There has been an ongoing conversation about an important topic (that branched out into several topics) at the LEGO Ambassador Network that I thought to share here as well. Maybe you have some ideas and insights that will help with finding solutions or at least gaining further clarity.
The subject started out when some of the LEGO blogs and news sites were looking to add additional members to their editorial team. Some of these fan sites are trying to transition from a one-man show to a team-based operation, while others already have a team but they want to diversify. This call-to-action by the Brothers-Brick is one of the recruiting efforts happening right now and is a good example of the subject.
There has been much discussion on the most effective methods of recruiting and keeping dedicated contributors. This includes clearly communicating expectations, guidelines for performing various duties, any perks that contributors and team members might receive, how to delegate tasks, how to manage a local or international team, and more.
The conversation also veered into the direction of why it is that most LEGO fan sites and local LEGO User Groups tend to have a mostly homogenous membership, even when they do want to reach out and actively engage a wider demographic. This then turned into a discussion on what is the role of the LEGO Group in the demographics they have been attracting and what they could do to be more inclusive.
Another LEGO blogger and ambassador who is currently actively recruiting new team members is 19-year-old Alex Johnson from the U.K. who runs the website Tips & Bricks. Through discussions with other LEGO fans and ambassadors, he got inspired to tackle some pretty big issues and start gathering data from the LEGO fan community. Alex wanted to share the following with the LEGO fan community:
Hi everyone, while I was in the process of interviewing potential contributors for my blog, I spoke to other LEGO fans and we ended up discussing numerous issues surrounding diversity and inclusion within the adult LEGO fan community. This – alongside personally encountering a number of issues from gender equality to racial discrimination within the hobby, whilst running my blog over the past 3 years – lead us to discuss starting a new initiative that aims to address some of these areas.
Thus, Tips & Bricks, alongside other organizations such as The Women’s Brick Initiative, GayFOLs, and more, is starting an initiative that aims to tackle the wider diversity and inclusion issues within the adult LEGO fan community. At this stage, we are looking to collect as much information and experiences as possible that relate to diversity and inclusion within the adult LEGO fan community. This could be on anything, big or small, that people feel is worth sharing.
We would therefore like to ask if LEGO User Groups could please share the following form to their groups. Anyone can use it to anonymously submit an issue they have experienced or heard about in the adult LEGO fan (AFOL) community: AFOL Diversity & Inclusion Anonymous Report Form
What do you think? Have you ever experienced any issues in regards to diversity and inclusion in the LEGO hobby? How do you think the LEGO Group and LEGO fan communities could be of service? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!
I will have to think about this, but my initial reaction is that I hope Lego won’t be taken over by political correctness. They should stay out of politics, including social issues. Many of us turn to Lego to escape all the craziness that already permiates our lives. Keep Lego simple, chidllike, beautiful.
I wish there was a thumbs-up on this site for just this sort of thing. You are 100% correct. Keep Lego fun, not woke.
Translated: “LEGO already includes me, why does it need to include other people? That would make it political and ruin my fun!”
I couldn’t agree with this more – I can’t “escape” into a world that doesn’t include people like me. Being a person of color (for example) isn’t “political”. How can Lego be “childlike” if there are plenty of children who don’t and can’t see themselves in the figures? That’s not being simple and childlike, that’s willful ignorance.
Yeah, sorta like that. For some people, their mere existence is a provocation…
Jack, we love to hear your thoughts and opinion on the subject, but please keep it considerate. We have readers here from all over the world, and based on their own personal situation and experience, they may have different thoughts on the subject. Be kind. Thank you. 🙂
Thita, I think Jack’s replies in the rest of the comments have seriously crossed the line!
Yeah, not sure if it’s serious or just provocations, but it should probably be dealt with, either way…
Thanks, Vector and Hakan for bringing this to my attention. I have censored some of the comments, and I’m keeping an eye on future ones. This topic requires more monitoring than usual, which was sort of expected.
Keep sharing and exploring the subject as I know Alex is also reading your comments. They are helping him gather valuable data for his research. And of course, you can also send in any thoughts and concerns you may have anonymously through the linked report form.
