IN A 1970s advertisement for Lego, a small girl holds up a free-form construction, made up of a jumble of different types of bricks and figures. She is wearing a blue T-shirt, a pair of jeans and blue sneakers, and her red hair is plaited. The ad features the caption ”What it is is beautiful”, in a call to parents to harness their children’s creativity and expression with the endless potential of one of the world’s most popular toys.

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If we want to encourage the next generation of children to reach their full potential, whatever their gender, then we need to be able to once again promote the appeal of and ideals behind images like the 1970s Lego girl. She is beautiful without a glittery fairy dress and pastel construction blocks and her mind is free to create and learn without worrying about how she looks.