- -Lego to launch female astronomer, paleontologist and chemist toys
- -Idea by Stockholm's geochemist and avid Lego builder Dr Ellen Kooijman
- -Leading psychologist Dr Linda spoke exclusively with MailOnline
Lego will launch a series of female scientists and their lab tools after a pioneering proposal was selected as the latest Lego Ideas winner.
Stockholm-based geochemist and avid Lego builder Dr Ellen Kooijman submitted her idea to the toy giant, who will start selling the products in August.
The new series will include a female astronomer with a telescope, female paleontologist with a dinosaur skeleton, and female chemist in a lab. The figurines will be entirely devoid of the colour pink.
The image shown is a generic minifigure image from an old series of Lego. The toy firm will launch a series of female scientists and their lab tools in August
In her project proposal, Kooijman wrote: 'The motto of these scientists is clear: explore the world and beyond!' report the Guardian.
On her blog she wrote of her recognition of a clear gender gap among Lego figurines.
'As a female scientist I had noticed two things about the available Lego sets: a skewed male/female minifigure ratio and a rather stereotypical representation of the available female figures,' she wrote.
'It seemed logical that I would suggest a small set of female minifigures in interesting professions to make our Lego city communities more diverse.'
'Any toy or any activity that dispels the idea that a girl's value lies just in the way she looks is a positive idea'
The toy company has been criticised in the past for its gender-based marketing tactics, but these latest additions could mark a change in direction for them.
Leading psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos, 43, who has an 11-year-old daughter, spoke with MailOnline about her personal and professional stance on the launch of the new product.
'My daughter's a big fan of Lego, and I've been thinking about this a lot,' she said.
'I buy her the architectural designs you can get an the UN building [such as the Sydney Opera House Play Set]. They are the least gender specific Lego toys - just buildings
'I remember thinking, "What a lovely idea". You can read a bit about who the architects are. It's not all this "would you like the pink section or the blue section".
'I think any toy or any activity that dispels the idea that a girl's value lies just in the way she looks; that shows she can be more than that, that she can do more, is a positive idea.
'Sadly female scientists or business leaders aren't celebrated in the same way that males are, so this is fantastic.
'The younger you can get girls to see these things as the norm the better. Getting them to see that it's just as normal for a woman to wear a white doctor's or scientist's coat as it is for a man; that's such an important thing.
'The younger you can get girls to see that it's just as normal for a woman to wear a white coat as it is for a man; that's such an important thing,'Dr Linda Papadopoulos
'The whole idea that there is the whole idea that there is just one section for girls - the pink section - reinforces gender stereotypes.
'Of course, there's always going to be evolutionary differences, but so many more toys aimed at girls have to do with being pretty and looking a certain way, whereas those all about having fun and action heroes are for boys.
'Girls need to be seen as doers rather than passive, to subvert the objectification of women. The object is someone acted upon; "how can I make my hair curlier, my lips pinker, my eyes brighter".
Emma Owen, spokesperson for LEGO Ideas commented: 'We’re very excited to release LEGO enthusiast, Ellen Kooijman’s Research Institute set as our next LEGO Ideas fan based set.
'After receiving over 10,000 votes from the online community and having gone through rigorous toy testing from our expert panel, this awesome set is on track to be released on shelves this August.
'The final design, pricing and availability are being worked out as we speak, so watch this space!
'What you see today on LEGO Ideas is just the beginning.
'As a female scientist I noticed a rather stereotypical representation of the available female figures in the available Lego sets,' Dr Ellen Kooijman
'Over time, we are looking forward to adding new ways for users to participate with us in co-creating LEGO products together on LEGO Ideas.'
'We’re very excited to release Ellen Kooijman’s Female Minifigure set, featuring three scientists, now entitled Research Institute as our next Lego Ideas set,' Lego said in a statement on its site.
'This awesome model is an inspiring set that offers a lot for kids as well as adults. The final design, pricing and availability are still being worked out, but it’s on track to be released August 2014, so keep an eye out!'
The Lego HQ in Denmark are yet to release images of the product, and will finalise all the set details before it goes on sale this August.
Lego Ideas is a site where enthusiasts can submit and vote on ideas for sets they want to see available in toy stores. When an project receives 10,000 votes, it then enters a review phase to be evaluated by a board made up of set designers and marketing representatives, according to its website.
After testing the concepts for stability, playability, safety, market fit and more, the board selects one idea to become the next Lego Ideas product. The creator is recognized for inspiring the product and receives a cut of the product's sales.
Kooijman’s scientists beat out six other potential projects, among them a Sherlock set and a Legend of Zelda set.
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