I like to hear various open discussions about sexuality and design.
Do you think in order to design some products, one’s sexuality effects
its shapes and uses? Yes, there are lot of products for specific groups of
sex. Young Female, Elder Female, Young male…etc. Are there any products that in your mind that is specifically for 
Masculine Male, Feminine male, Masculine Female and Feminine female?
Or Any products in your mind that some product it self speaks its sexual-ness? For example, I would say…Mid 90’s Mitsubish Eclipse reminds me of Glamorized female , and the newer Eclipse reminds me of more of Masculine Robust male in its surface and contours.
Any input will be so helpful for my upcoming Thesis. 
Thanks.
I definitely think sexuality exists everywhere, because we, as humans, tend to relate things to ourselves, our body or physical appearence.
I also don’t think sexuality is something so “physical”. It depends on what aspect of the feeling appeals to the person. In another words, what’s sexy. I tend to think that if something reminds of an elegance line that can be associated with a body, I am attracted to it.
I think most ergonomically designed products have a higher degree of sexuality than others, just because they were designed to fit the human well.
There’s a lot of sexuality in design for sure. What I’d like to know is why so much deviates towards the fallic. Does anyone know the psychology behind it? Is it just because long and lean is the best design or have we just told ourselves that. And are there areas/products that are more Georgia O’keefe? Also are there designers who have addressed this specifically in a series of designs? I mean is this all about a male dominated society?
We might have to ask if they really do deviate toward the phallic or is that just what’s in our minds that we project on to it? The same way we see faces in everything, cars, clouds, etc. Certain shapes and patterns are common in nature, for good reason, they work. But some cultures have such hangups about openly admitting to sexuality that anything that could potentially resemble genitals gets spotted out immediaty as something out of the ordinary.
Design happens where culture and commerce intersect, and demographics are a reality.
Our target users (Nurses) are overwhelmingly female, and it absolutely drives our design decisions. The most obvious is ergonomic, but there are also choices around interaction design that are driven based on the female persona; everything from conventions to dialog to problem-solving techniques.
There are numerous documented failures in adapting “male” products to the female market. Powertools are a great example of a failure because in feminizing the products they simultaneously destroyed it’s perceived value.
On the flipside was the category-destroying “Gillette Sensor Excel for Women” which compromised nothing in performance while adding woman-specific utility.
There’s a difference between “sexuality” and “gender-specificity” - I suspect the original post was about products being targeted at specific genders. Products that make us think or feel sexual is a rather different question. Perhaps some clarification would help make this thread more cohesive?
Being a designer definitely affects ones sexuality, you just have no time for it. Ask my wife.
I recently did a timeline that mapped the fast evolution of gender roles between “Alfies” - the first film of that titie in 1966 starring Michael Caine, and this year’s retched remake, starring Jude Law.
The first film was made in a period of male domination (pre 1970). Then roughly in the late 1970’s and early 80’s, there followed a period of “female empowerment.” Now, in the current Queer-eye-for-the-striaght-guy-meterosexual age that we live in, gender is more like an article of clothing than a natural birthright. (One caveat is that this is true mainly for Blue States and Europe, where despite recent political events, most popular culture is still created.)
What does this mean for design? When you are on a team designing a car or a phone or even a movie. Is there still such a thing as a “Chick-car” a “chick-phone” or a “chick-flick?” I would assert that gender qualities are difficult to design into an object because society makes meanings out of these objects - not designers. e.g. the BMW Z3 is considered by many in the States to be a “Chick-car.” It was not intended as such by its designers, and yet it became one.
At this beginning stage of my Thesis, I would love to think all the areas that includes sexuality and gender specificity. Although these two are somewhat different in context, there might be some link.
Gender specificity, which can just be male or female, but in this Gender bending/ metro sexuality transition era, I want to know how we are effecting Products in general, its meanings and uses VS. how the products are effecting our gender issues.
“Queer-eyes-for Straight Guys” was another cultural effect on our TV show. Interchange between what’s Queerness and what is Straightness in gender as a stereotype of these two groups of men.
But there are plenty of gays who are not artistically developed, and visa versa in straight guys as highly developed in creating arts and design.
So what is Queerness and what is Straightness in our culture?
Is this “Good”, “BAD”?
Or was it something that has been around yet we are just beginning to notice within uprising of political issues, or is it a cultural ephemeral?
It’s interesting how in French, Spanish etc. nouns have a gender.
So if english doesn’t have that, are we looking at things asexually?
Would English speaking Americans agree with the French on the sexuality of objects?
To those guy designers who are working in Design firms in the major cities:
:Have you ever think of yourself as a Metrosexual?
Straight Designers who are sensitive, well groomed, making enough money to spend on yourself and your girl<s??> , at the same time, you hangout with some gay friends who are just friends.