I’m closely monitoring the comments as I know this subject can be sensitive. I sent a friendly reminder to Jack to keep his comments civil and I also censored some of the more troublesome ones. If the line gets crossed again, I can put his comments under moderation. Keep brainstorming and keep being awesome! 🙂
Lego is a company from Denmark. Let’s keep that in our minds, that which should be an obvious fact. I love Legos and always have. I’m also of a very mixed background (that’s “race” to some, but there’s only one race to me) and a perfect example of the mixing pot that is the “New World” and I could care less that they are from Denmark and represent the majority of their figures as yellow-faced white people. I think a lot of people are butt-hurt too easily and unfortunately just catching up to social issues too late in life. I guess we all can’t have the same perspective and have the same open-mindedness or life education. And isn’t that what makes the world interesting? Our differences; not getting offended about something that is so suface level.
No what makes Denmark Denmark is the PEOPLE. You are brainwashed into thinking otherwise. Globohomo will not win.
I agree with Daniel.
In my LEGO city, all my minifigures are YELLOW — not black or white. And I will try to keep it that way.
I think LEGO should stay away from politics, social issues, etc.
Please keep it as innocent as possible.
And you don’t think “as innocent as possible” means including everyone?
As innocent as possible means keeping race out of LEGO. There are no white people now in LEGO city, nor should there ever be, there are no black people now, nor should there ever be. The goal should be just the suggestion of a person. Your skin color doesn’t have to be the defining part of your character
The yellow figures *do* represent Caucasians, though. So Lego City is technically whiter than mayonnaise in a blizzard. See link in my handle.
As a heteronormative white male, I think that the world has changed significantly since I began playing with LEGO toys in the 1970s. LEGO has been slowly addressing gender and skin tone (hey, we’re part of the human race) equity and equality in their products. However, we as fans of LEGO have often been hostile (intentionally or otherwise) to anyone who doesn’t look, behave, believe, etc. like “us.”
I know I have been guilty of this, but I’m trying to improve. I try to judge other builders by their work, rather than by physical attributes or beliefs (I’m not always successful at the latter).
This is an interesting conversation. I see more and more women and people of different races, ethnicities, and age groups enjoying the hobby. I don’t know the issues clubs might run into as I was never a member of a Lug (we don’t have any in our area.)
Lego finally made a wheelchair after all these years, although it’s still very rare. It’s important for kids with disabilities to be able to see themselves in lego. Glasses, hearing aids, casts for broken arms and legs should be more abundant. Playmobil is very good at this. Lego is getting better, but they still have room for improvement.
I know Lego minifigs supposed to represent all races and skin colors, but they only really work to represent light skin. I wish they made other skin colors more available. It’s so hard to find darker minifig heads.
Well, yeah, sorta… This is a thorny matter, but the official statement is that the yellow skin color just is a neutral representation…
Exactly! This is key. No figure should be any color. The yellow tone represents this idea perfectly. One world of humans. Who cares about color?
I always found it interesting that Duplo always had skin color figures instead of yellow. I wonder why. Duplo was also the first to include a wheelchair and crutches, and they have far more animals than system Lego.
Remember that Lego was mostly a construction toy. Minifigs, animals, and plants were mainly additional props. It’s only in recent years that minifigs became so popular and now people collect them, customize them, use them as avatars, etc.
@Brickmaster, while I can’t speak about the matter of crutches, casts, etc, I can say that System needs more animals. I have a project on LEGO IDEAS, which if it passes review, ever, I hope LEGO might include more animals. https://ideas.lego.com/projects/8b153541-1956-42b7-bfec-a8f31755bc7e
Lego never makes new molds for Ideas sets, sadly…
I commend these afols for doing this, as I believe their heart is in the right place, but I’m afraid it might attract the wrong crowd. The people who argue everything for the sake of arguing, and feel offended on behalf of people who aren’t even offended. Lookup a guy named J.P. and his “how to be a woke white person” video.
I would hate to see the yellow minifig going away, but I agree with others who say that we really need more skin colors. They could possibly keep yellow for the classic themes like creator and classic, and use normal skin colors for other themes. Or, they could release generic minifig heads in different colors and make it available at Lego stores and online.
I enjoy the hobby by myself. I build by myself, and I display stuff in my home. Lego is my escape, and my Lego room is my sanctuary. I’m not part of a club or anything like that. I assume many people are similar.
