Look at how Barbie dolls have evolved over the times: we have had the dolls represent different racial groups over time. Then we saw a wheelchair aided Barbie doll that was sensitive to people with mobility issues. Last year they released a group of 170 dolls that they said were the most inclusive ever. And now Lego has come out with an inclusive rainbow coloured toy set. Take a look:
Everyone is awesome said Lego and decided to make a toy that reflected this.
The LGBTQIA+ set reflects people of all kinds and people were appreciative.
As the differently-abled Barbie helped kids understand various different types of people and their abilities, these toys are perhaps doing the same.
Many parents think that it is a good idea for kids to learn early about non-binary sexualities and genders and a toy such as it is a good way to have an early introduction.
They felt that this one was great.
Some of the commentators pointed out that the figures are faceless. They expressed the view that adding facial features would help define racial variety and/or emotion whereas this seems somehow lacking.
People wondered why the pink figure seemed to have longer hair associated with girls and the blue figure seemed to be male. Is Lego still promoting the pink for girls and blue for boys stereotype?
Several comments pointed out that the toy box is marked 18+ and wondered why this is so.
This comment points out that sexuality and gender need to be introduced into the conversation with kids at much younger ages to remove confusion and help kids grow up healthy and well adjusted. It is not an 'adult' subject.
Some said that it is marked 18+ because this is a display piece. Others said that it is 18+ because it is not just a toy and is marketed at adults.
Cool, but not really a toy that can be played with, pointed out some.
Some people thought that this was meaningless virtue-signalling from the toy manufacturer and thought that the company would have done better to donate money to charities.
The bottom line is that the toy manufacturer Lego seems to want to do its bit to create awareness and acceptance for the LGBTQIA+ communities. If their Everyone is Awesome set helps in that endeavour, this is a good thing.
Do you have something interesting you would like to share? Write to us at [email protected]