The argument was started by Melissa Wardy who thought that Lego should produce more toys that represent female scientists. She says that: “Girls can’t be what they can’t see and we demand more examples of girls and women that celebrate our intellect, courage, and creativity” (Wardy). Therefore, she wrote a petition to the CEO of Lego asking the company to produce a series of minifigures consisted of female scientists.
What is the claim: “Every argument has a purpose, goal or aim – namely, to establish a claim (conclusion or thesis)” (Barnet and Bedau 338). In this argument the claim is that children, both boys and girls, should be able to play with Lego toys where minifigures have the equal number of female and male scientists so that both genders could develop the sense of intellectual capability from early age.
What are the grounds: “In an inductive argument the grounds are the evidence – a sample, an observation, or an experiment – that makes the claim plausible or probable” (Barnet and Bedau 338). In this argument the grounds are that girls are not encouraged enough to identify themselves with the toys they are playing with as much as boys because there are more toys which represent male scientists than toys that represent women scientists.
What is the warrant: Warrant means “explaining why our grounds really support our claims”. In this case the warrant is that girls deserve to have equal rights as boys and have a choice of playing with female figures which symbolically represent the potential role models for them and it can inspire them to become scientists as well.
Works Cited
Barnet, Sylvan, and Hugo Bedau. Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing: A Brief Guide to Argument. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 337-48. Print.
Wardy, Melissa. "LEGO: Give Us More Options for Girls and Produce the Female Scientists Series!." Change.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2016. <https://www.change.org/p/lego-give-us-more-options-for-girls-and-produce-the-female-scientists-series>.
