WIXLIB

My first idea is learnedfrom an existing onlinemovement, Hawkeye Initiative.Launched in 2012, Hawkeyeinitiative a satirical Tumblrpage that comments andcreate images of Hawkeye,a m a l e s u p e r h e r o, a s t h eway comic depicts andtreats female charactersand superheroes incomic books. It pointedout female sexualobjectification in thecomics. The problem is: Itdidn’t point out the solution.My idea is to ask illustrationstudents to reimagine existingcomics. Use this process asa way to educate and inspirethem about a new future forfemale comic characters.How It works"What if she.?"is a weeklychallenge on tumblr startedwith FIT illustration students.Artists sign up as illustratorsand writers. Every week therewill be a challenge to alter anexisting comic, coming witha probe question: whatif she ? The Illustratorsand writers will discussthe narratives and visualstogether. The ask is tobe open to discussionso that the collaborationwill bridge the gap betweenthe different understandingsof female experience.Their work will be reviewedand receive feedback in theonline comic community bycomic fans, artists, editors.Prototype20Lean innovation is focusedon increasing efficiency bycapturing customer feedbackearly and often and minimizingwaste in the productdevelopment cycle. The processprioritizes experimentationover elaborate planning,and celebrates continuous,incremental improvement.TestTo get an earlier response,I cut my Gate 4 video, whichexplains my idea to illustrationstudents. But they are busyand might only have 10 minfor me, so I drew a comic tointroduce what I want to do.FeedbackFr o m t h e r e s p o n s e t o t h ecomics: Illustration studentsget the idea quickly, it is anactivity that they always doonline, and they believe itcan attract more audience.I also interview an illustrationstudent. I visited her houseat dinner. The interview waslovely as we ate all the time.She gave me harsh critics.She agreed that this mightattract more audience butdoubted if it can change theindustry. Because the audienceit attracts is less likely to becomic artists, they might not beeven interested in superheroesbut only use this as a media fortheir own ideology. Considerthe online comic community. Ihave to admit it's possible.What I LearnedI'm glad that I didn't evenprepare for all the materials foran online challenge so that Ididn't waste time on reachingthe wrong audience.Next StepMy next step is to think of anidea that attracts illustrationstudents and really help them.

Shero's Dictionary consists oftwo parts - a visual volcabularyand a workshop toolkit:EducationT h e w o r ks h o p t o o l k i t a n dvisual vocabulary can also bea reference for comic teachersto do ethical training in school,so that future comic artists willlearn how to draw charactersbased on female experiencebefore entering the industry.TestI drew another comic and usedit to interview FIT illustrationstudents and femalecomic fans for feedbacks.I interviewed one comic fanand two illustrators.FeedbackThe idea received positiveresponses from all thefemale interviewees.Comic fan, Olivia respondedthat she thought the ideawas very creative and hopedthat it would work. She sentme a list of references foroutcome measurements.I admire what you aredoing. My thesis neversounds that interesting.Olivia, Comic FanIllustration students fromthe F.I.T., Viery, was reallyinterested in the idea and gaveme some suggestions on howto get more people involved.IterateSince the response was great,I started to develop the basicformat of the visual dictionarywith female artists and want toget it to the male audience.Prototype22WorkshopIt begins with theworkshop. In theworkshop, the writersand the artists aregoing to discuss themisinterpretationsthat happened in theircollaborations. I hope theseartists will bridge the gapbetween their understandingof female lived experiencethrough conversations.Visual VocabularyAfter the discussion, theseartists will re-draw new visualsbased on new understandings.This par t is called " visualv o c a b u l a r y . "It will live online so fansand artists can still editvocabularies that neednew visuals.But when I reached out for male artists, the response that I got was.

