The Science Museum, a publicly funded museum in Britain, describes the fastening mechanism in Lego bricks as “gendered” and “heteronormative” in one of its self-guided tours.
“Seeing Things Queerly,” a guide created by the museum’s Gender and Sexuality Network, suggests that connecting the bricks evokes notions of “mating” because “male” blocks with protruding pins connect with “female” spaces in other blocks. The network aims to “create more visibility and inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community.”
“Lego bricks are often described in a gendered way,” the guide reads. “The top of the brick with sticking out pins is male, the bottom of the brick with holes to receive the pins is female, and the process of the two sides being put together is called mating.”
It’s time for #SMLates! Marking 50 years of Pride in London
pic.twitter.com/EUm1gtPfBC
— Science Museum (@sciencemuseum) June 29, 2022
The guide says the toy’s supposedly gendered perception is an example “heteronormativity.”
“This is an example of applying heteronormative language to topics unrelated to gender, sex and reproduction,” the guide reads. “It illustrates how heteronormativity (the idea that heterosexuality and the male/female gender binary are the norm and everything that falls outside is unusual) shapes the way we speak about science, technology, and the world in general.”
Fiona McAnena, the director of advocacy at the London-based nonprofit Sex Matters, called the guide “completely bonkers” in a statement to The Telegraph.
“The Science Museum’s self-guided trail on all things ‘queer’ is completely bonkers,” she said. “The idea that Lego is ‘heteronormative’ because the blocks are described as “male” and ‘female’ is ridiculous. Children who play with Lego don’t need to be told that some people say fitting Lego blocks together is ‘mating.’”
“The idea that Lego is ‘heteronormative’ because the blocks are described as “male” & ‘female’ is ridiculous. People expect to be informed when visiting the Science Museum, not to have dubious claims rooted in gender ideology forced on them.” @DerryBanSheehttps://t.co/URuQ27Xjsk
— Sex Matters (@SexMattersOrg) February 6, 2025
The self-guided tour was first devised in 2022. The tour also commemorates Roberta Cowell, a British World War II-era pilot who “was the first British trans woman to undergo gender-affirming surgery and change her birth certificate,” the guide states.
The Science Museum did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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