Today, I interviewed some gays and lesbians about Sexuality and Gender topic, all I got was,
that they think gays and lesbians are not much different from straights except who they are going out with. I was wondering…so is this really true?
Sensitivity and uncontrollable creative were the “MYTH”?
what about those countless gay artists and fashion people?
Please let me hear any thoughts on this if you have any personal feelings–good and bad from straights, gays or metro-s guys.
The Rebel Sell
If we all hate consumerism, how come we can’t stop shopping?
BY Joseph Heath and Andrew Potterfrom the mainpage’s recent post…I found this…
- Capitalism requires sexual repression. In its drive to stamp out individuality, capitalism denies the full range of human expression, which includes sexual freedom. Because sexuality is erratic and unpredictable, it is a threat to the established order. This is why some people thought the sexual revolution would undermine capitalism.
American Beauty:
…Later, Carolyn halts Lester’s sexual advances in order to prevent him from spilling beer on the couch. They fight. “It’s just a couch,” Lester says. Carolyn: “This is a $4,000 sofa upholstered in Italian silk. It is not just a couch.” Lester: “It’s just a couch!” Capitalism offers us consumer goods as a substitute for sexual gratification. Lester strains at the bit.
The relationship between sexual frustration and mass society is a general theme of the movie.
What american beauty illustrates, with extraordinary clarity, is that rebelling against mass society is not the same thing as rebelling against consumer society. Through his rebellion, Lester goes from being right-angle square to dead cool. This is reflected in his consumption choices.
This sort of “anti-advertising” was enormously successful in the 1960s, transforming the VW bug from a Nazi car into the symbol of the hippie counterculture and making the Volvo the car of choice for an entire generation of leftist academics. Similar advertising strategies are just as successful today, and are used to sell everything from breakfast cereal to clothing. Thus the kind of ad parodies that we find in Adbusters, far from being subversive, are indistinguishable from many genuine ad campaigns. Flipping through the magazine, one cannot avoid thinking back to Frank’s observation that “business is amassing great sums by charging admission to the ritual simulation of its own lynching.”
What we need to realize is that consumerism is not an ideology. It is not something that people get tricked into. Consumerism is something that we actively do to one another, and that we will continue to do as long as we have no incentive to stop.
better to read the whole article.
sex design book by
I thought these were fun. I am not sure if they can be agreed by gay auto buyers.
by Steve Siler
Top 10 gay cars of 2004
- VW Jetta: Top gay car for the commoner
What makes it gay?
Style and value: The Jetta’s chiseled good looks make other $15K-$20K cars look like, well, $15K-$20K cars.
Ford F-150: Top Gay Pickup
What makes it gay?
It looks like some interior decorator sprinkled his fairy dust all over the dashboard.Mercedes-Benz E-Class: Top Gay Luxury Car
What makes it gay?
An absolutely fabulous interior.Audi A4 Cabriolet: Top Gay Four-Seat Convertible
What makes it gay?
Clean-cut and handsome, the Audi A4 Cabriolet wins this popular segment by being significantly newer than the nearly-as-sweet BMW 3-Series Ragtop, and significantly cheaper than the slick Mercedes-Benz CLK Cabriolet.Jeep Wrangler: Top Gay Funster
What makes it gay?
“Holy bulging quadriceps, Batman! Are those detachable doors?”Jeep Grand Cherokee: Top Gay SUV
What makes it gay?
Like a plaid flannel and blue jeans, the Grand Cherokee has a classic, hook-mustached Brawny Man appeal.Infiniti FX35/FX45: Top Gay Luxury SUV
What makes it gay?
Infiniti imagined a bionic cheetah when conceiving the FX. (Seriously.) Now, how gay is that?BMW 3-Series: Top Gay Entry-Luxury Car
What makes it gay?
The queens just keep on buying 'em.Porsche Boxster: Top Roadster
What makes it gay?
Porsche + Roadster = GayMercedes-Benz SL: Top Gay Dream Car
What makes it gay?
Style, class, and quality.VW New Beetle Convertible: Top Gay Cliché
What makes it gay?
Hello – just look at it!
If you type l.e.s.b. i. a. n as one word, it will be posted as : lesbian
WHY??
Is this a joke from Core77.com, or are you guys don’t notice it?
Someone’s messed up.
Ikea has these funny advertising targeted for gay community as well as mainstream. I thought they were funny.
A furniture designer who struggles with creativity and IKEA’s products.
http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-bin/iowa/portrayals.html?record=2003
http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-bin/iowa/portrayals.html?record=2031
http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-bin/iowa/portrayals.html?record=2103
http://www.commercialcloset.org/cgi-bin/iowa/portrayals.html?record=2104
hi guys,
i remember sometime ago, there’s someone who posted a site where it shows the “gender” of everyday products by public polling or something along this line, anyone still got that link?
Check this site for sexual-activity inspired furniture. It´s from some Mexican guys.