise the REAL Millennium Falcon from the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
P.P.P.S. My nephews have the Death Star. No one’s allowed to touch it.
Ok i totally agree, but opposite haha… My husband gave me crap cause I wanted to make a “manly” stuffed animal bed for my 3 yr old son for his bday… Hello he loves his stuffed animals and likes to give them naps, only girls can give babies naps? Also I got more crap from te gparents when Santa brought my boys a homemade kitchen… Men don’t cook? Cause they do in my house oh and they also put the kids to bed sometimes too
I can hardly wait to buy my girl those girly legos!
Dude – I bought myself the $100+ real looking Space Shuttle Lego set… for me… all me! Legos are cool and my son would LOVE a pink set (and the only reason he doesn’t have it yet is that his birthday isn’t until Nov!)
I also bought the pink legos because my girl would never have been interested in ninjago legos. Ever. The pink legos could have been blue or brown or whatever and she would have still loved them because they have sets that interest her. They are so cute! Wow if Boo can do them by herself too. Mine always asks for help.
My son (6) searches online all the time for girly Lego’s for his sister (4). I guess it’s because he loves his so much that he thinks his sister needs the girly ones. He get’s totally excited over they fact they have them for girls!
aww, that’s really cute!
I totally love that they have pink ones now!! My little girl is a girly girl but she likes the boy stuff too, like legos. Well, I have two boys and I got her the “girly pink” ones because it would help to determine lego set is which kid’s
Oh and LOVE your P.S.’s 🙂
You’re awesome. And whether you know it or not, you are changing the world 🙂 I would totally want makeup and a marshmallow gun. Both sound great to me.
I love the idea of the pots and pans and flowers, etc. and I would buy them for a boy too. I think the thing that’s silly is that they wouldn’t/don’t make the pots and pans set in green. Or orange. It’s an assumption in our society that pink = girl and that girl = homemaking stuff. That’s the unfortunate part to me.
Played for 6 hrs! That’s a success, pink or not. I was first taken aback when I first read about the pink lego set being directed at little girls. I thought it was sexist too. But then I read something on MommyShorts.com that said that it’s not really about the color or the objects. She said that boy toys have been designed to help boys build skills — building, designing, etc. And girl toys have been designed for other skills. The pink legos are a great way for girls to learn to build and design. MommyShorts article was prolly better than what I just wrote!
I love you, Ashley! I feel the same way about all of that. I have 2 older boys and a baby girl, and does she play with a car from time to time, yes… but without ever being pushed in any direction she automatically goes straight for the dolls when given a choice, and she dances around the house in a way my boys never did. I don’t think buying her pink Legos sends a message that she can’t be a lawyer or even an astrophysicist if she wants. Even lawyers and astrophysicists need to know how to vacuum and you darn well better believe my boys will know how, too. 🙂
My husband got the Millennium Falcon for Christmas last year. After he built it he put it up on a shelf and no one is allowed to touch it. It cracks me up!
A polar bear that poops Jelly beans? Where do I sign up?
Now that I’ve met you in person I can hear your voice and I love reading your posts even more. 🙂 My problem is that I would have all that work to do and then some, and I’d buy the Legos for my daughter or son, and I’d build Legos with them INSTEAD of doing the work I was supposed to be doing. I have a strong inner child, no?
You got it!!! I used to roll down the driveway in my neighbors Tonka Truck (back when they were made of metal and sturdy) – I loved playing with their cars and trucks and those tracks that the cars race on… I had dolls to play with and feel that too many people just over think the simpler things. I also had a microscope and always wanted one of those rock tumblers… lol Am I fat because I played with Barbie? No but none of my doll clothes ever got snaps or buttons finished on them (thanks Mom!) Bah ha ha ha! Ken’s head was always falling off too, and depending on if I could find it… I think that explains my intimacy problems… (totally joking).. He only had the one outfit, a hand me down sweater from GI Joe and a pair of Tuxedo pants.
I think it’s about time they finally got some legos girls would like. My daughter loves her’s. 🙂
My grils love the pink Lego set and the Friends Lego series too :).
