Inspire, Support, Empower: The Women's Brick Initiative

I'm all for gender equality, and wish you well in this endeavor.
However, as a purist, LEGO mutilation troubles me, and may well be a controversial aspect.

Good luck with the cause regardless, WBI team!

I'm a feminist. I want to see parity, not elevation. And this is poppycock. I'm categorised as an 'ally' just because I'm not female. How is this inclusive? Whoever writes this nonsense needs their bumps read. Brickset should pick the right battles to fight because being under Lego's thumb is one thing, being at the forefront of the modern anti-male movement is quite another.

@aleydita said:
"I'm a feminist. I want to see parity, not elevation. And this is poppycock. I'm categorised as an 'ally' just because I'm not female. How is this inclusive? Whoever writes this nonsense needs their bumps read. Brickset should pick the right battles to fight because being under Lego's thumb is one thing, being at the forefront of the modern anti-male movement is quite another."

Nothing in this article is anti-male. Just because it’s pro-female doesn’t mean it’s anti-male, and there’s really no evidence to support your complaint. There are far fewer women than men involved in the AFOL community. That is a fact, and I think it’s great these people are working to change it.

Sounds neat

@Mr__Thrawn - switch the genders around and tell me it's not insulting. Or even switch female for Caucasian. You don't promote equality by discriminating, and the sooner people learn this the better.

I welcome anyone to our collective hobbies and whenever you modify your LEGO parts or not is on you. Lately there has been a lot of these groups who have come out and rather than seek equality have sought the removal of all things male and Caucasian in both life and history books. The best way to represent everyone in our hobby is by being respectful even when we disagree.
The Lego company will then see this and adjust fire themselves, we have to be careful with political activism as we have see ln minority and female groups more affected when we pass the laws they want to be passed. Respect goes way and a way to increase more members into our fold is by being welcomed to them and encouraging for continued growth. Stat safe with the Coronavirus guys and take a break from buying LEGO to stock up on supplies. Contact your local Preppers groups if you need help.

It sounds like a great event and I’ve started looking up the work of the women mentioned in the article, but the gratuitous reference to ‘women and allies’ did grate. Make it open to all and I’m sure your core audience won’t differ too much ;-)

Who cares that there are more men than women in a LUG? As long as they are treated the same the actual numbers don't matter surely? I'd say it's entirely acceptable for there to be hobbies/clubs/group activities where there happen to be more of one gender than the other.

@aleydita said:
" @Mr__Thrawn - switch the genders around and tell me it's not insulting. Or even switch female for Caucasian. You don't promote equality by discriminating, and the sooner people learn this the better."

Where is the discrimination? Just because for once the focus is not on men, doesn't mean it is discrimination.
If you have a guy's night out, do you automatically always invite your girlfriend/wife/lady friend? Even if she doesn't care, but just in case, just because of equality? Must all women always have permission from men to do something focused on women? Must men always be asked to join, for them to feel validated?

As a middle-aged , white man, when I read 'women and their allies', I read it as 'women and men who do not need constant validation and not feel the need to go to women-focused events to act all whiny and complain that they are being discriminated.'

Anyway, I think this initiative is great. People enjoy LEGO in different, valid ways, and any initiative to get more people to enjoy it, in a more comfortable, safe environment, is to be supported.

I don't think that we'll ever see a 50/50 split of men and women who enjoy the hobby, personally. Freedom of choice means there will necessarily be different outcomes for different people. We are free to choose our interests. Society as a whole has a different view of women than we did even 100 years ago. Fewer women seem to express interest in Lego than men, statistically: there is nothing wrong with that. Let people like what they like without making every inequity something that needs a new crusade.

In short, inequity does not necessarily equal discrimination. Let's just enjoy our hobby.

I do not believe in "positive discrimination". I do not believe in "feminism" as a substitute for "equality", which already exists as a word. I don't think things should be forced in areas like hobbies. The wave of current empowerment bores me, all this excess does not lead to anything really positive, it does not solve the real problems of truly serious situations that continue to happen to some women in the entire world.

knew this one would drag the "waaah anti-male blahblah" whiners out of the woodwork. get a grip.

it's a neat thing, more power to them

I'm just here for the predictable comments

good luck with that, Huw

I think it is a great initiative as the net result will be more fans of Lego - the more the merrier.

