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Why Society Still Needs Feminism
Because to men, a key is a device to open something. For women, it’s a weapon we hold between our fingers when we’re walking alone at night.
Because the biggest insult for a guy is to be called a “pussy,” a “little bitch” or a “girl.” From here on out, being called a “pussy” is an effing badge of honor.
Because last month, my politics professor asked the class if women should have equal representation in the Supreme Court, and only three out of 42 people raised their hands.
Because rape jokes are still a thing.
Because despite being equally broke college kids, guys are still expected to pay for dates, drinks and flowers.
Because as a legit student group, Campus Fellowship does not allow women to lead anything involving men. Look, I know Eve was dumb about the whole apple and snake thing, but I think we can agree having a vagina does not directly impact your ability to lead a
college organization.
Because it’s assumed that if you are nice to a girl, she owes you sex — therefore, if she turns you down, she’s a bitch who’s put you in the “friend zone.” Sorry, bro, women are not machines you put kindness coins into until sex falls out.
Because only 29 percent of American women identify as feminist, and in the words of author Caitlin Moran, “What part of ‘liberation for women’ is not for you? Is it freedom to vote? The right not to be owned by the man you marry? The campaign for equal pay? Did all that good shit get on your nerves? Or were you just drunk at the time
of the survey?”
Because when people hear the term feminist, they honestly think of women burning bras. Dude, have you ever bought a bra? No one would burn them because they’re freaking
expensive.
Because Rush Limbaugh.
Because we now have a record number of women in the Senate … which is a measly 20 out of 100. Congrats, USA, we’ve gone up to 78th place for women’s political representation, still below China, Rwanda and Iraq.
Because recently I had a discussion with a couple of well-meaning Drake University guys, and they literally could not fathom how catcalling a woman walking down University Avenue is creepy and sexist.
Could. Not. Fathom.
Because on average, the tenured male professors at Drake make more than the tenured female professors.
Because more people on campus complain about chalked statistics regarding sexual assault than complain about the existence of sexual assault. Priorities? Have them.
Because 138 House Republicans voted against the Violence Against Women Act. All 138 felt it shouldn’t provide support for Native women, LGBT people or immigrant women. I’m kind of confused by this, because I thought LGBT people and women of color were also human beings.
Weird, right?
Because a girl was roofied last semester at a local campus bar, and I heard someone say they think she should have been more careful. Being drugged is her fault, not the fault of the person who put drugs in her drink?
Because Chris Brown beat Rihanna so badly she was hospitalized, yet he still has fans and bestselling songs and a tattoo of an abused woman on his neck.
Because out of 7 billion people on the planet, more than 1 billion women will be raped or beaten in their lifetimes. Women and girls have their clitorises cut out, acid thrown on them and broken bottles shoved up them as an act of war. Every second of every day. Every corner of the Earth.
Because the other day, another friend of mine told me she was raped, and I can no longer count on both my hands the number of friends who have told me they’ve been sexually assaulted. Words can’t express how scared I am that I’m getting used to this.
Because a brief survey of reality will tell you that we do not live in a world that values all people equally and that sucks in real, very scary ways. Because you know we live in a sexist world when an awesome thing with the name “feminism” has a weird connotation. Because if I have kids someday, I want my son to be able to have emotions and play dress up, and I want my daughter to climb trees and care more about what’s in her head than what’s on it. Because I don’t want her to carry keys between her fingers at night to
protect herself.
Because feminism is for everybody, and this is your official invitation.
” — Caitlin O’Donnell, Drake University. (via on-another-note)
After you jump
But before you fall
You fly
And a million yous are born
And a million yous die
And in that bated breath of time and sky
You decide
Which of you survive
How I feel nearly every day of thesis.
This is how I’m getting through thesis, by trying (really hard) to be patient with the process. I haven’t blogged much because every time I settle on a plan, I discover that it’s not quite right. Since my last post, where I declared Gendered Interactions didn’t quite work, I’ve had a couple of other interations: cards, and a website.
The cards (3 iterations)
I took the traits I used in Gendered Interactions and applied them to a deck of cards. Each card includes a trait, a definition, and a couple of examples of that trait in context.
The first iteration were hand written index cards. I used them in a user interview last weekend. The index [very messy] cards were effective at facilitating a conversation around different perspectives within the context of an experience design project. My interviewee also pointed out that the cards, when split into 2 groups, made her think of work done by software engineers and that of designers.
Based on the success of that interview, I created a more finished set. These included color coding to make it easier to distinguish between the 2 types of traits. The same interviewee borrowed the cards as soon as they were done and used them in 2 brainstorms. I managed to set up a camera for part of the first brainstorm. After watching footage of the cards in use, it was obvious that the cards were useful for facilitating a conversation in a group. The group members pulled out words they thought related to their project, then used each card to spark a conversation around how their concept was or wasn’t like the trait.
After this iteration, it was apparent that the legibility of the cards made them more accessible to use than the previous prototype and could be used in a group without my presence. However, despite the 10 min conversation they were used in, the cards didn’t spark conversation about the tensions between different perspectives or approach.
For the third iteration, I numbered the cards 1 - 11. The intention was to make it easier to put them in pairs, hopefully prompting conversation around the differences in the traits and the perspectives they represent.
While they did make it easier for me to pair the cards, I found that they prompted more confusion over what the pairings could mean. A few advisors asked me to be more explicit about the intended audience and the specific points of view.
This post is getting a bit long, I’ll save the web concept for next time. Also, if you’d like to print your own cards at home, just drop me a line @tashwong on the twitters.
Making some cards. #thesis (at SVA MFA Interaction Design Dept)
“He knew the balance between innovation and America’s digestive system. He’s the only artist who was able to, basically, feed babies the most elaborate of foods that you would never give a child and know exactly how to break down the portions so they could digest it. I mean, ‘When Doves Cry’ is probably the most radical song of the first five years of the eighties, because there’s no bass. I heard the version of ‘Doves Cry’ with a bass line—it wouldn’t have grabbed me. Without bass it had a desperate, cold feeling to it. It made you concentrate on his voice. With the bass line, the song was cool. Without it, it was astounding.” —
I want to be like Prince.