The Lego Group has announced the June 1 release of "Everyone is Awesome," a 346-piece Lego set designed to celebrate the diversity of Lego fans and the world around them. The set includes 11 faceless monochrome minifigures and each is a color of the LGBTQ+ flag.
"Everyone Is Awesome" Lego set designer Matthew Ashton. Courtesy photo.
In an essay on the Lego site titled "Why I Designed Everyone is Awesome," designer Matthew Ashton was frank about his inspiration.
"The starting point for this was my feeling that we, as a society, could be doing more to show support for each other and appreciate our differences. Being LGBTQ myself, I knew I needed to step up to the plate and make a real statement about love and inclusivity, and generally spread some LEGO® love to everybody who needs it. Children are our role models and they welcome everyone, no matter their background. Something we should all be aspiring to."
Originally, Ashton designed the set as simply something to sit on his desk to represent diversity and inclusion.
"Representation is so important," he continued in the essay. "I grew up in the '80s and was obviously a gay kid. There was a lot of negativity back then around being gay; it was right in the middle of the AIDS crisis when I was a young teen and that was incredibly daunting and scary."
Ashton recognized how things have drastically changed today.
"I think by taking small steps and having products like 'Everyone is Awesome' out there and people representing the LGBTQ community, it allows everybody to see that things do get better over time and there is a place for everybody. That's what's been so important to me in getting this set out with a message that we can be really proud of.
The Everyone is Awesome set will sell for $34.99. For more information, visit the Lego site.
