The LEGO Group recently released the "Everyone is Awesome" set, a display model inspired by the "Progressive Pride" flag. The set features LEGO monochrome minifigures assembled on a LEGO flag.
According to the set's designer, none of the figures in the set is explicitly gendered except for a purple-clad drag queen figurine. The set is the first produced by the corporation explicitly promoting the LGBT movement, although the LEGO Trafalgar Square set included a Pride flag, and LEGO has sold bride and groom "BrickHeadz" figures separately to avoid heteronormativity, according to The Guardian. Mary Rice Hasson, a scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told the Washington Free Beacon that the shift toward promoting liberal social values to children is the result of decades of campaigning by special interests.
"It was [activists'] strategic move towards institutional capture by appointing themselves as social justice arbiters, setting an ideological bar for 'equality' in the workplace," Hasson said.
LEGO did not return a request for comment.
Although the "Everything is Awesome" set promotes progressive pride, the company has faced blowback from activists for recommending the set for people 18 and older. One activist criticized LEGO for suggesting the product was unsuitable for children. The company has made an effort to support the LGBT movement's youth activities in other ways. It has publicly partnered with Diversity Role Models, a United Kingdom-based charity that purports to "create safe spaces where young people can explore difference and consider their role in creating a world where we all feel accepted." The group charges hundreds of dollars for half-day and full-day workshops to parents, students, and companies through its consultation services.
The charity's materials for children aged one to seven include a slideshow in which children are asked to ponder the phrase "love is love" and watch an animated music video for a "fun LGBT+ inclusive kids' song." The video shows graphics of non-traditional family relationships and a drag queen.
Terry Schilling, the president of the American Principles Project, told the Free Beacon that the vast majority of Americans think children should be free from the sexual lifestyles of adults.
"That LEGO—and really every other major corporation—is joining the bandwagon in further sexualizing children is not just disappointing, it's disgusting. Parents should cut the cords, shut off the screens, and throw away the annoying rainbow blocks we keep stepping on," Schilling said.
Diversity Role Models did not reply to requests for comment.