We are all soft and pink on the inside, and someday everyone will see this.
Contents
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Project proposal Social Design Yanki Lee Luke Anderson Drew-Ashlyn Cunningham Fox Fisher Lewis Hancox Alice Denny Reuben Davidson Gender Manifesto Posters from film Fox and Lewis - My Genderation
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The Representation of Gender in Society
Field of Study Sexuality and gender are being explored thoroughly in the 21st century, but cultural, historical and religious biases still occur. I wish to challenge and question these through social design. I believe sexuality and gender labels do not (and should not) exist, and that they are terms created by society, and that without these we would be a much more open, loving and accepting society. Additionally, I believe that gender is not binary, despite society telling us so, and that this needs to be expressed more within society, particularly towards children and teenagers. Gender is defined as “the state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones)”, whereas sexuality is defined as “the capacity for sexual feelings, a person’s sexual orientation or preference”. As gender and sexuality are different, I have chosen to solely explore gender (although they do often overlap), and will do so nationally – how people feel about gender variation, gender stereotypes and the way in which society has constructed gender ideals.
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Context Beliefs about gender are vast within Western culture, but additionally worldwide, where there is a huge cultural difference between the way in which society views gender. For example, the term ‘third gender’ is widely used in parts of Asia, particularly to describe ‘hijras’ of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who have gained legal identity. Third gendered individuals are often seen as god-like. Yet, in Western culture, we are still struggling to accept the wide spectrum of the human body (and of sexuality). Not only this, but language associated with sexuality and gender has an integral impact on society, particularly with children and teenagers. Artist Gerald Davis explores this in his illustrations ‘Fagboy’ (1986), depicting his real life experiences with children naming him a “fag” for enjoying drawing. I believe it is society that has created a fabricated ideal of what it means to be male and female, and although creativity is no longer widely seen as feminine, there are still societal aspects that apparently make someone ‘manly’ or ‘girly’. Not just this, but language is also a large part of the struggles of many trans* people, due to the curiosity and ignorance of cisgendered individuals. Male and female ideals are explored by JeongMee Yoon through photography in ‘The Pink and Blue Project’ (2005-present) who looks at conventional gender associations within children’s toys and commercial fashion. Although these outcomes are extreme, it is actually a fair representation of the way in which consumption has influenced society’s way of presenting gender, and the setbacks for gender variation. Gender is widely explored in the
Western world, where trans* (a term widely used to describe transgender and transsexual) people have the same human rights as cisgendered people (an individual’s experience of their own gender matches the sex they were assigned at birth), and where gender reassignment surgery is widely available. Interestingly, Facebook has announced that it will allow users to customise their gender with up to 50 options. Although these developments are wonderful, society still has a long way to progress. The spectrum of gender is fascinating, and is also explored by transsexual advocates Fox and Lewis through the medium of film in their documentaries ‘My Genderation’. In terms of education, it has come to my attention in recent years that children are not as informed about gender as they are about sex. Interestingly, despite progression in the UK and USA with understanding of being trans*, confusion and prejudice still remains – this calls for concern about how the rest of the world are informed about gender. Within this theme, Channel 4 have shown numerous documentaries depicting the spectrum of gender and sexuality. Designer Yanki Lee has included the importance of education and design within her projects, stating that design can make people think differently. Yanki questions how, within social design, we can help people to understand collective issues. This is relevant to the path I will be going down with this project, and as Bruce Mau Design and the Institute without Boundaries states: “It’s not about the world of design. It’s about the design of the world”.
