Identity Politics: there’s now an app for that.
Continued from Flux Trends’ 6 Trends for 2019…
2017 was the catalyst, and last year was the social-cultural awakening (WOKE to wide awake, as Flux Trends put it). In 2019 the call for inclusivity, individualism and safe spaces will grow louder.
In reaction to the #metoo movement, tech innovators are creating consent apps for sexual intercourse. Apps like uConsent, YesMeansYes and LegalFling ask the user to confirm they consent to sexual activity with another user. A passion killer but one of the harsh realities of the zeitgeist.
In terms of gender politics, apps are being designed to assist people in unlearning gender stereotypes by altering key words via predictive text. Many people communicate differently to children depending on their gender, which means that girls, specifically, are likely to have internalised gender stereotypes by the age of six. Finnish child rights organisation, Plan International, in partnership with Samsung, is trying to change that with their predictive text app, Sheboard. The app’s by-line, Raised by Words, aims to increase awareness about the impact of gendered speech as you type.
Above: An introduction to Sheboard
By: Dion Chang and Khumo Theko
About Dion Chang
About Khumo Theko
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Image credit: All About Arizona News
Video credit: Plan Suomi International
