Hello & welcome to A Look at Disney. This past weekend, I went to the Lego store to pick up a birthday present for my niece, who is turning five in August. Knowing that she loves Disney Princesses, I got her Rapunzel's Creativity Tower.
And this time, I was more aware of something that is quite common. The boy's sets such as Marvel were in one section and towards the front of the store, while the princess sets such as the one I bought for my niece was towards the back of The Lego Store. Now one could argue that the store is just organizing the sets by which property they belong to and as with most stores are giving their newer and more popular brands, the spotlight by pushing them to the front of the store. This so much doesn't bug me as I get what the store is doing. No, it's something else that I've noticed with these princess sets that bugs me. Now not all stores but stores like my local Wal Mart tend to leave the princess sets off their Lego aisle and instead put them on the aisle for girl's toys aka the pink aisle. And this bugs me a little but because this is reinforcing the notion that we need to separate boy's toys and girl's toys. This is something that I've started to question as I've grown older. Why must we separate the two? After all, Rapunzel's Tower is a Lego toy and if stores have a Lego aisle, why can't it and the other princess sets be on the Lego aisle. I see no reason, why to keep the "girl's" sets isolated from every other set. You don't see the Marvel or Harry Potter sets on a different aisle in a store like Wal Mart or Target.
The notion of this is a boy's toy and this is a girl's toy is something that has been around for ages and that is in part what is most likely driving the decision to not put the "girl's" Lego sets on the Lego aisle at these stores because for as long as I can remember, public perception of Lego has been this is a boy's toy. I know of a lot of female Adult Fans of Lego (AFOL'S) that would dispute that but again, if these princess sets are made by Lego, shouldn't they be allowed to sit on the aisle that houses the bricks. I would think so and if a store were willing to take a set like Rapunzel's Tower or one of the Ariel sets and put it on the Lego aisle next to a Batman or Simpsons Lego set, I think that could send the message that these are just toys and gender should not matter. If I ran a toy store, that is what I would do.
Now, I don't know if that would actually work but I just think that we shouldn't separate toys like this and my first thought was maybe the coloring on the boxes for the sets should be unisex as it is clear that the boxes are using the colors that known to attract the gender most. With the princess sets, the boxes use the pinks and purples but the more I thought about it, that isn't the issue. I truly think that the issue here is that stores should not be making a divide with the toys like this as it is instilling the notion that is a "boy's toy" and this is a "girl's toy" That is something as society that I feel we need to get over. A toy is a toy is a toy. Yes, they may be designed to appeal to a boy or girl but if a boy wants to buy a Tangled or Little Mermaid, why shouldn't he be allowed to and by placing them on the "pink aisle", that most likely would make a boy feel awkward about wanting a set like this. Something we need to stop doing. We need to stop making children feel like they are freaks for wanting a toy that is supposedly meant for the opposite gender. A great example, just this week, McDonald's started releasing My Little Pony toys with their Happy Meals and I've heard of some young boys that wanted them and I see nothing wrong with that.
Though, they do still fall into the trap of this is a "girl's toy" by offering a boy's toy as well but they aren't turning away young boys and Bronies too that want these toys. At the end of the day, I just find it absurd that the "girl's" can't be on the same aisle as there the other Lego sets. Y'know going back to what I was saying about my trip to The Lego Store that inspired this, that is really the only place, I actually saw a princess set next to a supposed boy set as right next to the Tangled Lego set was a Batman set. Which I realize goes against what this entire article is about but again that appeared to be the exception. Why can't more stores do this? What are your thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments. Peace.
And this time, I was more aware of something that is quite common. The boy's sets such as Marvel were in one section and towards the front of the store, while the princess sets such as the one I bought for my niece was towards the back of The Lego Store. Now one could argue that the store is just organizing the sets by which property they belong to and as with most stores are giving their newer and more popular brands, the spotlight by pushing them to the front of the store. This so much doesn't bug me as I get what the store is doing. No, it's something else that I've noticed with these princess sets that bugs me. Now not all stores but stores like my local Wal Mart tend to leave the princess sets off their Lego aisle and instead put them on the aisle for girl's toys aka the pink aisle. And this bugs me a little but because this is reinforcing the notion that we need to separate boy's toys and girl's toys. This is something that I've started to question as I've grown older. Why must we separate the two? After all, Rapunzel's Tower is a Lego toy and if stores have a Lego aisle, why can't it and the other princess sets be on the Lego aisle. I see no reason, why to keep the "girl's" sets isolated from every other set. You don't see the Marvel or Harry Potter sets on a different aisle in a store like Wal Mart or Target.