I remember in the past people keeping the hobby private because “adults shouldn’t be playing with toys”. So if anything, the discrimination was against adults. I haven’t heard of any discrimination against specific races or genders. Is this a real issue?
It’s very interesting, that for a while Lego had only a few female minifigures. Then they came up with more female Minifigures to mix in with the male minifigures. Now Lego ( just in the recent couple years) has both male and female doing the same jobs ( astronaut, firefighter, police officer, and a doctor). Of which I think it’s great that Lego is getting with the times. The only time I can remember having skin toned mini figures was in Star Wars and then later on in Pirates of the Caribbean,Lord of the Rings ,The Hobbit and so on. Then Lego got into characters like Lando and War Machine ( both of which are African American). Let’s not forget the lone ranger and the Native Americans . They got there skin tone right. Yes, I’m finally happy to see wheelchairs for disabled people as well as crutches for the minifigures. I think maybe Lego should slow down on their improving of buildings or houses sets and focus more on Minifigures and skin tones. I have a feeling that that’s in the works, because , if enough people piont this out to Lego. Then maybe they will change it. It’s interesting that the only theme that seems to fit is ninjago. Well sort of. I agree that it is a ” balance on the wire situation”. To try and not to offend anyone.
I’m glad the discussion here has been remaining civil. I have seen some similar articles on Brickset a while back and they had to close the comment section.
I remember the controversy about the Friends minidolls. Older Afols said, why do we need minidolls? Why can’t girls play with minifigs? But Lego spent a billion dollars on research and had real data; girls wanted “normal” figures. LEGO Friends became an instant hit and attracted girls who never cared for Lego before. Some Afols are still grumbling about this, although less than before.
Perhaps Lego can do similar research and make similar changes to be more inclusive to other demographics without alienating their core fanbase. There is room for yellow minifigs, peach skinned minifigs, minifigs with dark features, purple aliens, minidolls, monsters and everyone else.
I agree, Ian. Remember the Lego movies 1 + 2 and how it doesn’t matter what color, age or species you are. We can all work together or build together to be more accurate. I forgot to mention that Lego even included the elderly in minifigures. LOL!
Since this isn’t about what LEGO produces or what it doesn’t produce, it seems to me like making it an issue, makes it an issue. I don’t think sites should have to think about the ethnicity etc. of who they have contribute. It shouldn’t matter. Shouldn’t be excluding people or including them based on facts about them that they can’t change and aren’t responsible for (what all that includes is a different discussion of course).
(Now, deciding how many female vs. male minifigures to manufacture etc. is a whole different ball game, some choice obviously has to be made. I’m not gonna worry my head about it, I don’t call those shots. But yes, LEGO should make more animals. 😀 )
I want people to look at me and see my work, see my attitude, see my personality, and judge me and place me based on that. I don’t want a privileged position because I’m a woman in an age that’s reacting against a (real or unreal) perceived disadvantage for women. An even playing field is fine. Let’s not skew it in the other direction.
So to me, if you’re sitting down and counting out how many of this, how many of that, you have on your team, you have a problem. I don’t care where your bias lies, for me or against me, or even if you’re just trying to avoid a bias (which is pretty near impossible, once you start thinking in terms of these categories). These things are just not relevant distinguishing marks between people when it comes to contributing to a LEGO website.
And this is why, if you haven’t been thinking in these terms and you have a “non-diverse” team, you shouldn’t let the diversity police get under your skin. They come in and look at your team and see colors and genders and so forth. You see people. You’re the one that’s seeing the right thing.
Two cents. 🙂 It’s a thorny issue and I think sometimes well-meaning people make things worse by encouraging others to think in these categories when the whole point is that we shouldn’t be judging people based on things like this.
All this “I don’t see color/gender/etc., I see people” rhetoric does more harm than good. My race, gender, etc. is part of who I am.
Rather, if you come across a “non-diverse” team, question why it is that somehow, you found few or no people of color, or women, or gay people, etc. in your search for worthy contributors. Question your implicit biases. Build a welcoming environment that celebrates these groups rather than ignores who they are. Because when you say “I don’t see X,” I hear “I don’t see you.”
Definitely interesting to hear your perspective.
I grew up in South America and I think at least in the community/area where I lived people literally did not think about what color skin someone had. Of course you see it. 😀 You can’t help that if you’re not blind. But I’m just saying, it wasn’t a defining factor.
