Visual Representations of Body Diversity in Technical Documentation: Toward a LEGO Friends Case Study

This paper lays out the necessity for further research into visual representations of diverse human bodies, including those presenting with disabilities, physical and health conditions, and using assistive technologies, in technical communication. To illustrate this necessity, the paper examines a multimodal case study of instruction manuals and other technical documentation surrounding LEGO Friends construction toys that feature characters representative of such diverse human bodies, highlighting a conspicuous absence of context for visual body markers and outlining why such context is of relevance.