In our LUG we always have a "buddy" for newcomers, luckily we have amazingly talented and nice lady members so if there is a gender preference we can support it. For a lot of people it is intimidating to join a well established group, regardless of gender.

I'm really proud of London AFOLs and all the other communities out there.

Keep building and play well.

Alice Finch is a Legend! Personally I’d welcome an introductory article on modding bricks, especially planning for lighting etc.

Anything that brings more people into the hobby is a-ok by me

great stuff! as a male feminist i'm 100% on board. I collect minifigures and the gender ratio in minifigures always drive me crazy and i actively look for female figs. Although part of the problem is that i collect a lot of Star Wars stuff, and few City sets, which probably just made the problem worse.

That's rad. Let's be a welcoming bunch and accept everyone into our LUGs! I unfortunately think it's kinda too late for the duck collab announcement, as most everyone going to the con is already packed up/ traveling there at this very moment.

@aleydita said:
"I'm a feminist. I want to see parity, not elevation. And this is poppycock. I'm categorised as an 'ally' just because I'm not female. How is this inclusive? Whoever writes this nonsense needs their bumps read. Brickset should pick the right battles to fight because being under Lego's thumb is one thing, being at the forefront of the modern anti-male movement is quite another."

Nothing sadder than a troll pretending to be progressive in order to sow discord

@Orange_Jews - I'm not allowed an opinion just because yours is different? A keyboard warrior calling me a troll, how will I possibly wake up tomorrow?

This comments section is starting to remind me of the GayFOL article from a few months back. There’s a reason that these groups exist, and they’re only trying to promote a hobby we already love for those who might not feel as comfortable joining the community.

This sounds like a great idea, and I hope it continues to thrive. Thanks to Brickset for always bringing these groups to our attention.

I am appalled at the amount of ugly comments on this article.

@aleydita said:
" @Mr__Thrawn - switch the genders around and tell me it's not insulting. Or even switch female for Caucasian. You don't promote equality by discriminating, and the sooner people learn this the better."

You've got a very valid point.

I wasn't going to comment but....

I love Shelley's photography work and Alice Finch has done some amazing builds in the past. Personally Im not into modding/cutting/drilling EEEK! LEGO but each to their own.

Also not into female-only stuff but that's probably because Im quite happy being the lone female amongst a group of blokes and spent a lot of my working life in this way (EDIT - that sounds a bit odd now I re read it but think military rather than anything else haha)

For those females that do prefer to have other females or 'more supportive males' - whatever that means - then this should hopefully help but since Im not on facebook then I have no idea what the group's interaction and focus will be like.

I like Creative Expert and the Ideas sets mainly although most of the time I don't follow instructions when I build. Not sure if I am a female outlier since I do think that LEGO has something for everyone.

I am sure my wife would love to cut up my Lego!

I am for anything that could possibly get my wife interested in LEGO, that would be the ultimate win for me.........us.

Very Cool! Looks like they have some really good leadership for this event as well. Hope its a great experience and more women feel comfortable identifying as AFOLS and participating more in the community.

It's really disappointing for me to hear statements like women don't feel welcome. I get keep hoping that we are collectively doing better. I'll support any group that encourages any folks to get involved with hobbies or interests of mine, whether I'm the target audience or not.

As soon as I saw this article, I set my flame war counter to about 90 seconds...

@aleydita 's comment about switching the genders around is valid

@Huw 's comment about the members feeling a need is -also- valid

There's one inescapable fact: there are women who "feel very alone in this hobby." You can't argue with a feeling. This is how they feel, it's a fact. You could, I suppose, argue that they're wrong and they only -think- they're alone when they're not, but I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Now is forming this group the solution to the problem? Maybe, maybe not--but can anyone suggest a better solution? -That's- the comment I want to read.

