Building brick toymaker Lego is pushing the envelope yet again. The company has unveiled its newest figures depicting a stay-at-home dad and a working mom. The move comes after the company released a figurine of a man on a wheelchair, as previously reported on HNGN.
The new mini-figures are supposed to "mirror the world we live today," Lego told Fortune.
"We need to stay in tune with the world around us," said Lego President Soren Torph Laursen at the 2016 New York City Toy Fair. "We aren't responding to demand from anyone. We are trying to portray the world around us and listen to our consumer base."
The stay-at-home dad figurine comes with a Lego stroller and a baby figurine, while the mom is drawn with a "work outfit." These are part of the Lego City Line Collection.
Consumers have long awaited the release of these diversified products, as suggested in a petition lodged in 2014 via Change.Org. The clamor prompted the toymaker to release a line of female scientist mini-figures that have since sold out, according to ABC News.
Following this, The Week writer Elaine Strauss also broached the idea of introducing a Lego for boys that offered variety.
"Getting boys to play like girls would be good for boys. It would provide them with a wider range of ways to contribute to the world. They would see the domestic sphere as something satisfying, a place in which they could make a difference," Strauss wrote.
Lego told Fortune that the company has been receiving good feedback on its latest releases, especially on social media.
