Think Piece #1

 In the beginning of the article "Gender Scripts" the writer explains how their is a relationship between gender and day-to-day objects. The article later dives deeper into how material objects tend to represent a specific gender. The studies objective is to find out exactly why certain objects are related to a gender. An example given is how the telephone was once considered to express a woman's femininity, although the telephone was marketed as a business tool. This tool was eventually transformed into a mainstream way of communication for anyone. An important theme in studying technology and gender is the designers projected user. The concept of "script" was introduced by Akrich. "Gender scrip" refers to what gender identities or relations designers represent with products. The article states that gender can be explicit or implicit in the design process. This means that when a product is designed specifically for either a male or a female, it is explicit. This is because it is clearly stated. Other products are implicit, or implied that it is for use of one gender over the other. This is often because of stereotypes of what society thinks should be masculine or feminine. Users obviously do not have to accept the script. In this day in age it is easier for people to not have to conform to stereotypes of what should be for a male and what should be for a female. When this article was written things were much different in society. Another example of "script" is the shaver. A shaver is something interesting to analyze in these studies because shaving tools were made divided for men and women. Phillips electric razor is a main focus in this study. First coming out with a shaver that was clearly marketed for men, the company later came out with a shaver for women. This was an implicit use of gender roles because the shaver was of a very similar model, but the case had a feminine touch. The tool was pink and had a slightly different head. This has always been interesting to me because it is apparent that use of certain colors have been associated with gender. For instance, blue is associated with men and pink is associated with women. This is a strategy that is still used in marketing. Colors are really the first thing that come to mind when thinking about what I see in real life and products I have used. I have a twin brother so thinking back on my childhood there are certain things that are obviously geared towards boys and girls. All of my things as a child were pink and all of my brothers things were blue. Even gender reveal parties for pregnant ladies focus on these colors. I did some research on why these colors have gender stereotypes and it started in the 19th century. It is said that pink is associated with women because it is close to red and red is seen as a romantic color and women are seen as more emotional. In the 1960's groups of women challenged these social norms but no progression was made because products continued to be directed to a specific gender starting with baby products. In my birth photos, my brother was swaddled in a blue blanket and I was in a pink blanket, so it seems as if this stereotype is as old as time. The issue with this is assigning babies with a color pressures them later on to fit into a role. Two colors also enforces right from birth that there are only two genders one can claim. If you are a girl, you have to like pink. If you are a boy, you have to like blue and if you do like pink you aren't considered manly. These are all ideologies that can be harmful to a child's upbringing and their identity. Gender colors are becoming more and more outdated. Parents are letting their children choose what they can wear and what colors they express themselves with. This is a great example of "gender script" and the realities of marketing items toward a gender.