Subject:
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Re: Men vs. Women
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Thu, 6 Feb 2003 22:11:46 GMT
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Viewed:
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180 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, David Koudys writes:
> In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Scott Costello writes:
> > As I roam through the vast halls of this community that is Lugnet, I am
> > continually struck with the fact that males members and participants tend to
> > out number females by a very high margin. This is also reflected in the
> > ratio of people that in our local Lug, and train club; even Brickswest had a
> > ratio of at least 4 to 1. So I have been wondering why this is, what is it
> > about the brick that seems more attractive to males than females.
> >
> > My first thought is to examine the core differences between what each gender
> > enjoys more. Last night upon looking for new storage techniques, I came
> > across several scrap booking sites. This is a hobby that my several women
> > in my family including my wife enjoy very much, and there is an expo coming
> > up locally soon. In these expos the ratio is inversely weighted towards
> > females. In college I majored in English, and was almost always outnumbered
> > by my female colleges, while my best friend was a history major who saw few
> > women in his classes. Why do they call romantic comedies “Chick Flicks”? All
> > these things simply point out that sometimes interests are driven somewhat
> > by gender.
> >
> > What bothered me mostly about this though is the fact that during my stint
> > as a Kay Bee Toys employee, we considered Lego toys to be gender neutral,
> > and they were kept in the aisle next to the games and puzzles. Hardcore
> > feminists may disagree with me, but it is commonly considered that G.I. Joe,
> > He-Man, and toy guns are boys toys, and Barbie, baby dolls, and dress up
> > stuff are more girls toys. Cars, trains and video games existed in a sort of
> > gray area, but leaned more toward males than females. Why then would a toy,
> > which is in most stores retailed as gender neutral, seem to be enjoyed more
> > by boys than girls?
> >
> > TLC has made several “outreach” attempts to attract female consumers, but
> > never really have captured that demographic. I always thought it was a
> > little insulting that a company would believe that in order to attract girls
> > you must color everything pink. So I look to all of you to help answer the
> > question that I cannot, why do are there more male AFOL’s than female.
> > Please don’t respond with the “I’m a girl and I like Lego” line, I know
> > there are female fans, I do not discredit your existence, I merely question
> > why there are not more like you out there in the world.
> >
> > Scott
>
> I don't know if it starts when we're young. Thank goodness my sister grew
> up with her brothers 'casue she was basically a 'tom boy' (old euphimism
> definging a girl who doesn't do 'girlish things'--archaic to be sure...) and
> she was with us in the sand box, the tree house and playing with LEGO.
>
> She's also the only relative of mine who supported my LEGO addiction thru my
> teens and 20's, buying me sets for Christmas, whilst the rest of the family
> said I should 'give it up and grow up'.
>
> But she was an exception--all my female cousins played 'Barbie' and such
> stuff, and they all seemd a little 'prissy' to me. Now that everyone's 'all
> growed up', my sister goes for 1 month canoe trips, rides horses, hikes,
> camps, and does all sorts of groovy wonderful things (and I haven't seen her
> in a dress these past 2 decades, except for that wedding dress she was in a
> few years back), whilst my other female relatives enjoy 'hotel camping • trips'...
>
> I dunno, maybe it's how we treat our kids while they're kids.
>
> As to the ratio of male/female enjoying our hobby, again I think it comes
> because LEGO sets are given mostly as a 'boys gift'--boys are "expected" to
> like construction and all that stuff.
>
> I still remember a few Christmases ago, my sister came home (from BC) and we
> got to talking and she all of a sudden said, "You know that there are *pink*
> LEGOs now?" She was at a friends house, and her friend had young kids, boy
> and girl, and what, Paradisa or Scala... whatever... Pink. My sister was
> absolutely horrified! "Feminizing LEGO", she mentioned.
>
> I won't tell her that I have a LEGO doll sitting in my 8448--she'd probably
> throttle me thru the phone ;)
>
> Dave K
As a father of two a girl and a boy, I have managed to raise two lego mainiacs.
When I first started buying lego for my kids, I started out with a few of the
now infamous blue tubs. At the time I bought the tubs, my daughter was 5 and my
son was 3.
I know that sounds very young, but both of my children developed fine motor
skills early. They are both gifted in art as well so lego was a natural
progression for their creativity.
My daugter did not take to the plain buidling blocks at all, she was much more
interested in Barbie etc... It was not until I found a few of those unpopular
Paradisa sets that she showed any interest in lego. When I gave her the
Paradisa lego with its pink highlights and large windows, she played with them
almost every day.
We then discovered the Belville Fairy Tale line on the Shop at Home site and I
prompty bought those sets for her birthday. These were greeted quite
excitedly and all of her friends are quite jealous that she has "Girl" lego. I
have had several parents call and ask me where they could buy these sets and
when I have told them they are only available from the Shop at Home site, most
of them are quite disappointed. I am not sure about the availability of
Belville outside of Canada, but not even specialty stores have them here. With
lines like Jack Stone and Alpha Team wasting retail space, I am surprised that
Belville has not been offered to the retail market. I am pretty sure my
daughter will look back fondly at her years of lego play and she may even
become an AFOL, but in the same turn I am sure many of her friends will never
become AFOLs. None of the birthday parties I have brought my daughter to have
had any type of lego given to those same girls who really wanted the sets I
bought my daughter.
Now I know some people have said that lego should not be marketed to girls in
pink boxes, and full of pink bricks, but I say that is exactly how it should be
marketed. As a parent who does not raise my children with the "girl toy" and
"boy toy" idea, it did not take my daugter long to decide that pink fairy
princess lego was more fun to her than Star Wars and Harry Potter. Both my
kids have Harry Potter lego, but it is my son who plays and builds with them.
My daughter over the last year has given my son most of her Harry Potter lego.
A quote from her:" I don't need this lego, its not pretty enough anyway."
My son on the other hand loved the basic bricks, Harry Potter, Star Wars and
the Shell sets and he spends hours almost every day building with them. I feel
fortunate he has no love for Bionicle, Galidor and Jack Stone, but I fell
pretty sure he will be a lifelong fan of lego.
Our local group here in Calgary has about 12 members and only one female
member, she is more of a collector than a builder though.
I am not sure what can be done to bring more women into the AFOL community, but
selling lines like Belville at retail might be a way to spark some interest.
William
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Men vs. Women
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| (...) I don't know if it starts when we're young. Thank goodness my sister grew up with her brothers 'casue she was basically a 'tom boy' (old euphimism definging a girl who doesn't do 'girlish things'--archaic to be sure...) and she was with us in (...) (21 years ago, 6-Feb-03, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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