Toxic Pink

Game Interaction Design

The subconscious discrimination and rejection of femininity prevent people from seeing the true value of "female related" things. Just like the "new thing" in gaming, once it is associated with "female," the second gender, the label "feminine" takes over. "Femininity" is like a virus that is rejected by some but keeps expanding.

Position: Personal Project

// "Toxic" Femininity

For a long time, femininity has been isolated from the mainstream by masculinity as a subordinate and secondary existence. The double standard attitude toward men and women, and the instinctive rejection of femininity has been an unresolved issue - until men and women are fully equal, everyone is a potential sexist.

Background

// "Feminine" in the Nature

Gender rights in animal societies are highly centered on survival and reproduction. Both differences in body size, distribution of social power, etc. are developed to maximize group benefits. In social animal groups, females bear the burden of production, and a large number of body resources are directed to reproduction and lactation. While males accordingly need to take on the function of protecting females when they are pregnant and more vulnerable, and therefore their bodies are correspondingly "stronger". This lays the foundation for the skewing of power in human society.

A. Change of Productivity

The change of social productivity determined the change of the status of men VS women.

B. Unpaid Female Labor

Modern society, under the dual control of the capitalist-dominated market and the patriarchal-dominated family form, has formed the historical root of the low status of women mainly based on unpaid female labor, especially.

C. Sexual Resource Possession

The possession of women's labor by men can be understood as a kind of sexual resource possessed by men over women.

Current Situation

// The Exploitation on Women is Ongoing

1 ) 2021 Texas Heartbeat Act

The Texas Heartbeat Act establishes a system in which members of the public can sue anyone who performs or facilitates an illegal abortion for a minimum of $10,000 in statutory damages.

With 85 percent of the world's women seeking abortions being at least six weeks pregnant, this bill not only forces women to find out their pregnancy status at a very early stage but also to make a decision on whether to have an abortion in a very short period of time, a serious violation of ethical concerns.

2 ) 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder

The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder case involved a rape and fatal assault that occurred on 16 December 2012 in Munirka, a neighborhood in South West Delhi.

The incident took place when Jyoti Singh, a 22-year-old female physiotherapy intern, was beaten, gang-raped, and tortured in a private bus in which she was traveling with her male friend. There were six others in the bus, including the driver, all of whom raped the woman and beat her friend.

3 ) the 1930s Comfort women

Comfort women or comfort girls were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The name "comfort women" is a translation of the Japanese ianfu (慰安婦), a euphemism for "prostitutes".

Estimates vary as to how many women were involved, with most historians settling somewhere in the range 50,000–200,000; the exact numbers are still being researched and debated. Most of the women were from occupied countries, including Korea, China, and the Philippines.

// There is still a Long Way Towards Gender Equality

The status of women has changed dramatically in the last 100 years. Women have been given academic rights, the right to work, the right to vote, etc. Yet women still face a serious gender skew in power in business management and politics. As the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said: "Political representation is the clearest evidence of the gender power gap. Women are outnumbered by an average of 3 to 1 in parliaments around the world, but their presence is strongly correlated with innovation and investment in health and education."

This is heavily related to the bias against women and femininity.

Female Definition

Design Thinking

A. Society is Still Used to Control Women as Sexual Resources

In many instances of disproportionate violations of women's rights, it is clear that some people still subconsciously see women as a sexual resource. The effort and labor associated with it has been seldom recognized and quantified as productive capacity. Such violations are often covered by the shade of "motherhood" and "women's vocation".

B. The Objectification of Female

Historically, it appears that the objectification and othering of women is deeply rooted in the entire society. This has influenced people's inspection habits towards women. It also affects the way every woman sees herself.

C. Implicit Disapproval and Disrespect for Female

Women and women-related things are respected and recognized in a much lower level than men. There are numerous examples of this. For instance, it used to be the common assumption that women should prepare food at home, but the chef of a restaurant should be a man.

D. Gender Inequality is Commonplace

Gender inequality in today's society remains high. In particular, there is a serious disproportionate percentage in politics. This has a lot to do with the lack of recognition of women and femininity. Yet much femininity is exactly what is missing in the management of today's society.

Concept Development

// Ideation

I want to design an interactive game to express in a metaphorical way that although people nowadays generally accept the concept of female equality, there is still implicit discrimination against women. I wanted to reflect people's views on femininity and female-related things through the form of a game.