Feminist Frequency needs a fact check?

[Ragsnstitches]

All lego body parts are completely interchangeable.
If you don't have enough female lego characters you simply haven't bought enough female heads.

Spoiler: Lego Belville minifigs

Spoiler: Lego Friends minifigs

2 series specifically targeted at girls. Not the only ones either.

 

[Fappy]

I am so confused... since when did Lego have any social or political relevance? Why is this even an issue?

 

[Zydrate]

I thought her videos were, for the most part, pretty fair. She occasionally points out when something does well (And thus, gives credit when it's due), and usually offers a couple different solutions to things.

I found her Lego videos the best she had because it was pretty even. Her research showed that they USED to be gender-neutral, and just wished they'd go back to that.

Overall, Feminism has a bit of a publicity issue. We... are working on that :/

 

[Smeatza]

All lego body parts are completely interchangeable.
If you don't have enough female lego characters you simply haven't bought enough female heads.

Spoiler: Lego Belville minifigs

Spoiler: Lego Friends minifigs

2 series specifically targeted at girls. Not the only ones either.

I'm not of the belief that targeting a product to a specific audience is sexism in itself.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Guise, problem A exists so we have to ignore problem B until we've fixed problem A. There's absolutely no possible way we could identify and propose solutions to both problems. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dichotomy]

Oh no, a smart arse reply. Whatever shall I do.

I know, i'll point out again that her rant was over LEGO .... LEGO.

Not anything remotely connected to a specific gender argument. It's fucking LEGO.

Is there anything less sexist that coloured building bricks?

My point, that seemed to have wooshed slowly over your head, is that this is a feminist debating LEGO and not anything that furthers gender equality.

The point of Feminist Frequency's 'Tropes vs. Women', isn't meant to further gender equality in a straightforward sense. It's meant to make people more aware of gender stereotypes against women that are, usually, reinforced in movies, TV shows, video games and the like.

However, that kind of awareness can go a long way depending on the person, and depending on what made you aware of the problem in the first place.

More than anything, the videos are meant to make you think. Which they certainly made me do. Besides, there's many different problems when it comes to sexism and gender inequality, besides employment problems, which I have no doubt are myriad.

Some people do what they can in any way they can to help solve a problem. The woman behind the videos? This might just be her way to contribute. Don't begrudge someone that.

 

[Nimzabaat]

Just because no one bothered to post the videos and given the tendency for people to just run off of an OPs rant, I figure why not actually put some actual content into this *cough* discussion *cough*.

Beyond this, I'm staying out... this is going to hit the fan real quick.

EDIT:

I'm just going to add that I worked in a toy shop for a few months and we were specifically trained to promote the Pink Lego boxes for girls and dissuade selling them Blue Boxes, since the Blue lego boxes were selling so fast we couldn't keep stock. Also, fuck all bought the Pink boxes.

Basically, we didn't want girls to have blue boxes because the boys only went for blue boxes. Despite the fact that plenty of girls actually wanted blue boxes.

Yup. Nothing wrong here.

Thanks for posting the videos. Has anyone else noticed that there is a female Lego character holding up the "no girls" sign? Well I mean, it's Lego, it could be a girl with a shaved head and no makeup. It's all in how your own personal bias works

Captcha: flat foot, was I detecting something?

 

[Ragsnstitches]

All lego body parts are completely interchangeable.
If you don't have enough female lego characters you simply haven't bought enough female heads.

Spoiler: Lego Belville minifigs

Spoiler: Lego Friends minifigs

2 series specifically targeted at girls. Not the only ones either.

I'm not of the belief that targeting a product to a specific audience is sexism in itself.

Did you watch the videos? The disparity in current marketing, compared to the original marketing of Lego products, is pretty striking and far from accidental incidental.

 

[Zydrate]

I'd like to add that I have a lego table right behind me, in my room. I have a base under siege, and it's fun.
I actually write stories based on my world in lego... And the problem comes from the fact that all of my stories are pretty much dark and gritty. Why? Because I barely have a choice! Those are the only serious sets I can get my hands on!

I'd love a normally-colored Cafe so that my heroes can take a damn break for once.

 

[Daverson]

But, if you don't like that the cop is a dude, you can just swap out some of his parts to make it a girl? Personally, I think we should be more concerned what Lego teaches kids about surgery, rather than what it teaches them about gender roles!

 

[MrMan999]

How could Lego's be sexist? Last I checked Lego people had no sex to speak of aside from the hair pieces.

 

[Zydrate]

How could Lego's be sexist? Last I checked Lego people had no sex to speak of aside from the hair pieces.

...Watch the videos, please. Then you'll be informed enough to post.

 

[MrMan999]

EDIT:

I'm just going to add that I worked in a toy shop for a few months and we were specifically trained to promote the Pink Lego boxes for girls and dissuade selling them Blue Boxes, since the Blue lego boxes were selling so fast we couldn't keep stock. Also, fuck all bought the Pink boxes.

