How do the research question and interventions interact?
That’s a key question in this process! The research question is the materialization of your inquiry, just like the interventions — they are all interconnected. I can see that now, but I still feel like I have two branches of questions, as I’m uncertain about which direction to take.

My first attempt at a question and the one I finished my Unit 1 was: “How can we help people identify and question designs that reinforce power structures and inequality from a gender perspective?” Which led to FlagTheGap and the collage workshop with Skaped.

After those interventions, my second attempt was: “How can participatory interventions help people, especially women, recognize, question, and challenge normalized gender norms in their everyday environments?” Which led to the idea of making a board game about this, where we placed on a piece of cardboards the red flags of the environment we have normalized. It didn’t develop much after that.

After conversations with Sofía Díaz and Emilia Márquez, my question evolved into: “How can participatory interventions help individuals recognize and challenge invisible gender norms related to the concept of ‘average’ bodies and their impact on daily life?”

But now, reflecting on the interventions I’ve carried out, my biggest insight is that people often struggle to identify these gaps because they are difficult to articulate without prior awareness. The gap is in the gap. Additionally, a recurring theme is how to use this as an opportunity to encourage people to tap into their creative and speculative sides. I’m concerned that the reference to ‘average bodies’ feels a bit disconnected, but it was my attempt to narrow the focus to something more concrete than just gender norms.

As for what’s still pending, I have two or three potential conversations lined up with experts:

• Rebecca Ladbury, the communications representative of TimesUpUK, an organization focused on gender violence, (We’ll have the meeting this Friday)
• Sinem, the CEO of Feminist Design. I spoke with her at the beginning of my project, and she was very open to collaborating, (She’s back from holiday this week)
• Asma, from the East End Women’s Museum, to get her opinion and feedback. (She’ll be back from holiday next week)

My goal is to create a project that could spark interest and potentially be showcased on Futuress, with the hope of eventually collaborating with them.