All that said, modifying parts? Sacrilege! (I admit to doing this exactly once: to modify my 10026 UCS Naboo fighter to install lights in the engines. I shaved exactly one stud off a common part. To this day it haunts me--but I'd do it again because lights!)

Please be respectful, everyone. I am not a feminist and am disgusted with what the movement has become. This isn't about femisism, it's not about recruiting women for more diversity, it's more about trying to get women to participate in LUGs more and not be shy to show themselves to be Lego fans. There was a similarly ludicrous outrage from the far left on the Technic cars article last year about the article (which came from an external source, and was reprinted on Brickset) saying something in the opening like "children are interested in how things work, especially if they're a boy."
Brickset, I believe based on my experience here, aims to be a politically moderate safe space for AFOLs in an increasingly polarized and ugly political landscape.

@nymnyr8694 said:
"No."

Thank you for your input. It was the most amazing and brilliant contribution to a conversation to ever exist on the internet.

Anyhow, I would like to see more ladies in the LEGO community, but I'm not too sure if I agree about destroying LEGO though... Well, it's not like it's my LEGO.

What an awesome concept! I will see about joining the Facebook group, and I will be rooting for this initiative's success! The ways that the AFOL community can be alienating to women and girls has been a concern of mine for some time, and it's nice to see people stepping up to take a leadership stance in remedying that.

Just as when the GayFOLs article was published, there's a lot of folks here with the boneheaded delusion that a group or initiative like this is aimed at "segregating" women from mainstream LEGO communities or gatherings, when that couldn't be further from the truth. On the contrary, the article describes an effort to make women feel more welcome in the global community of LEGO builders.

From how it's described, this initiative aims to offers an entry point to the LEGO building community that ISN'T as overwhelmingly male-dominated as most LEGO fan sites, groups, and conventions, as well as opportunities for newcomers to connect with other women who love LEGO so they don't feel quite so alone in a community where they're the minority. To me, that seems like an admirable goal, and one that I have no trouble getting behind.

@aleydita said:
" @Mr__Thrawn - switch the genders around and tell me it's not insulting. Or even switch female for Caucasian. You don't promote equality by discriminating, and the sooner people learn this the better."

If men were under-represented in LEGO fan/builder circles, then groups aimed at getting more of them involved in the community, helping them find ways the brand could be "for them", and helping them connect with other men in an otherwise female-dominated hobby would be entirely valid.

In fact, groups and events specifically for male hobbyists already DO exist for some hobbies where boys and men might genuinely feel like outsiders, such as knitting and quilting. But when it comes to LEGO, women and girls feel like a tiny minority among fan convention attendees and fansite or LUG members, as any number of female builders could tell you.

There's nothing sexist about women feeling uncomfortable when they're vastly outnumbered by men in practically all LEGO fan gatherings or community groups, and when their concerns are scoffed at by guys like you who think you somehow know better than they do about what's best for them.

@Norikins: Honestly, if Brickset aims to be a politically moderate safe space, it's got a ways to go. I'll grant that the admins have taken great strides in terms of cracking down on sexist, homophobic, and transphobic comments on news stories or the forums. Previously, they were often slower to take action unless the user in question began lobbing personal attacks at other Bricksetters.

But sadly, we're still in a place where any article that even tangentially relates to topics like race, gender, or sexuality ends up getting weirdly belligerent comments about "political correctness" or "forced diversity". These are not "political" topics by nature, but a lot of people seem bound and determined to turn them into political debates.

To make someone feel included in something is simple. Give them some responsibility within the LUG or whatever group. Continually segregating into specialized groups makes others "feel" alienated. I live a significant distance from my LUG so only get there a few times a year. I don't know everyone as well and I do get the feeling of alienation. So I do see where people are coming from on this issue.
The best way to make someone feel included is to actually include them. This example I will use is not gender specific. I was recently at a Lego convention and went to one of the discussion groups. The moderator of that group went around to only a few people that he knew well and asked them to build some small models and didn't address anyone else in the room. Felt very out of place and not inclusive at all. If you give someone some responsibility such as leading a discussion or helping with an event or a build, most will rise to the occasion and feel more included without the need for further segregation. There are many in this hobby who do lack certain social skills. This is something everyone needs to work on.

