“This set is a thank you to the LGBTQ community…”

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Vice President of Design Matthew Ashton. photo credit: Lego

The Lego company has just announced the launch of their first LGBTQIA+ themed toy set titled Everybody is Awesome. The set is designed to celebrate the diversity of our fans and the world around us.

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Vice President of Design Matthew Ashton discussed the inspiration for the set:

“I wanted to create a model that symbolises inclusivity and celebrates everyone, no matter how they identify or who they love. Everyone is unique, and with a little more love, acceptance and understanding in the world, we can all feel more free to be our true AWESOME selves! This model shows that we care, and that we truly believe ‘Everyone is awesome’!”  – Lego.com

In addition to the original six colors of the Rainbow flag, five other colors were added. The colors pink, white and pale blue represent the transgender community. The final two colors added – black and brown – represent the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community. Each monochrome figurine has its own individual hairstyle. The only one assigned a gender is the beehive-wigged purple figurine who Matthew says is a “clear nod to all the fabulous drag queens out there.” Other figurines were created without a specific gender to “express individuality, while remaining ambiguous. It is up to the builder what gender they see the characters.”

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“Our brand values of fun and creativity and learning and equality and imagination apply to absolutely everybody. That is why we created a set like this to say we want to include everybody no matter how young or old you are what gender you are. Lego is for everybody and we want to make sure everybody around the world knows it.” – Lego.com

Ashton explained that he created the set for his own personal desk at work before the Lego company decided to launch a product celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community. He went on to discuss how happy he was with the final design and how proud he is to work for a company as inclusive as Lego.

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The Lego company fan base includes a large number of adult fans. Adult Lego fans even have their own acronym – Afols! The second season of Lego Masters, a reality competition show hosted by Will Arnett, where teams of two Lego enthusiasts go head-to-head, premieres June 1 on Fox. Season one Lego Masters contestant and Afol Flynn DeMarco mentioned how important this is to the LGBTQIA+ community, 

“This set means a lot. Often LGBTQ+ people don’t feel seen, especially by corporations. There’s a lot of lip service and not a lot of action. So this feels like a big statement.” – The Guardian

Knowing how much representation matters and how important it is, was another key reason Ashton created the set. He wants the LGBTQIA+ community to know that this set “is a real thank you to the LGBTQ community that has been so loyal to us over the years.” He also discussed how much something like this would have meant to him in his youth.

If I had been given this set by somebody at that point in my life, it would have been such a relief to know that somebody had my back. To know that I had somebody there to say “I love you, I believe in you. I’ll always be here for you.”  – Lego.com

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The 346 piece set goes on sale June 1, to mark the start of Pride Month. I am totally buying one!  If you would like to see the full interview with Matthew Ashton watch the video below. 


Sources: Lego, The Guardian

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