A new exhibition at the Science Museum in the UK has made the claim that Lego is anti-LGBT because it promotes the idea that there are only two genders.
The self-guided tour, titled Stories of Queer Communities, Experiences and Identities, at the London-based museum, included a display of legos along with a message that it enforces the mindset that heterosexuality is the “norm.”
Highlights
- An exhibit at the Science Museum claims Lego is anti-LGBTQ for enforcing heterosexual norms.
- Critics label this statement as 'absolute nonsense' and unscientific.
- Science Museum has faced past criticism for trans-inclusive displays.
“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,” the message read, adding that it was “an example of applying heteronormative language to topics unrelated to gender, sex, and reproduction.”
Lego is anti-LGBTQ because it suggests that heterosexuality is the "norm," said a new exhibit at the Science Museum
Image credits: FORTYTWO / Unsplash
Image credits: Delia Giandeini / Unsplash
As reported by LBC, the exhibit was created by the Gender and Sexuality Network, a group of staff and volunteers who are “committed to creating more visibility and inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community in the Science Museum.”
Various displays are featured, such as the Billy Doll from 1992 — meant to represent gay men in a positive light — as well as Spitfire aircraft, flown by Roberta Cowell, who is Britain’s first trans woman to undergo gender-affirming surgery.
While the museum has not made any public comment, a few people believe the statement takes things a little too far.
The exhibit was centered around empowering the LGBTQ+ community
Image credits: Science Museum UK
“Stop seeing things ‘queerly.’ Problem solved,” one person wrote.
Another chimed in, “What about magnets? They have two poles! Magnets are transphobic! What about batteries? They have an anode and cathode! Batteries are transphobic!”
“Are they going to make nonbinary Lego parts now?” a third questioned.
The statement even caught the attention of Tesla boss Elon Musk, who simply tweeted a clown emoji as the news reached him.
“Lego announces new non binary products in their efforts to be inclusive to all,” wrote a user on X, along with a picture of a silver brick on grass.
Image credits: James A. Molnar / Unsplash
A leading women’s rights campaign has additionally put the museum on blast, labeling the claim as “absolute nonsense,” especially since it’s such a stark departure from scientific principles, according to GBN News.
“It’s clearly just a distraction from the main work of the Science Museum,” said Fiona McAnena, a director at Sex Matters. “If people go in and think that they’re being confronted by nonsense instead of by science, that’s not good for the science museum.
“Yeah, it kind of dilutes the whole point of the science museum, dealing in facts, science and biological reality.”
A critic emphasized that these sorts of claims contrast the entire objective of "facts" and "science"
Image credits: daniel james / Unsplash
McAnena went on to explain that the name of the exhibition itself “tells you everything,” and doesn’t add any scientific knowledge to a place where people go to be educated on that exact topic.
“Gender, this thing is all about gender ideology. The idea that it’s wrong to recognize two sexes, that somehow you have to reject that. But that’s reality,” she continued.
“We’re not teaching children that they should find fault with lego, where does that take them? They’ll be very confused."
Image credits: Shadowssettle / Wikipedia
And it turns out, this isn’t the first time the Science Museum has been under scrutiny for the way they view gender issues.
In 2023, they were forced to dismantle a trans-inclusive display titled “Boy Or Girl?” which described the transition from the “wrong body” as a “hero’s journey,” after visitors complained that it was pushing “propaganda” instead of biology.
One user blamed any homophobic ideology on our brains rather than the product