All good things to that group, if they enjoy themselves, fine. I let a few lady friends read this article (5 to be exact) and they all found it weird that "women" didn't feel welcome because women are not excluded at any Lego related club or event. And I've encountered enough talented female builders that do their own thing and enjoy it. So the reason for this article eludes me: it doesn't deal with a problem because there is no problem.

Problematic however is the faint hypocrisy because on this site the sheer mention of Lego replica's can result in serious problems by the Lego purists (and I agree with the point; not the punishments) but here we "promote" destruction of bricks. Walking a thin line here.

@Aanchir said:
"But sadly, we're still in a place where any article that even tangentially relates to topics like race, gender, or sexuality ends up getting weirdly belligerent comments about "political correctness" or "forced diversity". These are not "political" topics by nature, but a lot of people seem bound and determined to turn them into political debates."

That's because when people state a difference of opinion, they are no longer treated with respect and understanding but with insults and in many cases bullying, cancellation and harassment.

Anything that gets more people involved with the Lego hobby is a win, and anything that makes people feel more inclusive in their hobby is also a win. Let’s share the love of the brick!

I’m a female, mum of a 3 year old daughter and we are the Lego fans in our home. I also introduced my 4 nieces (who sadly are now old enough to have entered their Lego dark age). I have mixed feelings about things aimed specifically at women. To me if it’s a good build, it’s a good build: Alices Mocs are “epic”, out of my league, but none the less inspiring. My daughter loves the Friends range so they have become a big thing in our home. My fav’s are still the 3 in 1’s, buildings (including the Christmas ones) and caravans and campers. (Wish I could afford the Ideas tree house). I just hope that anything aimed at women is as creative as the sets I already love. Sorry JacQueline but the thought of cutting up etc Lego just makes me cringe like a slow mo “Nooooooo!!” in a movie, and I love jewellery.
While I’ve yet to go to an AFOL meeting due to distance, a huge shout out to the Nashville store where I’m always made to feel very welcome by the staff and have some fun chats with them when I do manage to get.

As a female AFOL who's been active online on different Lego forums for nearly 20 years now, none of these comments surprise me. I've met some of the nicest people you can imagine online, as well as some of the nastiest.

I just want to add that @Huw and the rest of the moderators here are doing a fabulous job. I think that we forget to tell them that we appreciate what they do. Being a moderator is hard. Tell them that you appreciate their work to make Brickset (and other AFOL communities) a better place.

@Legorides: Glad your local LEGO fan groups are more inclusive than my (and others') experiences with things like American fan conventions like BrickFair or international fansites like Brickset/Eurobricks, where women's voices are often pretty marginalized.

But nobody's getting "bullied" or "cancelled" over stuff like whining about this group or GayFOLs or any other group they somehow feel it's their place to preach about. We're all welcome to share opinions here. And if those opinions are delivered in the form of tone-deaf preaching about how marginalized folks are WRONG to form groups specifically based around issues that affect their demographic specifically? Then opinions disputing that baffling viewpoint are ALSO welcome.

There's no logic to taking a dogmatic stance about how others in the LEGO community should or shouldn't engage with peers within that community, and then expecting not to get any criticism for that point of view. And similarly, there's no logic to acting as if women who choose to take a proactive stance to remedying their negative experiences in this community are somehow to blame for those same negative experiences.

Show me a Bricksetter who's been "cancelled" for sharing harmless, respectful opinions about gender/race/sexuality, and I'll show you a liar. Huw and the other admins tend to be pretty restrained when it comes to penalizing members for their comments here, and those who actually get "cancelled" in a meaningful sense (as in, banned from future discussions) tend to be folks who are persistently hateful and hostile towards other members.

@Legorides said:
I let a few lady friends read this article (5 to be exact) and they all found it weird that "women" didn't feel welcome because ...

Reread the article. It does not contain the word "welcome". It doesn't say that women don't feel welcome. But lots of responses assume that's what the women are saying. Interesting... men making assumptions about what women mean... The words "alone" and "intimidated" are used. They never said they don't feel welcome.

