A Lot of Discussion has taken place this year about the representation of society’s diversity in LEGO sets.  A good deal of this has been centred around set 60134: Fun in the Park. At $AU55 it represents 14 mini figures: equal numbers male and female, and one baby. There is also a stroller, a wheelchair and a bicycle.  Figures are represented at a number of ages: young children, older children,  young married couple (Are they married?, are they even a couple? Is it their child in the stroller? So many questions. Things used to be so simple!), and older people, as well as some grounds keeper/park maintenance staff, both women, and a hot dog vendor.

But I don’t want to talk about this today.

Also recently released are the new CITY Volcano sets: a combination of volcano adventurers, scientists and ‘volcano workers’  whom I presume to be scientists in safety gear.  The thing that caught my eye about this set ahead of anything else was the mix of minifigures: two male and two female. There is a scientist ( designated a woman,  a quick head swap could change this, but why would you want to?) a ‘volcano adventurer’ , and two volcano workers: male and female. Continue reading →