While I suppose I should be pleased and simply agree that it really is about time they made these toys, I am actually rather offended by Lego’s press release and the media coverage. STOP MAKING THIS SUCH A BIG DEAL!!! Just add the stupid figurines and get on with it. Sigh… And a good thing the “minifigures” look trendy so they can still go shopping and do housework, eh? Sheesh! (on the other hand, I will definitely have to buy the telescope and minifigure for my astrophysicist daughter…the hair almost matches, too)
From the ASEE aggregator:
New minifigures from Lego: trendy women in STEM careers
Abby Phillip writes in the Washington Post (6/5) “Style Blog” blog that LEGO approved designs for female scientist, paleontologist, and astronomer characters, giving the company, “at long last…female figurines who do something other than bake and hang out at the beach.” The designs came fro the LEGO Ideas online competition. Ellen Kooijman, who submitted the designs said she sough to address the “stereotypical representation” of women in LEGO figures. The Phillip presents the move as part of the effort to address the low number of women in Science Technology Engineering and Math jobs.
Boston.com (6/5, Salahi) reports LEGO’s Lego Friends series is aimed at girls, but “the female minifigures were designed in trendy outfits and accessories to go shopping, do housework, style hair, and bake.”
Also coveirng this story are the Huffington Post (6/6, Samakow) and NBC News (6/6, Wagstaff).
Katherina Tarnai-Lokhorst, P.Eng, FEC, FGC (hon) 