Lego will sell its first mini-figure in a wheelchair later this year, a company spokesman confirmed.
The addition follows online petitions and calls for Lego and other major toymakers to provide positive depictions of those with disabilities.
“We’ve got genuine tears of joy right now,” #ToyLikeMe organizer Rebecca Atkinson wrote. Her London-based Change.org petition calling for mini-figures with disabilities has received more than 20,000 signatures.
Photos of the new Lego figure emerged online following the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany.
The wheelchair mini-figure will be included in a Lego City set that will go on sale in June, Lego spokesman Michael McNally said.
“We have previously offered buildable wheelchairs and also a LEGO DUPLO wheelchair, but this is the first wheelchair molded at LEGO minifigure scale,” he said.
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In December, Atkinson wrote in the Guardian that Lego parts can be used to create wheelchairs and independent companies sell mini-figures in wheelchairs. But, she wrote: “Is this the same as the world’s largest toy brand getting behind the issue and including a guide dog user in the Lego City sets or factoring wheelchair access into an aeroplane design? It’s the power of the brand that is crucial.”
http://twitter.com/EmilyBett/status/692924864500494338
Sarah Larimer contributed to this report.
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