The Ripple Effect Consequences hidden underneath the “Gender-Neutrality” Guise
Designing under the guise of “gender-neutrality” while catering to the default male creates unintended consequences for women
With most of our world designed under the guise of “gender-neutrality” while catering to the default male, there are consequences for women that most of us can never even see coming. Even though I support my clients and communities by identifying these unintended consequences, I’ve been thinking about the extent to which consequences are hidden — even for someone like me who thinks about this all the time.
At the Design for Women Workshops, I share several examples of “gender-neutral” design that create unintended consequences. One of them is Manforce condoms: “This is a brand that could promote healthy sexual behaviours, and yet they choose to call themselves Manforce,” I say in the workshop. Recently, a participant pushed back: “I don’t get this example, this is just stupid boys doing stupid sh*t.”
The thing is — the stupid sh*t has consequences:
When we go beyond the surface-level stupidity of the contraceptive’s name choice, we see that its chosen brand and tone create further consequences too:
- For example, one of their ads shows a wife waiting for her husband to come home from work, and then goes on to seduce him, encouraging viewers to “get naughty.”
- The advert perpetuates stereotypes: women stay at home getting ready for their man to come home while men go to work. It also normalises sexist behaviours: the husband consistently ogles his wife as the primary “obtainer of pleasure.”
- By choosing to prioritise the objectification of women’s bodies, the advert justifies the conservatism of Hindu nationalists who ended up restricting its airtime “to protect women’s dignity,” in a country where contraception is still hugely taboo.
It could be different:
As a leading contraceptive brand in India, Manforce has so many other choices:
- They could prioritise contraception education
- They could change the narrative about women’s sexual agency
- They could advocate for consent.
If only they moved away from their “gender-neutral guise” or the traps of seeing men as primary users of condoms rather than contraception as a product for all, they could create positive consequences for all.
We rarely come across brands going the extra mile to meet women’s needs, unless they are catering to women as their majority consumer. Have you?
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!