And no, switching the genders in the article and claiming it then sounds sexist, so it's sexist as it is - that's not a valid argument. It's about a group in a MINORITY enjoying the opportunity to get together with others of that minority, to do what they love doing. You don't see articles about a "Mens LUG" or "white folk LUG" or "straight folk LUG" because they are the majority. So, yes, it makes perfect sense for ANY minority in a certain arena to form a group to meet up, chat, hang out and swap ideas and just enjoy knowing that you're not a freak for liking Lego. Believe me, as a 45+ year old woman with no children, I am self conscious that people think I'm an odd duck - especially coworkers who see all the Lego around my cubicle. I'm not worried that YOU ALL think I'm an odd duck, because 1) I don't care much what online strangers think, and 2) You all know it's totally normal to love Lego! :) But in our everyday lives, we can feel, "Is it weird that I like this?" and being able to go to a facebook group or what not and chat with people like me who like what I like, it's cool.

AND there is absolutely no reason for anyone to be offended by or upset by a group of people enjoying hanging out with one another. How does it hurt YOU that these women like to meet up or chat online? It doesn't - it doesn't affect you at all. So there's no reason to whine about it.

Semantics is probably the villain here.

Replace the word "allies" with "supporters" (or "friends") and it all becomes less combative and threatening.

But regardless of agenda or a gender, my biggest issue with this is that it seems to be more about self-promotion of the founders. They've established the group as a business, they charge for events ... female inclusivity is a handy catchphrase on which to build a profit.

I appreciate (and support) their intentions, but inclusion and empowerment doesn't come from sitting in your own little cliquey group and talking up your status.

The sooner we can get past people labelling themselves as different and excluding themselves from the mainstream, the sooner we can have genuine equality.

@Aanchir said:

Did you even read my comment ? Did I not wish the best for this group ? Did I say I was against it ? I just let 5 other people, women, read this article and wrote down their responses. Then I said I didn't think it was a real problem because I don't see women being excluded from anything Lego related.

I see your point and respect it, but I don't agree because I don't think the issues of these women is a widespread problem. That doesn't mean I don't sympathise for them (hence the opening of my comment) but the articles makes it sound way different.

"Show me a Bricksetter who's been "cancelled" for sharing harmless, respectful opinions about gender/race/sexuality, and I'll show you a liar"

Again, read my responses: was I talking about Bricksetters in particulair ? I was stating a general fact that discussion between people with different opinions results more often than not in the stuff I stated. If you deny that, then I can't help you. And my respons was to somebody that, like many on this site, regret that a different opinion is heard at all.

And I never claimed that this site takes part in bullying or disproportional penalizing.
Don't put words in my mouth, thank you very much.

@CaptainRogers said:
"I don't think that we'll ever see a 50/50 split of men and women who enjoy the hobby, personally. Freedom of choice means there will necessarily be different outcomes for different people. We are free to choose our interests. Society as a whole has a different view of women than we did even 100 years ago. Fewer women seem to express interest in Lego than men, statistically: there is nothing wrong with that. Let people like what they like without making every inequity something that needs a new crusade.

In short, inequity does not necessarily equal discrimination. Let's just enjoy our hobby."

I fully agree with Captain Rogers, - Couldn't have said it better myself.

@CathyVT said:
"Reread the article. It does not contain the word "welcome". It doesn't say that women don't feel welcome. But lots of responses assume that's what the women are saying. Interesting... men making assumptions about what women mean... The words "alone" and "intimidated" are used. They never said they don't feel welcome."

So feeling alone and intimidated doesn't somehow mean unwelcome ? Seriously ? We are down to that level ?

"AND there is absolutely no reason for anyone to be offended by or upset by a group of people enjoying hanging out with one another. How does it hurt YOU that these women like to meet up or chat online? It doesn't - it doesn't affect you at all. So there's no reason to whine about it."

Reread my comments. It does not contain the word "hurt". Did I even say I felt offended ? Or did you feel offended because I didn't agree with certain aspects of the article ? Not stating, just asking.