Your awesomeness factor just increased by about 5000 now that I know you like Star Wars.
I LOVE Lego!! I was so excited when my son turned 5 so we could have a Lego party and start playing with Lego again!! Now I just want to buy a bunch of Lego so I can build too!! 🙂 I almost bought some Lego Friends girl sets the other day, for me, since my daughter is only 2!!
So funny, and yet so true! I really appreciate it though, that lots of boys have got pink T-shirts too and consider them cool – maybe that’s the first step towards boys buying the pink lego set.
Did you know that many many years ago, light blue was the color for baby girls (because blue was the color of Mother Mary), and pink was the color for baby boys (because red was the color of power). That gives an interesting twist to the whole conversation, right?
xo Anja
Funny, my daughter is 5 and my son is 3 and I’m trying to get him to play with so called boy toys. I made her 2 princess dresses and he runs around in them all day while playing with dolls and making me food in the kitchen set. I think it’s harder for younger boys bc all the so called boy things are so violent and I won’t let them watch the superhero things.
I don’t know what everyone’s problem has been with the “girl” legos…my girls have them and LOVE them…I am thrilled that they finally came out with them!
They do have plenty of the Star Wars sets too though 🙂
I think I want the pink Lego set for myself. My son loved Legos as a child and I remember spending a lot of money on them. He even got the Architecture Lego sets for his 17th Christmas. He built the Millenium falcon when it came out and he built the Yoda when he was younger. They are on top of one of my bookcases because he didn’t take them with him when he moved out for college.
Keep buying her Lego’s. My son is currently studying engineering and when he wrote his Sr. thesis he included the fact that he had built everything with Lego’s as a child.
My daughter received a box a set of Schleich dinosaurs for Christmas and some cowboy pistols. My son received (much to my husband’s dismay) a baby doll complete with the Fisher Price rainforest themed doll accessories (stroller, swing, playpen etc.) They were both so happy. It’s all about what they enjoy.
My five year old nephew received the Star Wars Lego Death Star and Millennium Falcon. My husband and I were so jealous. At least my husband got to help him put it together. haha
I have 2 boys and 2 girls, so we have both, I tried and keep them away from each other but, my 5 1/2 yea old boy needs to borrow a few pink legos to finish is car b/c he couldn’t find enough 2×2 blue blocks. My kids don’t care so why should I? They love them and that is all that should matter. Yes, I’m totally in LOVE with Lego Friends. Ashley did you know that one of the Lego Friends girls (Emma) has a little design studio that you can build? I bought it the other day for my self if they it came with a sewing machine it would have been perfect.
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=lego+friends+Emma%27s+design+studio&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1525&bih=672&tbm=isch&tbnid=cc_aaMfEdGwZDM:&imgrefurl=http://www.bbcw.com/product.php%3Fproductid%3D23490&docid=po270dBy9zo7FM&imgurl=http://www.bbcw.com/images/P/LEGO3936.jpg&w=500&h=500&ei=5U8bUL25D4Sj6wH5-YHICQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=494&vpy=198&dur=380&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=111&ty=125&sig=111534048934142516134&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=138&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:84
Excuse the MAJOR typos, I was trying to type with a sleeping 9M old in my arms.
That’s what I was going to say! There’s a little laptop & camera, and a ruler like she’s doing diy projects!!
My son is two and he wants the big Star Wars lego sets as much as we do! He doesn’t have many actual “sets” yet, just lots of random Lego’s given to us from cousins, but I don’t know what we would do without them. I’m perfectly fine with the occasional pink and purple thrown into the mix.
Don’t you love when they just play quietly for hours on end?
My son has the Olivia’s Tree House one and loves it. When his grandma asked what gifts he might like for his birthday, I suggested that set, and she absolutely would not buy it because it’s for girls! So I bought it for him myself and I’m so glad I did.
I was worried about the sexist legos, too, so we got several sets of Lego Friends, a generic tub of 5000 legs (on sale at Walmart!), and a few tubs of boy legos. Mix them all up together and my two girls have loads of fun creating everything except what the directions say to do. And that is why I love legos!!!