Basically, we didn't want girls to have blue boxes because the boys only went for blue boxes. Despite the fact that plenty of girls actually wanted blue boxes.

Yup. Nothing wrong here.

and thats something that baffles me.
why has to be almost every fucking thing aimed at women got to be friggin pink.

Pink=Feminine according to marketers. I think its pretty stupid. Everyone knows Real Men wear pink.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

What irritates me the most is the things people pick on to make a statement of "sexism".

LEGO for christs sake.

Issues like job equality, same pay rate and the like? No, fuck that, lets have a bash at little plastic bricks you make things with. That is clearly a huge issue.

And herein lies my issue with extreme feminists.

9 times out of 10 anything they have to say is complete horseshit and not worth the paper i'd use to wipe my arse with. The other one left over is usually a topic so hilariously stupid it's worth reading for a giggle.

Feminists that fight for equal right, all good. Extreme feminists that are bat shit nuts, not worth wasting the time it takes to hear them out.

To say nothing of semantics. "No we can't call them Alderman anymore because it has 'man' in it." *facepalm*

And as for Lego, it's not as though those figurines aren't pretty gender f*ing neutral anyway. For most sets the only way to tell that a figure is supposed to be male is because it has some stubble on the head or a full on mustache.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

I'd like to add that I have a lego table right behind me, in my room. I have a base under siege, and it's fun.
I actually write stories based on my world in lego... And the problem comes from the fact that all of my stories are pretty much dark and gritty. Why? Because I barely have a choice! Those are the only serious sets I can get my hands on!

I'd love a normally-colored Cafe so that my heroes can take a damn break for once.

You're in luck!

http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/6376_Breezeway_Caf%C3%A9

Actually that's quite an old model, I got it when I was about 10, but Lego is full of these completely neutral sets that would do either a boy or a girl, you just have to look for them.

Alternatively, just build your own. You have the technology.

On topic: Yeah, a lot of what she says is wrong (That Cafe I linked existing for the apparently boy-orientated lego city with male Chef refutes one of her arguments in the first vid) But the point she raises isn't necessarily a bad one. More purples and pinks in regular sets wouldn't be a bad thing, and less stereotypically female orientated sets that are incompatible with regular lego figures would be better than creating a parallel, segregated set through small incompatibilities and lathered with pink.

 

[Don Savik]

I am so confused... since when did Lego have any social or political relevance? Why is this even an issue?

Because she wants to make it an issue. I think she's gotten to the point were she is starting to see everything not gender-neutral as sexist. I've seen quite a few dedicated feminists start to think this way, and its quite sad.

Nothing is stopping girls from buying the "guy legos" and the "guy legos" aren't sexualizing women. Who cares if it gets marketed to boys more because more boys buy legos anyways and they probably view it as a bigger income base.

But remember, the more controversial stuff on her channel, the more views. More views = more revenue = more money.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Pink=Feminine according to marketers. I think its pretty stupid. Everyone knows Real Men wear pink.

Yeah, just ask Vegeta:

 

[Zydrate]

I'd like to add that I have a lego table right behind me, in my room. I have a base under siege, and it's fun.
I actually write stories based on my world in lego... And the problem comes from the fact that all of my stories are pretty much dark and gritty. Why? Because I barely have a choice! Those are the only serious sets I can get my hands on!

I'd love a normally-colored Cafe so that my heroes can take a damn break for once.

You're in luck!

http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/6376_Breezeway_Caf%C3%A9

Actually that's quite an old model, I got it when I was about 10, but Lego is full of these completely neutral sets that would do either a boy or a girl, you just have to look for them.

Nice! But it'd be out of place among all my other sets which are hyper-detailed.

If they brought THAT back with their current "graphics" (Hehe) ...the chick from FemFreq and I would be pleased.

 

[Zydrate]

I tried, but I couldn't get past 5 minutes of her.

So you remain uninformed.

Lego isn't being intentionally sexist, they're mostly just adapting to the sexism that already exists

...And that's 'okay' to you?

 

[irani_che]

this is a problem with alot of feminist groups,
they porduce figures that just seem exagerated or overboard or just dont add up. especially on unpleasant straw man topics like rape

and no one is callous enough to question them

 

[nasteypenguin]

The concern I have with feminists using these advertisement arguments is that it is not a female only issue. Many feminist issues are agreeably prominent because women have received poorer treatment because of it, but if things are marketed towards girls that must mean other things are marketed towards boys. Since the sexist ideas that girls like some things and boys like other things exist, they cancel each other out as far as importance is concerned. It's not a feminist issue, its a sexist issue.

It is a sexist problem, but I think using this specific argument as a device for proving women are unfairly treated is wrong.