Where I lived, people from the same family often have significantly different skin tones (of course, being South America, there are more people in the middle/brown than on either extreme), and we didn’t think about excluding or including people based on that, it just didn’t matter.
Now I visit the US sometimes, and yes, the atmosphere is different. And we can have different opinions on how best to approach fixing that. 🙂
I think you might be misunderstanding the discussion Alex is trying to initiate. His major concern is that the very narrow range of racial and sexual identities represented within the fandom has created a space unwelcoming to LEGO fans who do not fall within that narrow spectrum. This isn’t “diversity for diversity’s sake”, which implies the goal is to make the fandom *appear* more diverse than it really is. The concern is that the fandom WOULD ALREADY be more diverse, if more fans had felt welcome.
Thoughts/criticism appreciated.
Yes, I think you’ve pointed out another side to this discussion that I hadn’t noticed.
Obviously, if a fandom is composed of a larger percentage of X group, then one would expect that fandom’s blogs to recruit a larger percentage of contributors from that group.
The problem then isn’t with blogs, it’s with the fandom. (People do have different interests though which is okay, so lack of diversity is not necessarily a problem. Probably there are more boys who climb trees – a random example – than there are girls. No problem with that fact in and of itself, right, but whoever is in the majority should be glad to welcome others. And as LEGO starts to produce sets geared towards more and more groups of people, it’s good for us to remind ourselves that we have a part to play in welcoming these people.)
Being more welcoming is great; I think that’s usually best accomplished on a personal level – you and I as LEGO fans being encouraging and welcoming to others who express interest no matter their background.
I never have and doubt I ever will actively recruit people to be LEGO fans, though I love LEGO for myself and if anyone asks I’m more than willing to give them an earful. 😀 But if you like to go out of your way to encourage others to participate that is totally cool and if someone would like to target that to specific groups, that’s also totally their choice!
Maybe we haven’t been the most welcoming in the past – that’s so hard to quantify though. LEGO fans in my experience are a super welcoming, friendly group. But it’s always good to remind ourselves to treat other people even better! 😀
I don’t find it a “judging people ” issue. It’s more of a ” can this mini figure match my ethnicity or my disability.” If a person is in a wheelchair. Does that person have a right to have a minifigure that’s in a wheelchair too? I think it’s more of a finding the common ground with people that are different and that Lego can meet that difference in everyday people and can recognize that. To make it a reality. It is being put out there a little bit at a time , but, it is happening.( slowly).
Oh yeah, I wasn’t trying to address that issue. What LEGO produces is different, I don’t think that was the main thrust of this article. More diverse minifigures make for a more realistic LEGO world and I’m all for that!
Though obviously there are things that LEGO should/does stay away from – realistic military and religious themes, for instance. Is it wrong to have a policy to avoid certain societal groups (for lack of a better word)? I don’t think so, it’s up to company policy and they have a right to make their own decisions, though you could argue that LEGO isn’t being “inclusive” to veterans etc.
Part 2) the imagination aspect is when a person that’s in a wheelchair can imagine his minifigure in a wheelchair can actually walk. That’s escaping reality.
My opinions fluctuate depending on the type of diversity in question
-Skin color: I agree… sort of. The yellow minifigure should just stay the same, as I think it is sort of dumb to consider that White Supremacist. In terms of licensed flesh, I think that it needs to improve, but on the licensee’s end, as Lego is just designing them off that.
-Disabilities: 100 percent. They have been improving, especially with the new hearing aid minifigure, but can continue to improve.
Enough with this diversity nonsense! Lego is a white toy made by whites for whites. Be proud!
I appreciate a comment like this so much more than ones like “I hope Lego won’t be taken over by political correctness. They should stay out of politics, including social issues” or ” Keep Lego fun, not woke” because all three of these comments express the exact same sentiment, this one just does it with a level of unabashed racism that lets readers know exactly who this person is. Everyone commenting stuff like “I haven’t heard of any discrimination against specific races or genders. Is this a real issue?” and “I commend these afols for doing this, as I believe their heart is in the right place, but I’m afraid it might attract the wrong crowd. The people who argue everything for the sake of arguing, and feel offended on behalf of people who aren’t even offended,” this guy, Jack, this is your guy. This is your argument with the mask off. How Jack sounds to you is how you sound to anyone with a level of race and class analysis beyond Kindergarten.
