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Designers Focus On Gender Neutral Gadgets
from the gadgets-for-everyone dept
While, historically, most people have thought of gadgets as being something that mostly men were into, it's no secret that (increasingly) "chicks dig gadgets" too. So, it come as no surprise that the designers of consumer electronics and other gadgets are less and less interested in specifically designing products for men or for women, but are looking for designs that appeal to everyone. As someone in the article points out, if you're just designing for a particular gender segment, you may miss out on plenty of good design ideas. This all makes sense, but there is something to be said for targeting specific segments as well. Not everything should be designed to appeal to every single person.
Reader Comments
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The Homo Depot
One quote got me --
"The iPod is a great example of gender-neutral," said Brenda Laurel, chairwoman of the media design program at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., and a designer of video games for girls. "If you are a man, you don't feel like a wuss carrying it around. That's the bottom line."
What planet is she on?? The iPod reminds me of a BBW (Big Beautiful Woman) who thinks she's cool.
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Re: The Homo Depot
Since most of us geeks skipped womans' studies for *any* of our electives, I think it might be important to point out that gender bias is a two way street...
...and to me it seems like this woman has some really weird ideas about men that she probably shares with the other half the population.
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Nature's unisex designs
Yup, when you open a women's magazine, their concept of an ideal man has female values applied -- their ideal man is usually well-dressed, sensitive, and socially adept in feminine ways. Ditto for men's mags, a lot of the bikini bimbos are basically jocks with boobs. There is an undercurrent of homosexual appeal where the reader is superficially attracted to the opposite gender (physically), but the model has qualities that fit the reader's own gender.
As the book Biological Exuberance says, many birds and insects are not smart enough to tell gender apart, so they just keep buttfucking each other until enough eggs are laid. The Sambia people of New Guinea have a mythology that revolves around the androgynous cassowary bird; in their creation myth, the first people were believed to be created through homosexual fellatio.
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Political Correctness Strikes Again
Humm... looks over its gadgets looking for gender bias and can't find anything completely obvious.
...but if you head to akibara you'll find plenty of hello kitty add-ons and accessories for random technology.
Now, if you mean decreasing size, weight, power consumption, general form factor so that the device will have better usability in smaller hands (yes, women have smaller hands than men... that's not gener bias, it's a fact), then I'm all for it... these types of advances help me too.
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Ergonomics vrs. Gender
Funny ... I've never quite thought of gadgets as gender specific unless your referring to a dildo. When I shop for an electronic item I am usually more focused on its ergonomics ... Does it suit my needs ? Is it easy to use and are the controls intelligently placed ? Is it a good value for the amount of money I am paying ? Is it compatible with other electronics I own ?
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