I just bought sets for my girls and they loved them. In fact it kep them quite for 2 hours on a road trip. My only complaint is they weren’t complicated enough. My 9 yo likes the boys sets because they really make her think. She whipped the girl set together in no time. I say bring on the harder stuff Legos . I don’t care of its pink.
That death star? One of my friends has it and it’s INCREDIBLE. He has a room full of Star Wars lego, and the way my 3 year old is going we’re going to have to have a room too.
I actually got a little mad when I saw the girl lego. I mean it;’s great,. but I’m a girl and I played with regular old lego when I was a little girl. And at the same time, boys don’t really get much stuff compared to all the girl options {sewing for my son is limited compared to all the things I can sew for my girl – and I’ve had three years to make sewing for the boy and three weeks for the girl!}. I guess I was a little jealous that girls were taking something from the boys. And why does it need to be girl lego? I’m sure my daughter is going to be just as obsessed with Mandalorian lego like my son is!
In saying that, the girl lego IS adorable and I will be buying it, for my son!
Wow. You save a whole dollar right now on that Death Star Legos set – $398.99! I will not be letting my 10yo see that. He would ask for it in a heartbeat.
My kid has probably half of the Lego Star Wars sets and was saving her $5 per week for the $400 Lego Death Star. When she got halfway there, we got a chance to see it face-to-face in Manhattan. It wasn’t as impressive as we thought it would be, so she decided to get herself a Kindle Fire instead. Now, the Imperial Star Destroyer was AWESOME!
i LOVE the pink LEGOs and when I saw them, i thought, of course. what took them so long? i only wish the figures in the sets were more like the mini figures, but i get why they aren’t. i really believe that LEGO bricks are toys that help kids learn early engineering, physics and problem solving skills. and if pink gets them into the hands of more girls – YAY!!! i think sometimes we get too hung up on gender roles. who cares. buy what you and your kids like.
I think Legos have always been associated as “boy toys” so I think it is fantastic that they are making “girlie” versions. I love Legos (in whatever color they come). We recently got a Legoland here in Atlanta and I think I had more fun than the kids. I even bought myself the Guggenheim museum set. I am hoping one day for the Hogwarts one to show up on my doorstep. I can definitely see how Boo would spend hours playing with these. They are HOURS of entertainment, even for me!
My son loves his Daisy Duck stuffed toy! He gets weird looks because he is carrying a girl stuffie rather than a boy, but it doesn’t matter, he’s 2 and loves his daisy.
I never had Legos when I was a kid…they are crazy expensive and we were kinda poor. However I am in my thirties and have recently realized I love them. My first clue came when I “helped” my 7 year old put a set together and he had to say “mom can I do part of it” LOL oh right this is your toy. Anyway I asked the kids to get me the $125.00 vw bus set for my birthday. That thing is so cool I just have to put one together and stare at it 🙂
I am a girl and I like pink…my daughter likes pink…doesn’t mean I am going to tell her she needs to get married have babies and cook. I think girls can play with whatever they want as long as you have real conversations about the real world. I think it is great that they came out with a pink version as a choice. If people don’t like it they don’t have to buy it. But maybe I am defending it because we have a set in our house….wouldn’t the feminist be horrified if they knew I had a pink kitchen aide mixer that was the love of my life they would to have me arrested…lol
Who are these people who wring their hands over gender-specific LEGOs? I’d like to have their problems.
My girls LOVE all the pink Legos! My only beef with Legos is that they have way more “boy” stuff than “girl” stuff. My daughters want to build a lego castle, but they want it to be pretty vs. scary gothic. I think the only sexist thing about it is the fact that a toy company thought only boys were capable of building complicated lego designs for so many years. Girl legos are awesome, but they need to make more sets to choose from and help encourage our girls to build it bigger too.
P.S. My daughters seem to naturally be drawn to sewing, babies, marriage, beauty salons, and kitchen stuff. It doesn’t bother me at all. I love all those things too and how awful would the world be if there weren’t intelligent women who loved those things? The “homemaker” life is totally kick ass if you ask me!
