Playing with Power - Gender and identity in Lego (2005 – 2015)

This dissertation explores the contrasting depictions of gender in modern toy design and marketing, with a specific focus on representations of masculinity and femininity in two of The Lego Group’s most popular modern toy lines – Lego City and Lego Friends.

In modern society where dialogues and boundaries around gender roles are continuously evolving, the world of children’s toys remains decidedly segregated. Even in the simplicity of colour association (pink and blue), one can discern a range of assumptions and limitations. While the universal structure of the Lego system presents a unique opportunity to bridge such divides, the company’s modern offerings communicate a very specific and binary view of gender in their design and media. In deconstructing the representations within each of these products — through visual analysis, theoretical concepts and field research — this dissertation hopes to identify and explore the limitations in potential identity this difference promotes and to investigate modern concepts of gender, identity and power inside the world of Lego and toys.