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Design Focus This topic was chosen for my FMP because it is something I am hugely passionate about and interested in. I come from a very open family, and have always been encouraged to be curious about ‘the bigger picture’ – in this case, the way in which we see gender, worldwide. Not only this, but I have an interest in human rights, and am an activist, particularly for the LGBT community. Within this, I have learnt a lot about gender and sexuality through documentaries, social media and influential, well-known human rights activists. Throughout learning about gender, it has come to my attention that although gay and lesbian prejudices still exist, there is far more ignorance, fear and taboo surrounding trans* individuals, which is something I am ardent about changing. Statistically, 41% of transgendered Americans have committed suicide, and among trans* people who became homeless because of bias against their gender identity, 69% said they had tried to kill themselves. Out of those who had been turned away by a doctor because they were transgender or gender-nonconforming, 60% had attempted suicide sometime in their lives. I believe a large portion of the reason for such suicides is not just because of a confusion of identity, but also for the following two reasons. Firstly, sex education and pastoral care needs to change within schools – children should be taught about sexuality and gender diversity, not just about periods, condoms and sex. Secondly, I believe society has fabricated the gender ‘norms’, instead of encouraging gender diversity. Male
and female gender stereotypes are emphasised through the media and consumerism, and through religious teachings that project an image of how boys and girls should dress, and what is suitable for their given birth gender. My main inspiration for this project is to emphasise the impact gender prejudices have on individuals and society, and that there is a massive need for change. Within a design context, I wish to challenge the deceptions and prejudices people face who believe they do not fit in with gender norms. Additionally, I want to emphasise that gender does not define someone’s identity. I will do so through social and political design, through the medium of an advertising campaign. An example of this is Stonewall UK’s ‘Some People Are Gay. Get Over It’ (2007) campaign as part of ‘Stonewall’s Education for All’ campaign to tackle homophobic bullying in schools. The ad contains a zero-tolerance message, which is something I want to emulate with the prejudices many trans* people have to endure, which I believe is not dealt with enough, both socially and politically. Additionally, I wish to present this campaign through interactive advertising in situational environments that relate to the project. Transport’s THINK! #PubLooShocker campaign is a great example of this – using interactive advertising to create shock, and evoke food for thought about a serious social issue.
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Social Design
Design can be used as a means to sell products or services to consumers. However, it can be so much more than that - it can be a platform to address and resolve social and political issues. The issue of cis-gender privilege and a lack of knowledge of trans* etiquette is a social problem that needs to be confronted. The most effective way to do so is through social design. Education is an integral part of teaching young members of society about gender variation, however, as this is not a mandatory part of the education sector, knowledge about gender diversity can be expressed through social design. Gendered Intelligence is an organisation that aims to express gender through creative forms, whilst also raising awareness and encouraging policy development in the UK. Whilst their organisation contributes towards a community, rather than consumers, this project opens new ways of creating awareness through interactive, situational advertising. Gendered Intelligence allows the trans* community to express themselves in a safe space. This project develops from that safe space, projecting the ideology that the trans* community should not need such a space - that people should have a better understanding of language and social behaviour to ensure that society does not create social limitations for trans* people. Social design allows individuals to
experience social issues when they may not have originally thought about, or expressed concerns for such problems. The aim of this project is to use advertising in a space where it evokes feelings of discomfort, confusion and awkwardness - a continual experience for a great number of trans* people, not just nationally, but all over the world. Technology has allowed social designers to confront issues that may apply to thousands of people, whilst individually targeting a singular person in a particular environment or location. Facial recognition has allowed this project to develop as a design that appears to target an individual with a thought-provoking message in a public, but intimate space. Technology and the internet allows society to view worldwide campaigns online, which often create a viral buzz. Such internet sensations develop knowledge of social and political issues that one may have previously known very little about. Whether it is common knowledge or not, language and ignorance are set backs for the development and understanding of gender diversity, and this can be, and should be, changed through social innovation. Designers can use social tools to aid understanding, which in turn can create compassion and safety for people who perhaps feel that society sees their appearance; genitals; voice; body; gender, before they see a person.
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Yanki Lee Design can make people think differently. As an educator, how can we get people to understand? Understand empathy, look at people in a different way?
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Luke Anderson I am a man. I know I am. Even without a penis I know who I am, my family do and all the people I care about. What defines me is the way I treat others and hope to be treated in return - with respect and dignity.