I love those pink Lego, they are so cute ! My daughter has the set with the sewing machine (and computer, so so small and cute !), and the bakery, too. All our legos are mixed together, my sons plays a lot, but she plays more since she has those, and by the way, I think it’s totally fine to bribe once in a while, especially with Legos 😉
I was thinking… sorry if I talk too much. When I was little, I had a Lego house, the bricks were yellow and higher than large, there were flowers, a round table, pots also… I grew up in France, so maybe they did not sell them here ? I was really surprised at all the negative comments when they started selling the pink ones, I remember having that and also pink bricks !
Have you seen the Lego Friends sets? They have them at Target and my girls love them, they have small sets with girls with jobs, one is a scientist, one is a veterinarian, they are great – girl themed, but empowering too. Check them out.
I love this post! I couldn’t believe it at Christmas time when people were upset about the new legos geared toward girls. I mean if you don’t want the pink ones than don’t buy them. DUH!
FYI one of my 3 year old boys was looking over my shoulder as I read this post. When I scrolled past the lego pictures he said, “Hey mommy go back up! What are those legos? I want those!”
O.K. son you can have the pink legos. See it all evens out in the end.
My 10 year old son is a Lego freak (typical). We got our six year old daughter her first girly Lego set and she loved it. The best part? Our son got all excited seeing the different pieces included that he never had and shouted, “I WANT A GIRL!!!”
I was once chastised for not buying my one-year-old son a pink girly bow he picked up in a store. I was told that I was “reinforcing gender stereotypes.” I thought I was just being frugal in not buying something I wouldn’t use. Babies want anything they can grab!
Anyway, I think the pink Legos are cute. Where I live, there is a Lego Club at the library. There are tons of kids and they all play with all the colors of Legos. I think there were more than 60 at the last meeting and I didn’t see any picking out pink Legos!
My daughter has them and both boys and girls love to play with them at our house!
Oh, a quick reversal girl toy with boy version story that’s funny. My daughters and niece were older than my little nephew Brian so he was surrounded by girls in the beginning of his life. About 20 years ago, I used to watch Brian and his big sister Celia. My girls and Celia had all kinds of Barbies, including “Staci”the little sister and Staci’s brother “Todd”. That’s all they ever wanted to play with so of course little Brian wanted to play too. When it was about time for Brian’s 2nd birthday, we asked him what kind of party he wanted. He said with excitement, “A Todd party!”
Brian was having a party this summer before he left for his basic training for National Guard. He’s all buff and cool and quite the ladies man. He was so embarrassed (but remembered it and laughed about it) when my daughters, Celia and sister-in law corralled him and told him the story.
Dudette you rock..just say it like you see the world…
You have a “girly” girl. You shouldn’t apologize for knowing what she likes and buying it REGARDLESS of what gender it was made for. I am sure if she liked trucks, you would get her trucks.
Re: “bribing” When my daughter was little, I started “let’s make a deal” – it served your purpose as well as curbed the wanting everything in the store. (If she wanted something(superfluous), she had to earn it with an agreed upon task.) This is the way REAL life works – give a little, take a little. Better that she learns this early – she won’t be spoiled and she will know how to negotiate – the GOOD LORD KNOWS that my daughter always ended up with the better end of the bargain – my mother never taught me the art and therefore from the beginning (4-5 years old) my daughter always got what she wanted. She knew how to ask for it and didn’t mind trading or working for it. An unexpected side effect is that she appreciates and understands MORE what is given freely and the cost of me taking time off from work to spend time with her.
I just love your writing style, you crack me up! I have loved those pink legos since the moment I saw them!!
I bribed my kids with ice cream today. Hard to work with three hooligans prancing around you.
And I totally want a sewing kit. AND a marshmallow gun.
My daughter wanted Lego’s so bad. We went to check them out. She looks at me a little confused and said “Where are all the pink spaceships?” She wants to play with her brothers, but she wanted Star Wars stuff in pink!!!
