I'm unsure if they're just trying to add variety or if they're just giving into gender rolls. I don't mind the girly products but I'd like to see little girls in their advertisements for "boyish" or "neutral" sets and themed sets that aren't particularly feminine. When I was a kid there were legos in primary colors with a few themed sets from movies and stuff and everyone played with them without feeling pressure from gender stereotypes.

^Pretty much my thoughts.

I don't really know enough about "Lego Friends" to have an opinion on whether or not the whole thing is sexist, but I do think that it could have been inspired by some sexist assumptions. The assumptions being that you have to make everything overly-girly in order to get females interested. Instead of trying to separate genders by making a portion of their products especially feminine, they should try to destroy the idea that gender neutral = masculine.

For example, there is nothing "masculine" about science, yet whenever a product is designed to get girls interested in science, they seem to go in the same direction. "What if we make science PINK?" Instead of, "What if we stop acting like science is a boy thing by default?"

I remember playing with Lego when I was a kid. I didn't think of it being a boy thing because I got it for my third birthday and back then was completely oblivious to the existence of gender roles and products being designed either for "people" or for "girls". Kids don't need to be separated by gender; they need to be included.

I generally don't mind products being made specifically for boys or specifically for girls, but I do dislike it when supposedly gender neutral products are advertised as being only for boys. As I mentioned before, I don't really know what the whole story is behind "Lego Friends", whether there are Lego toys specifically for boys too, or whether they're just being pro-stereotype. So I've just tried to explain where I stand on that kind of subject in general; I just don't know whether or not it applies to this particular product.

EDIT: I should also mention that I have nothing against boys playing with products originally targeted at girls, and girls playing with products targeted at boys. Kids should be enjoying their childhood, not being limited by stereotypes and gender roles!

I work at Target where we separate Legos into "girl Legos" and "boy Legos." The "girl Legos" being fairies, princesses, Barbies, etc. They're separate aisles on purpose, and the "girl aisle" is covered in pink and purple while the "boy aisle" is dark blues, reds, greens. It's deliberate and it's sexist.

They're just meant for stupid little girls who can't handle anything not-girly. They can choose to play with regular Legos if they want to.