Legendary Danish toy company LEGO is launching a set of LGBTQIA+ rainbow figures to coincide with Pride Month, entitled “everyone is awesome”.
“We’re super excited to reveal our new set — LEGO Everyone is Awesome! Because we celebrate every LEGO builder,” the company announced on Twitter on Thursday morning.
Six of the 11 figures are block-coloured in the shades of the rainbow — which, according to the Bible’s book of Genesis, is a symbol of the covenant by God to never ravage the earth again by flood, but has in recent decades has been co-opted by the gay rights movement.
The “traditional” gay pride frag has been expanded with the transgender flag colours of pink, light blue, and white representing those who are non-binary, transitioning, or intersex.
Two more stripes and figures are black and brown to “represent the broad diversity of everyone within the LGBTQIA+ community”.
In all but one of the figures, there is no specified sex, according to The Guardian, with the toymaker saying they were intended to “express individuality, while remaining ambiguous”. The exception is the purple figure with a beehive haircut, which “is a clear nod to all the fabulous drag queens out there”, according to the designer.
The range was the brainchild of LEGO’s Vice President of Design, Matthew Ashton, who was the executive producer of the 2014 LEGO Movie. The openly gay child’s toy designer said that “this set is not just for the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s for all of the allies – parents, siblings, friends, schoolmates, colleagues etc. – out there as well.”
“I hope it’s a joy to build and a joy to look at, and hopefully it will bring a lot of joy to people’s lives,” Ashton said.
According to a statement from LEGO, the set will be released on June 1st at the beginning of gay pride month and will cost a hefty £30.99 ($43.78).
LEGO had embraced other left-progressive movements in recent years, including last summer when, during the Black Lives Matter riots, the toymaker reportedly called for retailers to temporarily pull promotional materials and advertising for law enforcement-based toys.
At the time, LEGO also asked affiliates to refrain from posting on social media during #BlackOutTuesday and pledged $4 million (£2.83m) to black and anti-racist charities.
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