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Drew-Ashlyn Cunningham The only way genitals should come into play is with sex, to create life and to go to the toilet. Other than that, genitals shouldn’t define you as a person. I think if people stepped out of this mind thinking that it’s so important they would probably view so many people in a completely different way.
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Fox Fisher I’ve heard situations where trans people have turned it back on the person enquiring, asking them about their own genitalia. This helps for the person asking to realise how inappropriate this is. We are all much more than our ‘junk’ and gender is so much more intricate than that.
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Lewis Hancox I believe far too much importance is placed upon the gender we are, and the roles that have been put in place just don’t suit everyone. In fact, I don’t really think they suit anyone at all!
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Alice Denny Body parts are off limits. They are none of anyone’s business - not even other transgender people, who sometimes (presumptuously) think it is OK to ask personal questions. It’s not. The same goes for hormones, ‘before and after photos’, or anything that would normally be off limits for any other woman.
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Reuben Davidson Trans* bodies mean very different things to each individual who owns them. There is this general blanket that all trans* people come under that we were “born in the wrong body�. I sort of see that analogy as lazy, really. It only perpetuates this idea that the gender binary is all that exists.
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Gender Manifesto
1. Gender is constructed by society, and this needs to be recognised through all generations. 2. Children should be educated both at home, and in schools that they do not have to follow constructed gender roles of the sex assigned to them at birth. 3. Education can be taught through many social design tools, including technology. 4. Gender variation is normal – it is society and consumerism that has fabricated ‘manly’ and ‘girly’ ideologies. 5. Social design through situational advertising allows people to question their beliefs and morals. Society should also be questioned. 6. ‘Trans*’ should be a term that is widely understood, and can be defined as easily as sexuality terms are in Western culture, e.g. defining ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’. 7. Allow yourself to question gender, and question the impact it has on society, particularly individuals. 8. Turn the tables by thinking about the language used when questioning trans* bodies, onto yourself. 9. Open your mind to gender fluidity, educating others and recognising prejudices that need to change, as
much as gay rights and the decrease in homophobia has in the last 20 years – transphobia needs to be addressed too. 10. Being trans* is not a choice. It should be normalised within society, as this can heavily affect employment for a large proportion of trans* people. 11. Allow yourself to digest information and knowledge through social design. 12. Gender is not binary. 13. Your genitals do not define you.
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Fox and Lewis - My Genderation
This project has allowed me to put my passions and beliefs into action through a medium that is not only relational to my career dreams, but also is a way of communicating and informing the public. I am lucky to come from a very open-minded family, free of prejudices, as this has influenced me to be aware of both hatred and compassion for fellow human beings. Human rights have always interested me, and I am lucky to be part of a generation that is able to easily access such information. Channel 4’s ‘My Transsexual Summer’ opened up a bank of knowledge for me, along with a spectrum of emotions from experiences of people in the show. The courageousness and bravery of the Trans* Summer cast have continued to inspire me, and have had a detrimental influence on my final major project topic. Featured previously are quotes (taken from interviews) from Fox Fisher and Lewis Hancox, who appeared on Trans* Summer, and have subsequently continued to promote gender diversity. Their film company Lucky Tooth Productions has showcased the series ‘My Genderation’, which documents gender diversity of every generation. Whilst I prefer to label myself an ‘art direction’, and am by no means a ‘film maker’, Fox and Lewis’s work has motivated me not only to pursue this topic for my degree, but also to genuinely try and influence societies view of trans* people, even if
that only includes my classmates (and hopefully you reading this). Fox and Lewis have had their films shown in schools, universities, film festivals and is endorsed by the BBC through their ‘Fresh’ documentaries. They have been included on the wellknown Pink List, and Lewis was named #13 in The Guardian’s top 30 young people in digital media list. They are making a huge difference to society through a creative medium, and this in turn has encouraged me to do the same. These documentaries have questioned the way in which we view gender, bodies and people - something that I hope I have emulated in this project. Without young, passionate people like Fox and Lewis, I would not have this information, understanding and motivation to influence society.
Stephanie Bryan-Kinns