Lego found that stereotypes are still hindering children
Lego has announced that it is going to start removing gender stereotypes from its toys after a major survey commissioned by the company found that attitudes towards playing with toys aimed at the opposite sex remained unequal.
According to the Guardian, the study found that while girls felt more confident and keen to engage in a wide range of activities and play with toys marketed towards the opposite sex, the same was not the case for boys.
More than two-thirds of boys surveyed said that they feared they would be made fun of if they played with ‘girls’ toys, something that was reciprocated by their parents.
Madeline Di Nonno, the chief executive of the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media which conducted the research, said: “Parents are more worried that their sons will be teased than their daughters for playing with toys associated with the other gender.
“But it’s also that behaviours associated with men are valued more highly in society. Until societies recognise that behaviours and activities typically associated with women are as valuable or important, parents and children will be tentative to embrace them.”
The survey spoke to almost 7,000 parents and children aged six to 14 from China, Czech Republic, Japan, Poland, Russia, the UK and the US.
It found that parents still encouraged sons to do sports or Stem activities (science, technology, engineering and math), while girls were five times more likely to be offered dance and dressing-up activities.
Lego commissioned the report for the UN International Day of the Girl on Monday October 11.
In response to the findings, Julia Goldin, the chief product and marketing officer at the Lego Group, said: “We’re working hard to make Lego more inclusive.
“Traditionally, Lego has been accessed by more boys, but products like [arts and crafts line] Lego Dots or Lego City Wildlife Rescue Camp have been specifically designed to appeal to boys and girls.”
Lego will no longer be labelling any of its products “for girls” or “for boys” and customers will no longer be able to search for toys by gender on Lego.com.
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