And you accuse me of whining... Good Lord.

@Block_n_Roll said:
"Semantics is probably the villain here.

Replace the word "allies" with "supporters" (or "friends") and it all becomes less combative and threatening.

But regardless of agenda or a gender, my biggest issue with this is that it seems to be more about self-promotion of the founders. They've established the group as a business, they charge for events ... female inclusivity is a handy catchphrase on which to build a profit.

I appreciate (and support) their intentions, but inclusion and empowerment doesn't come from sitting in your own little cliquey group and talking up your status.

The sooner we can get past people labelling themselves as different and excluding themselves from the mainstream, the sooner we can have genuine equality."

Agreed 100%. Especially that last sentence.

@Legorides said:
"So feeling alone and intimidated doesn't somehow mean unwelcome ? Seriously ?"

Yup. Seriously. A group can be totally friendly and welcoming, yet also intimidating, and a person who is different can feel alone. If I was dropped into the Lego Masters show today, I'd feel intimidated, even though they all seem very friendly and welcoming. If I'm the only white person, or the only woman, or the only non-French speaker at a gathering, it's possible to feel alone even if the group is welcoming.

@Legorides said:
"Reread my comments. It does not contain the word "hurt". Did I even say I felt offended ?"

Guess what, dude - it isn't always all about you. Yeah, I quoted you at the beginning, but that doesn't mean all my many statements were directed at you and only you. You and I aren't the only ones in this conversation.

@CathyVT said:
"Yup. Seriously. A group can be totally friendly and welcoming, yet also intimidating, and a person who is different can feel alone. If I was dropped into the Lego Masters show today, I'd feel intimidated, even though they all seem very friendly and welcoming. If I'm the only white person, or the only woman, or the only non-French speaker at a gathering, it's possible to feel alone even if the group is welcoming."

Ok, a little out there regarding the examples you use (what these woman were participating in, don't strike me as comparable to the challenges you use) but I see your point. Fair enough, not unwelcome then. It doesn't change my mind entirely about the meaning of this article and the intentions of the group, but again: I'm not against it. Any initiative that draws people into Lego and makes them enjoy it even more, has my support. But that doesn't mean i can't question the intention behind it.

"Guess what, dude - it isn't always all about you. Yeah, I quoted you at the beginning, but that doesn't mean all my many statements were directed at you and only you. You and I aren't the only ones in this conversation."

Maybe not only me, but myself included nonetheless. So I gave you my opinion back. Isn't it grand this is possible at all, unlike some in these comments that would like the comments section of this website be very singleminded ?

And who said I was a dude ? ;-)

So, remembering last years fuss about the special LGBTQXYZ section at on of the LEGO conventions in the US, I guess the gender/ sexuality issues are becoming an ongoing issue on Brickset now? I assume it will be soon until we read about how non-white colored people and the various religious groups feel discriminated in the LEGO community and they all will require special attention. Talking about taking the fun out of the hobby and making it about your gender/ sexuality etc. Well done Brickset for another brilliant article on how we should diversify our thinking and how incredibly suppressive the white male is instead of just focusing on the LEGO.

As a female AFOL being called "bro", "my man", or "sir" every damn time I post a picture in my Lego Instagram profile, just because it's a general assumption that women don't like Lego as much as men (or certain themes as Star Wars and DC), I welcome this initiative with open arms. It's about creating stronger bonds between diverse people over our mutual love for Lego, making everyone feel included and visible.

there are a bunch of sexist, racist, and homophobic knuckle draggers in this thread.

Some women: We have ideas to make Lego even more fun and clubs more welcoming for women :)
Me: Didn't realise anyone was being unwelcoming but good to think about these things
Couple of guys: I am confronted by this!
Me: ah...

People referring to my initial comment and demanding to know where the discrimination is... how about referring to males as allies? How is that not insulting?

Imagine if that was 'white people and their allies...' or 'straight people and their allies...'.

That's discrimination right there.

I'm married with three young daughters, and three nieces, all of whom love Lego and love visiting the Lego store. Not one of them feels excluded from the hobby (I know because I've asked, though admittedly my 2-year olds may not have understood...).

