Why aren't there more "girl" themes?

[atmail35]

I've often wondered why Lego doesn't have more girl themes. I realize that boys probably wouldn't want "girl themes" - Disney princess, Hello Kitty etc, but I can't help but feel that Lego is missing on a big part of the market by not really catering to girls/females at all.

Sure there is Belleville, but IMO (as a female) it is LAME! I have a daughter who actually loves more traditionally "boy" themes like PotC, Cars 2. We do City, Creator.

Why are the female minifigs so lacking? CMF has 16 and they reserve 3 for females? Although I think I know the answer to that part, I saw a 10 year old boy buy 1 CMF (series 1) and got the cheerleader and he FREAKED out complaining he didn't want a girl fig, I should have offered to trade.

So I'm curious if anyone has any input or thoughts. I'd love to hear from other parents of girls as well.

[keland]

Wait until next year. They might surprise you.

[lukeskywalker]

Because lego tends to be a boy theme.

[durhamwitenite]

Generally Legos are geared more towards boys. However, I really think there is a market for girl themed LEGOs that Lego should capitalize on. I know my daughter loves playing with Legos as much as my boy.

[SpaceViking]

A few years ago (10 or more, I think) TLG did try to expand their product line to include more themes geared towards girls. "Clickits" was one of them, but there were maybe others. The attempt missed its mark, though, and was blamed as one of the reasons the company fell on hard times. To bring the company back into the black, they decided to focus on 'basics' [what are now City, Creator, and Castle], and cross-licensing [Star Wars]. The Belville-style sets were one of the few to survive the transition. [aside: an article about LEGO's turn around came out about a year ago that described most of this. Cant find it at the moment.] But I agree, the selection there is still quite limited. If demand was greater, we might see more variety.

I also agree that there is a larger market for girls building toys than I think Lego realizes. My wish is that they would leverage a 'girl' angle with the boy themes---for example: a princess castle, carriage with horses (decked out in PINK! of course), fairies, etc., to complement the current castle sets. Basically, sets to support a 'playful fantasy' to complement the 'good vs evil' stories that dominate the current line-up. Princesses go with Knights and Pirates just as well as Trolls and Soldiers do. The City line has some of this, with the farm sets from last year for example, but its not played up nearly as much as it could be.

And, I share your struggle. There are so many CMFs that appeal to boys, and so little for girls. My daughter was disappointed with Series 4, in that it only had 2-3 figs she wanted. Yet, my son and I thought it was the best series yet.

[vynsane]

I feel like CITY is relatively gender-neutral and Castle/Kingdoms can have the fantasy aspect that girls like. Apparently next year LEGO will have a girl-oriented product. It remains to be seen if it will follow the minifigure scale or have some sort of self-contained theme.

[lukeskywalker]

I feel like CITY is relatively gender-neutral and Castle/Kingdoms can have the fantasy aspect that girls like. Apparently next year LEGO will have a girl-oriented product. It remains to be seen if it will follow the minifigure scale or have some sort of self-contained theme.

My sister loves castle. The other themes, she doesn't really care for.

[atmail35]

I have bought some Kindoms/Castle sets as I think my daughter will enjoy those. She also likes Pirates. She is not really interested in Ninjago, Alien Conquest, Star Wars (although she just watched the movies and has peaked her interest - dangerous), Pharoah's Quest, Hero Factory or Bionicle. She has a few Atlantis sets (I got on super clearance).

I suppose Harry Potter is another more gender neutral theme, but she isn't familiar w/ HP.

I hope you are right vynsane about a girl-oriented product, I'm curious what it will be. Of course there is the pink brick box, but even that doesn't give you enough pink/purple bricks and those are hard to find.

I still think Lego is missing out on a huge population of kids though and more girls would be involved in Lego if they had a few more girl oriented items/themes or even more gender neutral.

My daughter would love a mermaid themed set that really focuses on mermaids and sea creatures.

I guess my point is that my daughter is a bit unusual as she does like some of the traditional "boy" themes, but she has many "girly" girl friends that have zero interest in Lego and I do think that is a tragedy ;). Lego is such a great toy for fine motor skills, problem solving, and other skills.

