SocImages News:
A proud father shared with us a letter written by his daughter, 7 year old Charlotte, to the LEGO company. She asked for for more female minifigs and more adventure for girls. We put the letter out on social media this week and it’s been re-tweeted over 1,000 times and shared over 3,000 times on Facebook. This is how social media can be used to put pressure on companies to change. Huzzah!
Well done Charlotte and big thanks to Dad!
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Social Media:
This is your monthly reminder that SocImages is on Twitter, Facebook,Tumblr, Google+, and Pinterest. I’m on Facebook and most of the team is on Twitter: @lisawade, @gwensharpnv, @familyunequal, and @jaylivingston.
In other news…
Stay warm New Orleans! I’m arriving on Monday and I expect you to be hospitable!
If you’re in the city, I’d love to get together! I’ll be there through Mardi Gras. Send an email to socimages@thesocietypages.org and I’ll be in touch!
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 154
Anna — February 1, 2014
Ha ha. Someone has clearly never spent time around 7 year old children. I narily believe for one second that this letter came out of the little 7 year old's girl own thoughts and initiative. Her way of conceptualizing and articulating these ideas were clearly planted in her by adults. Cue the people jumping in to claim they had exactly the same thoughts at that age. I don't believe you either. This is not how cognition works at that age. If you want to address how gender differences in toys affect girls, there are a lot of genuine ways to do that without resorting to disingeniously sentimental stuff like this. And please, enough with sociologists being oblivious to child development.
Bea Houseoffashion — February 2, 2014
Anyone skeptical about this letter has not spent time with the new generation. They are intelligent kids.
Gerson — February 3, 2014
I'm puzzled about the whole thing?
A girl didn't like the pink LEGO because it's being portrait as too pinky and too girly, then isn't it obviously just to buy the traditional LEGO involve with car, planes and machines etc etc?
The whole intentions of playing with LEGO is about building stuff easily regardless of child's gender. The whole reason of making LEGO targeting specifically at young girl is most probably because they (LEGO) may have marketing feedback that their traditional LEGO are predominately build by boys and hence they want to increase their market shares i.e more business by making LEGO specifically to attract young girls to build stuff.
Seriously they already have it. You just have to chose the one they want. In fact if the girl didn't like it then why the parents buy them at the first place?
I'm puzzled!
surepeter — February 4, 2014
Imagine a boy would write a letter to Mattel, that he wants more masculine and boy oriented Barbie dolls - everyone would laugh their asses off and he would be marked as gay. Thats what we call equal rights for everyone... All i see are girls/women who want more for themself and less for boys/men.
Amy — February 4, 2014
All the rebloggers are idiots who don't bother to factcheck. LEGO Friends, the current girls themed LEGO world, has girls working in science labs, flying airplanes, learning karate, or work in animal shelters.
Yes there are sets where the girls hang out on the beach, but you can get the other stuff for your daughter if you bothered to check.
checkmate — February 19, 2014
http://staedter-forum.de/index.php?s=0ceadf72a33965d3a8eb31181fdd5a854604f525
LamAquatique — August 4, 2014
Transcript :
1-25-14
Dear Lego company :
My name is Charlotte I am 7 years old and I love legos but I don't like that there are more lego boy people and barely any lego girls. today I went to a store and saw legos in two sections The pink (girls) and the blue (boys). All the girls did was sit at home, go to the bead, and shop, and they had no jobs but the boys went on adventures, worked, saved people, and had jobs, even swam with sharks.. I want you to make more lego girl people and let them go on adventures and have fun ok !?!
Thank you.
from Charlotte.
Charlotte benjamin
El — August 4, 2014
I'm not understanding what the problem with the letter is. Why is everyone surprised that the child writes so 'well'? If the parents wished to instill any values in the kid, they'd properly have gone over her letter writing. If my children wanted to write a letter to a company, you'd better believe that I'd be teaching them how to use punctuation and grammar. I doubt that any letter FULLY written by a child would be taken very seriously - as it probably wouldn't make much sense.
Connie Jones — December 4, 2014
am i the only one who doesnt think this is advanced for a seven year old? the handwriting looks like a toddler only just learning to write.