My wife is a feminist and she hates International Women's Day - "why do I get a day for myself just because I was born with a fanny? It's become a day where bosses are expected to give flowers to female employees just so they can tick a diversity box, while the world ignores the plight of women the world over who are treated appallingly." A direct quote.

Feeling excluded from a hobby just because it's dominated by the other sex is a nonsense. It's self-exclusion. A first world problem. It's like saying I, as a male, don't feel safe going into lingerie shops, so perhaps I need a support group to help me. There are no barriers to enjoying Lego as a female other than what individuals create in their own minds.

To suggest that being in a male-dominated environment is inherently dangerous or intimidating is itself discrimination.

The discourse in this article is a bit weird and uncomfortable. The duck is cool though, but like others, I don't like the breaking of bricks.

Oh and by the way, the only times I have ever been judged for my hobby, is by other women, nearly every male I have ever met only cares what sets I have, what I like to build and my favourite themes.

oh and I use the term dude for all genders :)

@aleydita

"Feeling excluded from a hobby just because it's dominated by the other sex is a nonsense".

People's feelings are not always rational, but that doesn't make them nonsensical. We all have questions about other people's emotions, especially when we don't share them, but that doesn't make those emotions any less real.

For a little while, I worked in a female-dominated profession (I was a primary school teacher). For the most part, my female colleagues treated me as an equal, but the occasional exceptions and the general feeling of being in a minority did make me feel uncomfortable at times. Was that rational? Perhaps not, but the feeling was real, and had an influence on my actions. And, whilst this isn't the main reason I'm not teaching anymore, it didn't help either.

How dare Brickset refer to a group that doesn't actively cater to my particular interests! It is appalling that you would post any article without first considering how I, personally, might feel about it. I demand you remove this immediately, or I'll, uh... send you a load of Galidor figures in the mail.

I support this idea & support encouraging female FOLs. But I do not encourage self-segregation as seems to be the flavour of the month in many fields.

I have asked various women I know and all have agreed:

"How on earth does having separate groups/communities for each societal group (especially those considered 'historically marginalised') bring about harmony & inclusiveness????"

I shall not at all be surprised if next week we have an article on POCLUG - People of Colour Lug.

I will clarify here that I am not at all threatened or 'offended' by this group or others, I do not believe it is anti-men or anything like that (although I was very puzzled as to what the devil an ally is supposed to be). As a gentlemen I find it very sad that this is what the world has come to.

I have always viewed LUGs as groups for all AFOLs (sometimes TFOLs) to come together with their common hobby.
I never realised it was only for white straight (probably Christian) males. Frankly I feel people seem to view LUGs like they're the KKK! I would welcome anyone into my LUG as long as they were decent people & have a common interest in Lego.

On that note, the fact that women come to LUGs, find themselves the only woman there and leave is not a Lego or LUG issue. Thats human nature. When your the only one of your 'kind' among a group of people you do tend to feel lonely & thats not always because of discrimination.

Now I would hope that, if the above scenario is the case, the men of the LUG would be welcoming and supportive of the new member who just so happens to be a woman. I may be wrong but personally I would hope that the 'love of the brick' would overcome any 'ice' about the fact that theres only one female, or homosexual or whatever person in the LUG. Bring a friend along, even if their not a FOL.

I see LUGs with very few women amongst mostly white men and they all work together & are happy.
Take the The Seekers band in Australia which had Judith Duren and the rest of the group were men who were respectful of her as a person and for her music, they worked well together, the chaps made sure stupid men didnt bother Judith. I would hope that such a situation would occur in LUGs, obviously better still if there were more women but if its all about Lego, not equal gender number teams then I dont see why its an issue.

In saying that I do however support a women's group for Lego its just that first gayfols and now this and its happening in other areas of society which I find concerning that whenever there are issues between the genders or sexuality, races etc. people thesedays seem to think that self created apartheid is the answer.

Finally, on a side note, as I have said before: What is this obsession with minifigures?

Im not picking on women here, its a general issue.