At this point I’m even wondering if Jack is real, or just someone trying to stir up trouble where none should exist.
I haven’t seen Jack here before, so he doesn’t appear to be one of our regular readers. But I know this article has been linked from a number of places, so it’s possible it’s attracting people who are used to more edgy forums where anything goes. Anyway, hope this thread can stay on topic with valuable and insightful discussions. Differing opinions are welcome, as long as they remain civil. It’s exactly what this whole topic is about; respecting differences and being able to listen to people with differing experiences without raising pitchforks. 🙂
Honestly I don’t care how “civil” someone is with their comment or how politely they frame it, if your opinion is rooted in the oppression of another person, there’s nothing “civil” about it. There’s nothing valuable or redeeming about it. It’s just trash.
If your opinion aims to invalidate the lived experience of a person from a marginalized group (which a lot of comments on this thread are doing), it comes from one of two places: willful ignorance or overt racism. Both are equally damaging and neither of them deserve a platform on any website, forum, or comments section.
Strongly worded, Patrick, and I totally agree. It’s easy to act civil when it’s not your cards at stake. A racist who says things politely or hides behind dogwhistles is still a racist, and I don’t and won’t respect that.
Hm… consider that politeness is not just about being viewed as well-mannered. It’s about keeping channels of communication open. If people feel attacked or put down, they naturally go into fight and flight mode and there is no chance for reconciliation, change, or being able to look at a problem together instead of from opposite ends of the table.
In my experience, being able to articulate and share your thoughts in a considerate and thoughtful manner has a best chance of being accepted or at least respected even by opposing groups. Being forceful, crass, and abusive may install fear, but it doesn’t change hearts. If we want to make a difference, we need to inspire people, not oppress them or ridicule their current paradigm.
Also, keep in mind that conveying something through the internet only by words is always challenging. We don’t have the other cues we normally get from personal interactions like body language and facial expressions. In addition, we have people here from different cultures, countries, social norms, and with different mother tongues. Something that sounds perfectly normal to us may sound rude or even abusive to someone from another background or translated to another language. This is one of the aspects that Alex’s project is trying to tackle. Awareness of how ourselves and our message comes across to others.
So with all these challenges and limitations, that best way I found communication to stay productive is to remain civil and to treat others as I want to be treated. It’s a good idea to read our own messages aloud before hitting the send button. Do they convey what I wanted to say? Can it be misunderstood by someone who’s first language isn’t English? Stuff like that. In my experience, it’s always worth to give people the benefit of the doubt and to come to a conversation with kindness. I don’t think anyone here meant to offend others, and we can always learn ways to do things better. Play well, as LEGO would say. 🙂
To say that people who do not agree with your point of view don’t deserve a space to share their opinion brings us to dangerous territory. Remember that in any developed democratic country, these people still have the right to vote.
That’s not what I said and I think you know that. I think the Big Bang Theory is really dumb television and I love Bojack Horseman. If you really love the Big Bang Theory and hate Bojack Horseman I welcome that discussion. Those are differing opinions and it’s great to hear them all.
But if your “differing opinion” puts a marginalized group at risk of physical harm, that’s more than just a “different opinion.” It borders on hate speech and it does not deserve a platform. Do you understand?
If you think transgender people don’t deserve the same rights as cisgender people, or if you think the police should be allowed to execute Black people in the street, that’s more than just a “differing opinion.” If you can’t understand the difference between these two things I don’t know what to tell you. For you it might just be a fun little intellectual debate because at the end of the day it doesn’t affect you. For the affected groups it’s the difference between life and death.
My comments come from a place love for my people. People that are being erased by people like you calling for more “diversity” in my races inventions, entertainment, and culture. I’m sick of it. Admit it you are just anti white.
Well, slinging hate speech as a bad joke is still slinging hate speech…
Hate speech is classified only as direct call to violence, so no that was not hate speech. Just because you’re offended doesn’t make you right.
Lol yes I definitely trust the assessment of what is and is not hate speech when it is coming from the user “Jeremy’s Pickles,” who [checks notes] came on here to defend someone who said “Lego is a white toy made by whites for whites.” Good stuff!
