User:Queenfeline/may be or may not

Was (vielleicht) getan worden sein werden wird.

feminist glossary

What is it?

A database that will grow over the course of a year with feminist words and what they mean to us (not some stupid old white men who wrote the dictionary).

Why make it?

Because words are power and by reclaiming words we reclaim power. I want to make women see and understand that they oppress themselves with the sexist language they use and how easy it can be to change that with changing the way you speak. We also do speak everyday to people and if they hear you speak in a different way, they will (maybe, hopefully) question their way of speaking. (gutes Beispiel ist gendern im Deutschen. Fällt sofort auf und lässt einen stolpern und hinterfragen)

Workflow

Find out if this is actually a good project and doable – then figure out how to...

Previous practice

This combines my interest in words and language and feminism. It will also give space and voice to people who may be unheard and works as a connecting thing.

Relation to a wider context

Keywords for radicals (gonna read this in the summer break), feminist practices...

Wait what if we switch it around

A glossary of forbidden words

What is it?

Make a glossary with words that may seem normal at first, but then i explain why we should not use them anymore

Why make it?

To notice the sexism in language and make people use their voice in a good way

Workflow

Find words – define them – add why not to use them anymore

Timetable

tbd

Rapid prototypes

Previous practice

Language and feminism, glossary writing

What can i do with language that doesn't include a written book? how can i make language experimental? Well there is only written language or spoken language so either i write a book/website or i do an audio installation/radio show/podcast something. Or do a social experiment ... like making people say or dont say words and give them instructions to tell 5 people they know

Words on postcards

What is it?

Send postcards with one word and the meaning, sexist background and way of using it instead, etc. to a bunch of people. Send a postcard every week/month. Maybe let them send it to 5 people they know/ or give the one they have to the next person

Why make it?

To notice the sexism in language and make people use their voice in a good way

Workflow

Find words – define them – add why not to use them anymore – design postcards – find people who are interested – send it to them – watch how news are spreaded

Timetable

tbd

Rapid prototypes

start with one card and one word with the class/my friends

Previous practice

Language and feminism, glossary writing

Okay nice now we have a community aspect in there. i like that. Okay what else? Make people have conversations! Uh wait

Cardgame

What is it?

Make a card game with words/sentences stupid dudes might say when talking about feminism and let people find clever answers/responds in a gamey way so they are better prepared for real life

Why make it?

I find myself in situations where i dont know how to respond and i freeze eventho i know better. So this is training in a (hopefully) funny way for real life interactions. (also opens up a room for connection and exchanging experiences and creating a feeling of togetherness)

Workflow

Find stupid dudes – write down their stupid sentences – come up with clever answers – come up with instructions on how to play this game (maybe give them random words that need to be included in the response to spark inspiration or something like that)

Timetable

tbd

Rapid prototypes

Make it and play with friends to see if it works

Previous practice

Language and feminism, and getting braver in using your voice

Okay nice i like where this is going. Okay brain one more and the you can get lunch... so think! How can feminism reach people who dont have contact with it or maybe are scared and intimidated by it (the word) work in public spaces. Gorilla marketing mäßig maybe. You know how there is these stupid quotes on the backsides of the tea bags? What if we make them feminist statements without branding the packaging in a certain way. Just keep it normal so people keep on buying it and maybe get a little oh when they read it. Oh or i could make stickers about the words and their meaning and stuff and hide them in tampon packages or actually work together with o.b. haha as a way to get people read and see. hm and also maybe make toilet paper with shitty words we dont use anymore and why and let people actually wipe their ass with them and flush them down the toilet as a symbol of flushing them out of their vernacular looool haha okay time for lunch.

I talked to sevgi and she told me its interesting that me, who thinks about words and language and what words to use and what not, why am i avoiding the word feminism? Is there a definition issue with the word feminism itself?! YES, can i solve that? probably not...my approach is to circumvent the word in order to avoid triggering people which would maybe (probably) result in them not dealing with feminism as a whole. Cause i think people are scared of the word/concept behind it cause they think its some man-hating radical weird shit, when in reality it fights for equality. I want to make them see, that it is not that and that (especially for women) it is so important to notice sexism and how we work on/are part of our own oppression!

Okay maybe my approach to activism is doing it rather silently, i mean i act like its normal and there already. So i avoid big branding and writing feminism on everything cause i think it has more impact if i just act like its already there, buuuuut do i catch other people with that? cause its fighting an issue that i cannot solve myself and i need other people. A result of demonstrations is feeling less alone in this fight and feeling the community and it can also be quite freeing to scream the things you wish could be reality in a big group. So is my approach actually working? Does Feminism need a rebranding????

Q&A

What is it?

Website with a philosophical question that you can answer with graphic elements. So imagine you have a deep philosophical question at the top of the page and that you normally would never have an answer for. Then there is a building space with forms to select and then you can build an answer in form of a graphic construct.

Why make it?

This makes it possible to answer these questions and you may find some comfort in it.

Workflow

Find philosophical questions, make a few cool forms, build the website

Timetable

tbd

Rapid prototypes (scratches)

Previous practice

just general interest in philosophy and graphicdesign

Relation to a wider context (personal reader?)

for me this is relating to the questions i ask myself or that come up in class while we do what we do.

Define definition

What is it?

Imagine a website with only one sentence displayed. This sentence is the definition of the word definition. From that sentence on you can click on other words from that description and then get the definition of that word and so on and on...

Why make it?

cause every word that you use to describe another also needs a definition. And someone may not know that word. Also, for me, when you start looking into definitions you questions every words meaning haha

Workflow

build an dictionary api

Timetable

tbd

Rapid prototypes (scratches)

Previous practice

That idea emerged out of the glossary working session, where we got one word and looked deep into the definition for the whole afternoon.

Relation to a wider context (personal reader?)

What does a word mean? For you and for me?

Define definition 2

What is it?

you get a word and give it your definition and what it means to you. if you dont know the word – just think of anything that comes to mind.

Why make it?

cause words have different meanings for each one of us, as our upbringings are shaped by culture and communities.

Workflow

get a dictionary – flip through the pages and stop at a random page and find a random word – write down the definition.

Timetable

tbd

Rapid prototypes (scratches)

siehe workflow

Previous practice

XPub definitions vs dry definition

Relation to a wider context (personal reader?)

What does a word mean? For you and for me?

Keyboards

What is it?

Imagine all the different computer keyboards we have in class. Display them in a way or type the same sentence and show the differences. Or type the same keys and show the different outcome.

Why make it?

Cause its a fun way to see how something that you're so used to is so different for everyone.

Workflow

Take pics of all keyboards in class – come up with a sentence – type it on all the keyboards and document the finger placements – then choose one placement and use it on all the others and see how the words change

Timetable

tbd

Rapid prototypes (scratches)

Previous practice

just me being curious.

Relation to a wider context (personal reader?)

you get a random word. then come up with 10 other words that have nothing to do with it – then find a connection between these.