If a City set has 6 minifigs, why do people think that by making at least 3 of the 6 pieces of molded plastic have printed lipstick and eyelashes is going to fix the gender pay gap, or stop domestic violence???

The problem with gender in lego is not Lego fans. Its the Lego Groups stupid decision to create gendered themes like Friends and Elves.

Dont we remember when there werent obviously boy and girl themes in Lego? When real boys & girls played together on set boxes?

In the past say, 15 years Lego has created these very obvious THIS IS A BOY THEME, THIS IS A GIRL THEME lines. I heard a song where girls were complaining about everything having to be pink. And how about those Barbie doll ripoffs they replace minifigures with?

So City has been targeted towards boys, Friends targets girls, and City characters now have to have gender quotas while retaining the clearly gender targeted theme??? Town was for everyone....

I think this is a great project!

I know quite a few guys who would love to work out in a gym, but feel uncomfortable and insecure about doing sports there with all the Ryan Gosling doubles, who mainly do their push-ups and crunches there. However, some time ago, a group of men who don't look anything like Ryan Gosling formed a training group and started training together in sort of a Ryan-Gosling-free space. The guys are thrilled! What I haven't heard in this context is that the Ryan Goslings complain about being excluded because going to the gym is for everybody. I also haven't heard of anyone claiming to feel uncomfortable while pursuing their hobby just because it's dominated by Ryan Gosling-lookalikes is a nonsense. Just because those Ryan Golsings are actually nice and supportive and pursue the same hobby doesn't make everybody feel comfortable to join the gym.

Well, that was just an anecdote out of context because LEGO is something different and so is gender.

Thanks for the article, MeganL. Appreciated!

PS: Sorry Ryan Gosling.

^ So, basically, you're saying because some people are self-conscious for whatever reason, they're perfectly at liberty to form a group so as to promote and defend their right to do something no-one and nothing other than their own mind are preventing them from doing? And at the same time taking a swipe at those they consider not to be part of their new group?

If someone can find a single example of a male or group of males trying to exclude females from enjoying Lego, I'll concede the point. Until then stop trying to create division where none exists, because guess what? You'll end up with division.

Here's the thing: all you LUG members (ALL of you) make all newcomers (ALL of them) feel unwelcome. It's got nothing to do with gender, or with any other perceived division. It's simply that you don't welcome others into your little groups.

I've tried two LUGs - I'll not be specific about which ones - and in both cases it was made abundantly clear that if you weren't one of the pre-existing clique then you would always be deemed an outsider.

I'm going to get flamed for this comment, by *exactly* the sort of people I'm referring to.

The way I see it, the goal here is fine, but the method is pointless. You can't force people into a hobby. That's not how they work. It's something that happens naturally.

I work at a second hand Lego store, and it's true. There are very few AFOL women. If you look at children, there are lots of little boys and lots of little girls who love Lego. No, it's not 50/50, and there's no reason for it to be. As those kids grow up, the fanbase will become more evenly distributed. Notice I didn't say equal, because equality isn't about ratios. It's about opportunities.

This "problem" will literally disappear on it's own if we just leave everything alone.

Could it be as simple as women would like to be free to build without socially awkward guys hitting on them?

Nah, that’s too easy...

Too much diversity without enough inclusion is always a problem. That is in part how we got to this point of overly sensitive people who get upset about everything they disagree with claiming to experience microaggressions. Everyone is unique. Forming all of these groups which main purpose is to highlight a minority trait, worldview, lifestyle, etc. Ultimately takes away from the hobby by creating points of needless contention. Eurobricks has separate pages for different lego related themes and interests - great idea because it is all about Lego. Making subgroups to highlight personal differences unrelated to Lego is discriminating and detrimental to the overall Lego fanbase. Carrying such separatist, discriminate ideals to its logical existential conclusion requires the realization that we are all created differently therefore we each require our own space to truly express who we are. So maybe Lego should open up the opportunity for roughly 7 billion unique places for us to proudly express our uniqueness that has nothing directly to do with Lego. Someone should probably invent something like that......oh wait, that's called social media.