[vynsane]

My 4.5 y/o daughter plays with my Atlantis "Deep Sea Raider", Pharaoh's Quest "Flying Mummy Attack", "Golden Staff Guardians" and "Scarab Attack" and Alien Conquest "Alien Defender" and "Alien Striker" and whatever else she has lying around. The diver from the Atlantis set and the good guys from PQ are all trying to get the various jewels and treasure from the bad guys, who then call in the aliens for back-up but then they all become friends after they realize it was all a big misunderstanding and have a picnic.

My daughter is a REAL girly girl, too, so it's not that she's a tomboy, though she will sometimes argue with me that "LEGOs are for daddies, Polly Pockets and Princesses are for girls".

[atmail35]

My 4.5 y/o daughter plays with my Atlantis "Deep Sea Raider", Pharaoh's Quest "Flying Mummy Attack", "Golden Staff Guardians" and "Scarab Attack" and Alien Conquest "Alien Defender" and "Alien Striker" and whatever else she has lying around. The diver from the Atlantis set and the good guys from PQ are all trying to get the various jewels and treasure from the bad guys, who then call in the aliens for back-up but then they all become friends after they realize it was all a big misunderstanding and have a picnic.

My daughter is a REAL girly girl, too, so it's not that she's a tomboy, though she will sometimes argue with me that "LEGOs are for daddies, Polly Pockets and Princesses are for girls".

My daughter would play with any Lego set, but to curb spending I guess I don't encourage all sets ;) She gravitates towards City, PotC and Cars but if I brought out Atlantis or others I bet she would play with them. Maybe all my ranting is about what I want - LOL!

However I have seen my daughter on the floor playing with Cars diecast and the Power Miners Claw Catcher WHILE wearing full Princess dress-up - dress, shoes, tiara. Gotta love that!

And I HATE Polly Pocket with a passion....I thought Lego pieces were small, but those PP pieces always end up in the vacuum :twisted: I suppose it's because I care about Lego more and it generally is attached to each other.

[Luciant]

I suppose Harry Potter is another more gender neutral theme, but she isn't familiar w/ HP.

My daughter would love a mermaid themed set that really focuses on mermaids and sea creatures.

I guess my point is that my daughter is a bit unusual as she does like some of the traditional "boy" themes, but she has many "girly" girl friends that have zero interest in Lego and I do think that is a tragedy ;). Lego is such a great toy for fine motor skills, problem solving, and other skills.

1) I think HP is a great theme for both genders as there is many more 'female' figures, and it's not specifically geared toward fighting/battle.

2) I think a mermaid theme / fantasy theme would be a GREAT idea. Boys still would love these (and so would many AFOLs) to give diversity and more options.

3) I completely agree.... LEGO is such a great toy for the reasons you listed, but on the top of mine: Makes kids use something that a majority of them don't have any more thanks to Xbox/Video games: Imagination.

[NIGELTTF]

Yes, while "building" isn't going to appeal to as many girls as boys, it is that "wrong" scale that puts some girls off Belville. I thought Paradisia was a nice "slightly more towards girls but not all pink and princesses" theme, but that was years ago, and isn't quite different enough from city to warrant it own theme, a few girl heavy city things, one near impulse($7 to $11) and a mid size ($35 to $60) would help round out the line, and. A minifig scale mermaid theme would, IMHO sell well indeed.

Suggestions for a small girlie CITY set:
Veternarian, table and pet.
Windsurfer and sandcastle
Cupcake cart
Pink Convertible
Kareoke Party

Suggestions for a Medium CITY girlie set
Retro Cafe
Costume Shop/Fashion mall
Houseboat
Glamour Rockstar Stage
Beach Bungalo

[atmail35]

^^ I think these suggestions are great, NIGELTTF, my daughter would love these. I agree, if Lego tossed in a few "more girl-oriented", not necessarily "girlie", I think it would be successful.

An ice cream parlor or candy store with pastel colors would be great.
Ice Cream Truck

[koromo]

I've often wondered why Lego doesn't have more girl themes. I realize that boys probably wouldn't want "girl themes" - Disney princess, Hello Kitty etc, but I can't help but feel that Lego is missing on a big part of the market by not really catering to girls/females at all.

Sure there is Belleville, but IMO (as a female) it is LAME! I have a daughter who actually loves more traditionally "boy" themes like PotC, Cars 2. We do City, Creator.

