The subtopic I chose for my photo essay was The “Two Cultures” of Childhood. The picture I took conveys this topic through showing a typical Lego set marketed for boys, along with a typical Lego set marketed for girls. In my photo I used the creative technique of foreground and background to symbolize the gender bias and stereotyping of what is more vastly marketed/ produced, which are stereotypically sets for boys. Though in recent years Lego has produced more sets marketed towards girls the vast majority of their sets are marketed for boys to build and play with. I also used the technique of taking up space to symbolize this bias and inequality between boy culture and girl culture. My photograph displays the two differing cultures of childhood for girls and boys through the Lego sets that I chose to use. The sets that are typically marketed towards boys are racecars, trucks, etc. Meanwhile the sets that are typically marketed towards girls are flowers, shops, etc. This displays the concept that the article discusses that “boys are rougher and girls are sweeter, boys’ toys are hard and sharp, whereas girls’ toys are soft and smooth.” (The “Two Cultures” of Childhood, p. 60). This concept still creeps into society through marketing, in this case specifically the marketing of Lego. As a kid you do not recognize the marketing tactics but as adults we can see them clearly. This is why I used a white background in my photograph to symbolize the innocence of childhood. The innocence of childhood quickly turns into the reality of adulthood when you see the differences between the two Lego sets displayed in the photo. In the foreground you see the racecar alongside the monster trucks, while in the background you see the flower set. The use of foreground and background was to symbolize how Lego in recent years has tried to remove gender stereotyping from their marketing and toys to help harness a more inclusive brand. Though they have taken steps you can still clearly see through the photograph the differences between the sets, and they differ not just in their appearance but also in their functionality. Going back to the concept of boys playing rougher and girls playing gentler, the typical boy sets can be played with and raced but the typical girl set is just for display with no functionality.
Works Cited
The Two Cultures of Childhood. file:///C:/Users/faith/Downloads/The%20_Two%20Cultures_%20of%20Childhood.pdf. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.
1 comment:
From: Brooke Belange
Faith, I love the fact that you used legos to illustrate gender marketing especially because while they’re so popular among young children they’re also still popular with teens and some adults too. I myself have at least 6 different lego sets and each of my sets are definitely advertised specifically for girls as they are flowers or my vibrantly colored record player lego set with flowers attached. I never even thought about how legos are advertised or created to be appealing to one specific gender until now, so your essay did a great job of bringing this issue to light! You did great with the creative element of foreground and background as well as showing contrast between the lego sets. The monster trucks and racecars versus the flower set in the background really shows a contrast. I also feel like the two sets don't only show the difference of what's offered to boys and girls but also how the types of behavior sets were supposed to develop to fit our gender which you acknowledged from The Two Cultures of Childhood. For example the flower set shows how we are supposed to be sweet and look presentable or pretty and doesn't have any playability, while the boy lego sets show how boys are socialized to be competitive, active, and even violent. I also don’t know if it was intentional but the focused part of the picture being a blue and pink race car also really represent the gender based differences in legos. Overall this was a very creative way to express The “Two Cultures” of Childhood.
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