Role of Community Gone Wrong
Are we doing enough to acknowledge the consequences of our design solutions?
Watching the docu-series LuLaRich which shows the downfall of MLM fashion brand LuLaRoe, made me very uneasy for many reasons. Multi-level marketing (MLM) companies are borderline pyramid schemes which use a non-salaried workforce to sell more stuff, by paying out commissions. Sometimes, they require the workforce to make a monetary investment to get in the game.
MLMs loooove to sell a dream of financial autonomy to women, while “also being a stay-at-home mom”. Also, women are drawn to MLMs because they get to be a part of “a community of lasting love and fellowship. Empowerment. Gratitude. Purpose. Sisterhood.” (via Vox).
The “role of community” is a key theme in designing for women. I’ve written about the positive multiplier effects a strong community can have on women. But, just like social proof, community is double-edged too, and can go horribly wrong. As the LuLaRich story tells: we’re talking women experiencing harassment if they were to leave, women having to put up with a certain image and lifestyle (and therefore spending), and women in deep debt and lawsuits (and all the multiplier effects of that…oh my).
As these “double edge” moments emerge more and more, being honest about the consequences of design solutions — both positive and negative — becomes crucial. Something I share in the Design for Women Workshop is how often gender practitioners make hard decisions to throw away or keep design solutions with negative consequences for women. An idea might increase access to a service for women, but perpetuates a stereotype. What do we do? Sometimes, there’s no clear right answer.
But given that we live in a time of win-win-win ideas where it’s easy to turn a blind eye to the negatives, we can at least start with acknowledging all the consequences of our design. This is turning out to be a key design principle of how we approach all of our work at Unconform.
Have you used a consequence lens to look at products and services that otherwise promise a win-win? What did you find?
This post is an excerpt from Unconforming: a newsletter about Design for Women. Unconforming goes out every two weeks and also shares learnings from experts, job and other opportunities, examples and articles — all to make an impact in the women’s space. Sign up here to get it in your inbox!
