Lego launches A-Z LGBTQ+ inclusivity campaign
The Lego Group is marking Pride Month with an invitation to LGBTQ+ families to express themselves through a new vocabulary of play.
‘The A to Z of Awesome’ sees the toymaker give the last word on inclusivity to its customers by asking the community to create a Pride-themed alphabet out of the famous plastic bricks.
Running through to 2023, the campaign seeks to build a new lexicon from the abbreviations and pronoun suffixes, with the goal of sparking conversations around identity.
Alero Akuya, vice-president of brand development, The Lego Group, said: “The wonderful thing about Lego bricks is that they can be a powerful form of self-expression as you can build anything you can imagine. We also know people love talking about what they build, so we thought it would be a great medium for sparking important and sometimes difficult conversations about identity.”
GLSEN executive director Melanie Willingham-Jaggers added: “All children benefit from learning about the diverse world around them, and positive representation of LGBTQ+ identities, whether in the school curriculum or in play, helps young people feel prepared to meaningfully engage in their communities.”
The initiative is born out of research from GLAAD, which found that 45% of non-LGBTQIA+ people found conversations around gender identity to be confusing. The same report also found that 59% of LGBTQ youth have experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity – up from 46% in 2020.
The full Lego Pride alphabet will be unveiled by the end of the year and follows moves by the toymaker to encourage children to ‘brick the rules.’