Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Gendered Video Games

A big staple in my childhood was when my [twin] brother and I would play Lego's.  We could sit there for hours and build awesome forts, set with secret passageways, leading into our gun-filled rooms.  A few years ago I heard about how Lego's were "expanding" to include girls in their demographic.  What was so shocking to me was how they didn't think that girls played with them regardless of their color.  Can you see a difference between the two?:

Traditional:
 


 "New & Improved":
 

Why is pink always a defining characteristic of "girl" games?

2 comments:

  1. I agree it's weird. Modern society probably tends to associate both pink and girls with "softness" or something like that.

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  2. My brother and I also had lego sets when we were young: same idea - his were the normal colors and mine were the pastel "girl version". Another interesting addition is the accessories (non lego bricks) that came with our sets were different. Mine came with lamp posts, windows, and kitchen accessories (to make a house) while my brothers came with wheels, windshields, etc. (to make cars and space ships).

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