Gender Salon
An Examination of Gender Clichés and Perspectives in Design
What actually makes good design? There are many examples of ostensibly good design which, at second glance, reveal themselves as stereotypical, badly conceived and sexist in nature. Often, things (un-)consciously contain gender codes «for men» or «for women», even if the product could be designed in a gender-sensitive way. To challenge the design of things, we will delve into everyday culture and examine how identities can be created and designed.
The Gender Salon offers lively, applied discussions of gender & design topics, examines everyday and popular culture and critically queries common design practices. We will look at societal change and explore new realms of design and possibility opened up by trendy terms such as «gender-fluid» and «female shift». Our focus will be on everyday items, design objects and lifestyle products, always in the context of the location: in the boxing gym, we will analyse shower gels and fitness snacks, the nail salon will be the setting for discussions about mom jeans and #feminism, whereas in the launderette we will have debates about unisex clothing and the Helvetica writing on the window.