If there were any AFOLs before today that somehow believed the LEGO community was free of racism, I hope this thread has given you a new perspective. Because for every overt racist like Jack and Jeremy’s Pickles, there are 100 more AFOLs who sit silently by and allow that behavior to continue unchecked. The comments are awful. The silence is louder though.
This is not the great debunking you think it is. Way to miss the point of my comment. A joking racist is still a racist.
There is no such thing as hate speech there is only free speech or no free speech.
Yes you are right I am not ashamed to speak up for my race, I can’t be anymore, in a few short years there will be no white people to invent things like Lego. Doesn’t that make you sad? It makes me mad. Race science is real, or do you deny other science as well? Do you believe in global warming? You can’t just pick some and leave the other.
LMAO this is a full blown white supremacist espousing his belief in “race science” and some of you all are like “Ah yes I commend the civility of your comments.” Disgusting.
But again, I’m thankful to see this racism so openly displayed, because a lot of people would read this thread without Jack’s comments on it and not blink an eye. A direct line can be drawn from “Who cares about color?” and “Your skin color doesn’t have to be the defining part of your character” (easy to say for someone whose skin color doesn’t increase their chance of being killed) to Jack’s full-blown overt white supremacist comments.
Jack, Patrick, I appreciate your sharing, but please try to stay on topic. A LEGO blog is not the best or most appropriate forum to solve the world’s bigger problems. Not that they aren’t important, or shouldn’t be discussed, but this is just not the right place.
If you have thoughts, experiences, and helpful advise on how LEGO fans and LEGO fan communities can best interact with those who show interest in the hobby or would like to join a fan community, you’re welcome to share. And if your concerns are more personal, you can fill out the anonymous report form linked in the article.
The beauty of LEGO is that it awakens joy, unity, creativity, and imagination. No matter who we are, what we are, or where we are from, we can all use a little bit of magic and inspiration. Play well!
Unless the LEGO Group follows this conversation, and considers that the opinions of twenty people really matter, this discussion is pointless. Particularly since it often derails from the topic – clearly announced in the last paragraph (“Have you ever experiences any issues in regards to diversity and inclusion in the LEGO hobby? How do you think the LEGO Group and LEGO fan communities could be of service?”).
It can still stay an enlightening, and sometimes funny, exchange of ideas.
I’m a Lego collector for over twenty years, While there are areas that I certainly am critical of Lego, diversity and inclusion really isn’t one of them (I am a minority in the U.S. by the way). From what I’ve experienced, especially with the default yellow figures, Lego is what you make of it. Even though Lego may display certain figures and sets a certain way, you as the builder can throw that all away and do what you want with it. While this becomes harder with the more licensed themes (which you get what you get, it’s licensed), for the default stuff, Lego has even pushed more recently that “Yellow” is not a race (and can be multiple races) and have slowly removed some of their other archetypical features such as lipstick (even though eyelashes are still present) on “women”/”girls”. However, as other comments put it, Lego can be an escape so I don’t look for community in Lego, I don’t check blogs or what not which would defeat the whole purpose of Lego for me. For the most part, if there’s something I need that Lego hasn’t made, I’ll make it myself or come up with some alternative. If you ask me, while there are complaints in the comments about politics intruding upon your hobby, looking for community is doing exactly that voluntarily. I would say, if you are looking for something that looks like you and Lego doesn’t have it, go to third party Lego sites for custom pieces or make them yourself (You don’t even need many, if any, expensive things to do it). Lego is about imagination. Like diversity in acting/animation, I kind of feel like this is a non-topic of discussion. If the bloggers are all homogeneous, then they are. That more makes me think that those who are “diverse”, while not un-critical of Lego, don’t feel a need to really join in on this community. This is just my opinion, I expect hate.
The Lego hobby is no different than any other hobby or sport. If some kid wants to join the chess club, or basketball club, or gaming club at my school, we make sure they feel welcome, explain how the club works, answer questions they may have, and engage in the hobby or sport together. We don’t make jokes at their expense or make them feel like they are inferior or an outsider.
And if I’m the new kid in a club, I’m polite, make sure I understand the rules, I don’t demand special attention, and I join in the activities. We are all there to enjoy the hobby or sport, that’s it. It’s not that hard.