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There's nothing keeping parents from buying the more elaborate LEGO set for their daughters.

swa14 14y ago
There's nothing keeping men from wearing skirts in public either. But most of us do not do so because of gender differences ingrained in out society. Identifying yourself by your gender can be harmless and doesn't need to be detrimental to society or equal treatment. But the premise of the blog is "the virtues of Legos for teaching math and engineering concepts to children." If this premise is taken as true, this particular distinction in gender is harmful to equality of the genders. It's not just that the particular pink set reinforces certain stereotypes, but also that it's simpler and requires less abstract thought to put together. That said; I'm sure the people at lego have done their market research, and have found that girls (or their mothers) find the "girly" sets more pleasant. Also the people at the outlet will have their reasons for a "blue isle" and a "pink isle". I guess the morale of the story is for the parents. To not let themselves fall into the trap of the largest common commercial denominator, but to drag your daughter/son at least once through the "wrong isle" when buying toys in an unbiased manner.
- factorial 14y ago
  Sadly, the author doesn't understand the "post hoc ergo propter hoc" fallacy and neglects the possibility that boys and girls are simply "wired" differently. Modern science supports this view as there are significant differences between the brains of both sexes. If you accept biology as given, then wouldn't it be "normal" that boys and girls prefer different toys and children, and that men and women flock into different occupational areas as adults? Also, why are those feminists only lamenting the lack of female engineers? There are many fields that require that kind of analytical thinking, albeit on lower levels. Heck, why not start a, "Get more girls into plumbing!" campaign? Of course, the feminists are only after the cushy office jobs.
  - lomegor 14y ago
    Please if you are going to say that girls are "wired" differently and that's what causes the different likes and dislikes of children, back that up with articles. I have yet to see a study where this had been shown. In fact, I think you are also falling prey to "post hoc ergo propter hoc", in that although women and men's brain are different, that does not mean that they like different toys biologically. I'm sorry that you group all feminists together, but if you had bother to search for women in plumbing you would have found a lot of women and men who call for more women in that area. For example: http://www.my-plumber.co.uk/userfiles/file/Winter%20Newsletter.pdf http://www.my-plumber.co.uk/userfiles/file/Winter%20Newslett...
    - factorial 14y ago
      Do a Google search on "IT needs more women", make a mental note of the number of hits you get, and then do a search on "Plumbing needs more women". Please report back which number is bigger. For extra credit, calculate by which factor the first claim is more often made online.
      - lomegor 14y ago
        Oh, I'm sorry, when you said "only" on your first post I thought you meant "only", not "more". But of course people are more interested on getting children interested in engineering. I don't see your point. Do you want your kids to be plumbers making a minimum salary and having unstable jobs?
        factorial 14y ago
        You'd be surprised how much money plumbers make. Check this out: "Americans want and need working pipes, just like they want and need their trash collected every few days — sanitation being another service always in demand by consumers and not always in demand by job-seekers, and typically pretty well paying as a result. That said, a plumber's earnings vary widely depending on the region in which they work and whether a plumber owns a business that employs others. Journeymen in cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston are in higher demand and command higher prices — up to about $250,000 a year."[1] It's a respectable profession that pays well. Yet, it apparently enjoys lower status than software engineering, which is why feminists don't claim that plumbing needs more women. Do you know see how disreputable this argument is? The feminists are about the status of office jobs, and couldn't care less about equality. [1]http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1851673,00.html http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1851673,00.ht...

swa14 14y ago

There's nothing keeping men from wearing skirts in public either. But most of us do not do so because of gender differences ingrained in out society. Identifying yourself by your gender can be harmless and doesn't need to be detrimental to society or equal treatment. But the premise of the blog is "the virtues of Legos for teaching math and engineering concepts to children." If this premise is taken as true, this particular distinction in gender is harmful to equality of the genders. It's not just that the particular pink set reinforces certain stereotypes, but also that it's simpler and requires less abstract thought to put together. That said; I'm sure the people at lego have done their market research, and have found that girls (or their mothers) find the "girly" sets more pleasant. Also the people at the outlet will have their reasons for a "blue isle" and a "pink isle". I guess the morale of the story is for the parents. To not let themselves fall into the trap of the largest common commercial denominator, but to drag your daughter/son at least once through the "wrong isle" when buying toys in an unbiased manner.

factorial 14y ago
Sadly, the author doesn't understand the "post hoc ergo propter hoc" fallacy and neglects the possibility that boys and girls are simply "wired" differently. Modern science supports this view as there are significant differences between the brains of both sexes. If you accept biology as given, then wouldn't it be "normal" that boys and girls prefer different toys and children, and that men and women flock into different occupational areas as adults? Also, why are those feminists only lamenting the lack of female engineers? There are many fields that require that kind of analytical thinking, albeit on lower levels. Heck, why not start a, "Get more girls into plumbing!" campaign? Of course, the feminists are only after the cushy office jobs.
- lomegor 14y ago
  Please if you are going to say that girls are "wired" differently and that's what causes the different likes and dislikes of children, back that up with articles. I have yet to see a study where this had been shown. In fact, I think you are also falling prey to "post hoc ergo propter hoc", in that although women and men's brain are different, that does not mean that they like different toys biologically. I'm sorry that you group all feminists together, but if you had bother to search for women in plumbing you would have found a lot of women and men who call for more women in that area. For example: http://www.my-plumber.co.uk/userfiles/file/Winter%20Newsletter.pdf http://www.my-plumber.co.uk/userfiles/file/Winter%20Newslett...
  - factorial 14y ago
    Do a Google search on "IT needs more women", make a mental note of the number of hits you get, and then do a search on "Plumbing needs more women". Please report back which number is bigger. For extra credit, calculate by which factor the first claim is more often made online.
    - lomegor 14y ago
      Oh, I'm sorry, when you said "only" on your first post I thought you meant "only", not "more". But of course people are more interested on getting children interested in engineering. I don't see your point. Do you want your kids to be plumbers making a minimum salary and having unstable jobs?
      - factorial 14y ago
        You'd be surprised how much money plumbers make. Check this out: "Americans want and need working pipes, just like they want and need their trash collected every few days — sanitation being another service always in demand by consumers and not always in demand by job-seekers, and typically pretty well paying as a result. That said, a plumber's earnings vary widely depending on the region in which they work and whether a plumber owns a business that employs others. Journeymen in cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston are in higher demand and command higher prices — up to about $250,000 a year."[1] It's a respectable profession that pays well. Yet, it apparently enjoys lower status than software engineering, which is why feminists don't claim that plumbing needs more women. Do you know see how disreputable this argument is? The feminists are about the status of office jobs, and couldn't care less about equality. [1]http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1851673,00.html http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1851673,00.ht...