The notion of this is a boy's toy and this is a girl's toy is something that has been around for ages and that is in part what is most likely driving the decision to not put the "girl's" Lego sets on the Lego aisle at these stores because for as long as I can remember, public perception of Lego has been this is a boy's toy. I know of a lot of female Adult Fans of Lego (AFOL'S) that would dispute that but again, if these princess sets are made by Lego, shouldn't they be allowed to sit on the aisle that houses the bricks. I would think so and if a store were willing to take a set like Rapunzel's Tower or one of the Ariel sets and put it on the Lego aisle next to a Batman or Simpsons Lego set, I think that could send the message that these are just toys and gender should not matter. If I ran a toy store, that is what I would do.
Now, I don't know if that would actually work but I just think that we shouldn't separate toys like this and my first thought was maybe the coloring on the boxes for the sets should be unisex as it is clear that the boxes are using the colors that known to attract the gender most. With the princess sets, the boxes use the pinks and purples but the more I thought about it, that isn't the issue. I truly think that the issue here is that stores should not be making a divide with the toys like this as it is instilling the notion that is a "boy's toy" and this is a "girl's toy" That is something as society that I feel we need to get over. A toy is a toy is a toy. Yes, they may be designed to appeal to a boy or girl but if a boy wants to buy a Tangled or Little Mermaid, why shouldn't he be allowed to and by placing them on the "pink aisle", that most likely would make a boy feel awkward about wanting a set like this. Something we need to stop doing. We need to stop making children feel like they are freaks for wanting a toy that is supposedly meant for the opposite gender. A great example, just this week, McDonald's started releasing My Little Pony toys with their Happy Meals and I've heard of some young boys that wanted them and I see nothing wrong with that.
Though, they do still fall into the trap of this is a "girl's toy" by offering a boy's toy as well but they aren't turning away young boys and Bronies too that want these toys. At the end of the day, I just find it absurd that the "girl's" can't be on the same aisle as there the other Lego sets. Y'know going back to what I was saying about my trip to The Lego Store that inspired this, that is really the only place, I actually saw a princess set next to a supposed boy set as right next to the Tangled Lego set was a Batman set. Which I realize goes against what this entire article is about but again that appeared to be the exception. Why can't more stores do this? What are your thoughts on this? Let me know in the comments. Peace.
Toys 'R' Us (at least in my area) also shelves all building toys together rather than cramming girl-oriented building toys in the same aisle as dolls and Easy-Bake ovens. Progress!
ReplyDeleteOf course, the fact that LEGO Friends started out in the "pink aisle" is one thing that helped it become successful. Before LEGO Friends, girls made up a measly 8% of the buying audience for LEGO products. This is partly because there was a really harmful stigma that construction toys are a boys' hobby. I have known multiple girls my age who love LEGO but only got to play with their brothers' LEGO as children because their parents and relatives wouldn't buy them any of their own. Parents and gift-givers with this mindset might not even step into the LEGO aisle if they're looking for a gift for a girl, so the best way to reach that audience (and hopefully, knock some sense into them) is to place some obviously girl-oriented building toys in the "pink aisle".
Thankfully, the success of franchises like LEGO Friends is doing a lot to combat that stigma. Hopefully one day there won't be any need for stores to shelve girl-oriented toys separately from boy-oriented or gender-neutral toys. I can't say with authority whether that day is here yet, but obviously Toys 'R' Us is beginning to think that it is, and I'd like to think they have some authority on the subject. Perhaps it won't be long before the big department stores follow suit.
That is great to hear and I have not been to Toys "R" Us in ages but I do hope that as you said the big department stores will eventually follow suit and start categorizing the building blocks toys together and I too have known of many girls that love Lego. Why, I recall reading in the book, Lego: A Love Story, that one of the Master Builders at Legoland in California was a female and she was one of the best but she got there against the odds as she was told by her teacher back in the third grade that working with Lego bricks is not a real job. I've seen Lego Friends and I've noticed that they have an online series that airs on Disney.com. It seems as if they are trying the MLP method and so far, it seems to be working. Again, I'm happy to hear that at least one store isn't segerating the toys.
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