Building a Life
Discursive and Social Design
A press-fit toy designed to demonstrate the struggle of women in STEM
Inspiration
At the elementary school level, boys and girls show an equal aptitude and excitement for science, technology, engineering, and math. As they progress through their education and on to industry, however, the percentage of women decreases the higher up they go. I wanted to show that this is often due to society’s past and current attitudes towards gender, stereotyping, and overt sexism. While most women might not experience a significant event to drive them away from STEM, little comments over a long period of time can build and have a lasting effect.
“I want to change the world.”
The toy is designed to show this lasting effect through making. The pieces are meant to represent those comments, building on each other to create a structure of life. Some are positive, designed to provide support and present new possibilities for growth, but some are negative, designed to destabilize the structure and redirect new paths.
“You don’t look like what I think an engineer should look like.”
Each phrase was determined by doing research first hand or through documentaries or interviews. The pieces were designed with either stabilization or destabilization in mind. Each phrase was then matched to a corresponding positive or negative piece. They were then raster engraved and laser cut out of white acrylic to create the final toy.
