The first ever Lego figure of a disabled person was recently shown at a toy fair in Nuremberg, Germany.
Lego confirmed the new figure, a man in a wheelchair, will be part of a new set called “Fun in the Park,” which also features figures of bicyclists, a mother with a stroller, a an elderly man, and more. Images of the set were posted on Promobrick’s Facebook page.
The man in the wheelchair comes months after a Toy Like Me campaign that lobbied Lego to feature more disabled characters. A petition on Change.org received more than 20,000 signatures, and the campaign received significant press coverage.
“Oh Lego, where are your basket balling wheelsters? Baseball playing Duplo folk with hearing aids?” the petition reads. “There are 150 million children with disabilities worldwide. Yet these kids are arriving into a world where ... they’re excluded or misrepresented by the very industry that exists to create their entertainment.”
The introduction of the new figure was celebrated by the Toy Like Me campaigners.
“We’ve got genuine tears of joy right now,” reads a statement from the petitioners. “After nearly a year of hard work and lobbying from #ToyLikeMe and you guys, Lego have listened to this little ol' toy box revolution and included a wheelchair user with an assistance dog in their new Fun in the Park set unveiled at London Toy Fair this week!”
Lego isn’t the only company to have introduced more diversity to its toys recently. For the first time, the new line of Barbie by Mattel includes dolls with a range of body types.