Yay to everyone who is thrilled with the gender specific Legos! That’s what they are for. Not interested, pass them by. 🙂
I am a lego purist and the fact that they made another go at “girl” legos and again took them too far outside of the realm of the rest of the legos is what gets me. I am speaking specifically of the mini figures. If I wanted Polly Pockets I would buy Polly Pockets. I think they could do a much better job providing lego sets that girls would enjoy without going so overtly and uncreatively “girl”. I coach middle schoolers in lego robotics and have nothing but love for Lego. I had some girls on my team that seriously kicked a** who wouldn’t touch those things with a ten foot pole because they felt the whole effort was condescending. Lego needs to think about the fact that once girls age out of their “girl” offerings, where will they go? I would love to see them make more affordable sets along the lines of the creator sets that are more gender neutral. Personally I can’t wait to get my hands on the VW bus.
Okay…I bought my daughter (who’s now 18) the cutest Legos about 15 years ago…not because they were pink, sea-green and “girly,” I bought them because they had a Lego Scotty-dog with them…just like our pup, MacKenzie. Ashley, bet you’d buy the Lego set if it had a Diesel Yorkie in it, right?
I think it is great that you feel like you bribed her for 6 hours with Legos. How many moms would have sat there kid infront of the TV for that time. Way to many!!!
I bought my daughter some pink Legos a while back, too, and She. Loved. Them! My first thought when I saw them? “Finally! They’re making Legos that appeal to girls so girls can learn to be engineers, etc, too!” So what they’re gender specific. They’re just something girls might actually be interested in!!!!
The good news is…. i saw that the Death Star link you posted is on sale now! $398.00! Savings = $1.
We are a huge lego family and my boys would love the death star, but they want to play with them too. I got permission from the parent before buying gender specific legos for her daughters birthday. Have you seen the Lego Friends. They are near the barbies, not in the lego department at all.
I wish I had the death star.
Ok, I have just solved your Death Star problem with another one of your quandaries over a toy purchase. Get Boo the rubberband gun…..and go over to the house that has the Death Star displayed and……….well……you get the idea.
( Just make sure they dont have a dog….that might be over doing it. )
I am buying Ninjago for my youngest’s 10th birthday… but we’re getting the pink ones too. I wanna play!
He wants roller skates. I’m just not prepared for that right now.
We have an unfinished LEGO Death Star in our living room. It has been sitting for quite some time. It might be time to finish that.
I think I need some pink LEGO. (I have been informed that LEGO is plural for LEGO by my boyfriend.) I may buy some tomorrow!
My pregnancy brain read the title of this post as “Sexiest logos,” and the designer in me was curious as to what qualified as a sexy logo. I read the entire post (and smiled because my daughters have and love the pink lego set) only to reach the end and shake my head wondering where the bit about the logos went. Ahh sweet little baby in utero, please stop eating my brain cells 😉
I am, in general, displeased with the why toy manufacturers market to boys and girls. I am, however, in love with pink legos. I love that they’ve made a lego set for those kids who like to play house AND build stuff. Yay for that!
I too misread your title as “sexist logos”.
The whole “gender neutral” thing sort of annoys me. Like you said, you will choose things you think your kid will like– just because it happens to be pink doesn’t mean you are forcing some gender stereo-type down her throat. People go nuts over the stupidest things.
I think the girl legos are adorable– my daughter loves “Lego Friends” and so do I! She likes girly things– and would have NO interest in “boy” Legos– so the Lego Friends are perfect for her. Now I want to go out and buy a set for her just for the hell of it.
OK, pink lego set with piano? Yes, that’s a tip jar or beverage cup that sits on it. So swanky…
I LOVE your pppppsssss’s post about the Death Star — esp that “no one is allowed to touch it”. My son has been saving his birthday money (and other donations that fall from the laundry basket, are found in couch cushions, etc) for 2 years. He drools over it at Lego stores and his lego magazine. Poor kid, by the time he saves the money, he’ll want to spend it on something else…
Okay… I was annoyed when they made girls Legos. With four boys I was like, really? You are going to make them for girls? Haven’t seen any polly pockets geared towards boys. Toy store aisles are throwing up girl stuff all over. Trust me. I cry every Christmas on the lack of choices. But then I remembered I liked Legos too….*sigh*
Oh, and you wil lose a hand around here if you dare touch ANY Lego creation without permission ;P