Science Museum’s self-guided tour accuses Lego of being anti-LGBT as interlocking bricks reinforce heterosexuality as ‘the norm’

Lego can be anti-gay because some people describe the bricks as having male or female parts which ‘mate’ with each other, Science Museum staff have claimed.

The London attraction is running a self-guided tour called ‘Seeing Things Queerly’ which states 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, refers to Lego being ‘often described in a gendered way’.

The guide – branded ‘completely bonkers’ by a campaign group – states: ‘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.

Lego can be anti-gay, according to a self-guided tour at the Science Museum (stock image)

‘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 which is a group of ‘staff and volunteers 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 only came to light today following an article in The Telegraph.

And the claims were criticised by Fiona McAnena, director of advocacy for the women’s rights charity Sex Matters, which campaigns for sex-specific services.

She 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 owner Elon Musk, who reposted it with a clown face emoji. 

A Science Museum spokesman told MailOnline: ‘This blog post was published online in 2022 to highlight a small number of objects on display at the museum that relate to LGBTQ+ individuals, experiences and communities.’ 

The Science Museum in London issued a self-guided tour called ‘Seeing Things Queerly’

The museum in South Kensington is one of five within the Science Museum Group, which also includes the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester.

The other three are the National Railway Museum in York; the Locomotion Museum in County Durham; and the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford.

It comes after Lego pledged in 2011 to remove what it claimed was gender bias in its toys, saying it wanted to tackle the problem of ‘age-old stereotypes that label activities as only being suitable for one specific gender’. 

MailOnline has also contacted Lego for comment.