Disco divas and heroic knights: a critical multimodal analysis of gender roles in “create the world” LEGO cards

Mackenzie, J, Coffey-Glover, L ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4432-8177, Payne, S and McGlashan, M, 2020. Disco divas and heroic knights: a critical multimodal analysis of gender roles in “create the world” LEGO cards. In: Caldas-Coulthard, CR, ed., Innovations and challenges: women, language and sexism. Routledge, pp. 60-76. ISBN 9780367133726

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Abstract

This chapter investigates how gendered identities are constructed in a promotional series of collectable cards, co-created by Sainsbury’s (a UK Supermarket) and LEGO (an international toy manufacturer). It focuses on the representation of LEGO minifigures (small human-like toy figurines), presenting a systematic analysis of the way these figures are named, visually depicted and linguistically described on the cards. The findings reveal, first, that female is the marked form for a LEGO minifigure; female minifigures are represented half as often as male minifigures, and indices of gender are more compulsory for female characters. Second, the analysis shows that male and female minifigures are differentiated in distinct and restrictive ways, with women generally represented in terms of who and what they are (i.e. youthful and slim, with accentuated facial features) but men by what they do (i.e. being adventurous, taking risks, and having an occupation, especially one that relates to manual labour). These findings highlight some of the ways in which restrictive norms and sexist ideologies can be perpetuated through products targeting young children. They also demonstrate the importance of in-depth analysis and critique of such products, as a resource for resisting and challenging harmful and limiting gendered norms.

Item Type:	Chapter in book
Creators:	Mackenzie, J., Coffey-Glover, L., Payne, S. and McGlashan, M.
Publisher:	Routledge
Date:	27 March 2020
ISBN:	9780367133726
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.4324/9780429026140-5 DOI 1871141 Other
Rights:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in Innovations and challenges: women, language and sexism on 20 March 2020, available online: http://www.routledge.com/9780367133726
Divisions:	Schools > School of Arts and Humanities
Record created by:	Laura Ward
Date Added:	27 Mar 2024 11:27
Last Modified:	27 Mar 2024 11:27
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/51182

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