Why are the female minifigs so lacking? CMF has 16 and they reserve 3 for females? Although I think I know the answer to that part, I saw a 10 year old boy buy 1 CMF (series 1) and got the cheerleader and he FREAKED out complaining he didn't want a girl fig, I should have offered to trade.

So I'm curious if anyone has any input or thoughts. I'd love to hear from other parents of girls as well.

There is an old story my parents like to retell of when I was a wee lad, before I had a younger sister, so around 3-4yo. That I was rather upset there were no girl legos, as in no girl minifigures. (mind you this was 1987). I wrote to TLG in crayon accompanied by a translation provided by my mother about my concerns. A reply came over the phone to my mother that she could buy that one huge castle that had the singular princess whose only discernable girlness was that ridiculous hat. That of course was not a feasible solution.
Later I received in the mail from TLG, two hair pieces, one black and one brown of the simple long hair piece. This made it possible to have female figures, be it race car drivers or astronauts. much later my parents found the city people pack that came with two more female figures including a doctor.

Then there was the pirate babe from the pirates mini-pack and then much later the first ever female spacer in Iceplanet 2002. Neither had hairpieces, but lipstick helped distinguish her from the others, not to mention the horde of Smilie-faced guys :)
Though we would continue to see a trend that a female character was usually found in only the largest of sets.

The current generation is spoiled with multiple facial expression and hair types. Imagine what is was like for a little tike who for a brief time thought legoland was devoid of all women?

[NIGELTTF]

^^ I think these suggestions are great, NIGELTTF, my daughter would love these. I agree, if Lego tossed in a few "more girl-oriented", not necessarily "girlie", I think it would be successful.

An ice cream parlor or candy store with pastel colors would be great.
Ice Cream Truck

I bought a Icecream truck from:

http://www.me-models.com/store/product_ ... 8fqml2q513" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[pterribilis]

Guess you can't make everyone happy. Perhaps if Lego had 50% more girl themes some people would say that it encouraged homosexuality because the girls had too many girl characters to play with. My wife and I like our legos and never has she made a comment about how many men/women minifigs there were or if the set was themed more for women vs men.

[lukeskywalker]

Guess you can't make everyone happy. Perhaps if Lego had 50% more girl themes some people would say that it encouraged homosexuality because the girls had too many girl characters to play with.

I highly doubt that anyone would be that ridiculous.

Perhaps if they continue world racers, They could have a girl team.

[pterribilis]

I wonder what they would look like? Would it be like the japanese women or blondes from F&F or would it be a few tanned women with tattoos and piercings driving Civics or Mustangs.

What about Barbie? Why aren't there more Barbie themes for guys? I hated my sister's barbie's I would pull their heads off and pile them in my castle dungeon's. I just thought...wth is the fun with barbie's you can't do anything with them, sure you could strip them down naked and pretend that they are getting jiggy with Ken but that gets old after about two seconds of laughing. Anyway...if you like something be happy with it...if not find something that does make you happy.

[vynsane]

Perhaps if they continue world racers, They could have a girl team.

I wish they would have continued WR. An all girl-driver team would be awesome, like the Flying Foxes from Speed Racer.

[legitimatealex]

I think it has to do with a sort of traditional bias against girls in math and science. People stereotype boys growing up to be engineers and doctors, woman as nurses and schoolchildren. I don't know why they do this. My niece absolutely loves playing with LEGO and she builds until her heart's content.

You can really see this in the City theme especially. The females are completely random with no real assigned roll or they are a nurse or something stereotypical. Beyond this though there tend to be very very few females in any other lines. Looking back on the recent lines, Pirates had two females, the pirate and the Admiral's daughter. Kingdoms had the Princess and the Queen. The new Kingdoms has a Princess and a Queen. Pretty much every line will have one or two token females.

The only place I cannot find real discrimination against females is in the Collectible Minifigures and the licensed sets. The CMFs do better with this because they make characters after iconic roles with real life inspiration. For the licensed sets, TLG basically has their arm twisted to make all the characters in the movie or franchise, resulting in a higher amount of female characters. Harry Potter is probably best indicative of this. Quite a few female characters are there. Same can be said of Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones set basically required at least one woman in each set.