Lego blocks reinforce hetero world view: LGBTQ+ advocates

To most of us they’re just colourful plastic bricks that, with a bit of imagination, a child can make into anything from a little house to a Star Wars space ship.

But staff at the Science Museum have apparently discovered a more sinister side to Lego.

They have declared that the bricks reinforce a heterosexual view of the world.

It’s a claim that has attracted the decidedly unscientfic term “completely bonkers” from critics.

The London attraction is running a self-guided tour called Seeing Things Queerly which asserts that the blocks can illustrate how heterosexuality is seen as the norm.

The tour, which looks at “stories of queer communities, experiences and identities” in the museum’s collection, says: “Like other connectors and fasteners, Lego bricks are often described in a gendered way.

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.

“This is an example of applying heteronormative language to topics unrelated to gender, sex and reproduction.

“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.”

The tour was devised by a “gender and sexuality network” at the museum, a group “committed to creating more visibility and inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community in the Science Museum Group’s museums and collection”.

While the guide was published on the museum’s blog more than two years ago in December 2022, the notes about Lego came to light on Thursday following an article in the Telegraph.

Fiona McAnena, of the charity Sex Matters, which campaigns for sex-specific services, said: “The Science Museum’s self-guided trail on all things “queer” is completely bonkers, and includes some absurd claims.

“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 article was also spotted by X boss Elon Musk, who reposted it with a clown face emoji.

A Science Museum spokesman said: “This blog post was published to highlight a small number of objects on display that relate to LGBTQ+ individuals, experiences and communities.”