Prototype24I was depressed.Design carefully. Invitemale to a safer environmentwhere they feel comfortableto talk about this issue.Miya, Chair of DSIYou have to understandtheir needs and what speaksto them. It’s your thesis, nottheirs.Karen, DSI ProfessorThe male artists either didn'trespond to my email orcancel the interview severaltimes then disappear. I wasdepressed and wasted twoweeks trying to contact them.Is it my problem or theirp r o b l e m ? I w o n d e r.Secondary research won't tellus anything about this. I askedprofessors in DSI for help.W h a t I l e a r n e dProfessors in DSI are more thanhelpful to help me figure thisout. They asked me to thinkabout the following questions:1. How to invite them to anenvironment where they feelsafe to talk about this issue?2. What interests them?3. What incentivizes them?4. What are their routines?5. Why are they participating?The tricky part of my projectis that it collaborates withpeople who're unconsciouslyaffected by this problem, it'smore challenging to engagethem. So I need to figure outhow to get their attention.I couldn't figure out the answerquickly and decided to domore research with communityexperts. In those interviews,an illustration teacher and anartist, Katie, gave me an ideathat was beyond smart.

Prototype 3: Can you draw a chair?Design Value: Safety/Human-CenteredResearch/Disruption of Routine/FunCan you draw achair?female?bra?While Kaite once listened toa character design lecture inSCAD, the professor started theclass with an exercise: Can youdraw a chair? Most of the classdrew similar chairs. Becausethey were staying in the sameenvironment, they took thesame reference while theywere drawing. It's a default.I see the potential of exposingartists' unconscious bias usingthis question. I designed adoodle game that asks playersto draw things according to adifferent reference.The first version of the gameasks players to draw a chair/female/dress according tonothing, just their first thoughtwhile thinking about thesethings. Then ask them to drawthe same thing according toimage reference, a real person,and your female friend'sdescription of her favoritedress.TestI tested it with Kartik(Male) andAditi(Female) from our cohort,the response was great - theylove drawing, they love thegame, and they love talking.Most importantly, becauseKartik needs to draw Aditi'sfavorite dress according toher description, they naturallystarted the conversationaround: Why you loved thatdress? When did you wearthat dress? How does it feelwearing it? The conversationbecame intimate since they'regood friends and workedtogether for almost one year.It was lovely watching themshare their experience withthe dress. I wondered if it isok to go further, so I askedKartik and Aditi if they felt okto change the last question to:Draw a bra according to yourfemale friend's description.To my surprise, they werecomfotable doing that.I think it's ok, it(drawing)is what they do.Kartik, DSI StundetWhat I LearnedFirst, it's essential to playthis game with someoneyou love. It's necessary touse that relationship as thefoundation of trust, so mendon't get frightened by theword "sexual objectification."Second, intervene from theartists' daily routine, if theydraw, ask them to draw.It's more comfortable andfun than just interviews.Third, women are more opento sharing than I thought, andthere's nothing shameful aboutbras. It's not a new lessonfor me, but I'm still surprisedby how they want that openconversation. And their malefriends are not afraid of thatconversation.Kartik(Male)Prototype26Game ProcessAditi(Female)

I tested the game with twoother designers from theDSI cohort. Tara, a fashiondesigner, and Baitian, who isan industrial designer. Theya r e g r e a t a t d r a w i n g t o o.Iteration 1Add debrief session.Test player: Can u draw a bra?The main goal of the test isto practice facilitation of theconversation and test if it'sok for people to draw bras.After the game, I added adebrief session and askedthem to think about wheretheir images of specificthings come from? Whythey drew the way they did?Because of their professionals,Tara can describe the fabric,the texture, the structure ofthe bra in details. Baitian canget the structure, and it'sfunction quickly. These twoare amazing illustrators too. Sothis test is close to what I wantto experiment with the comicartists.Baitian(Male)Prototype28Game ProcessTara(Female)What I learnedW h a t I l e a r n e dThese two are also my closestfriends at the DSI. I knowthem pretty well. EspeciallyBaitian, known as the best testplayer in DSI, usually won'tdo as the game designs himto do. But this time, he did.It gave me huge confidence.Their conversation was aroundhow professionals influencetheir understandings offemale experience and whyi s c o nve r s a t i o n s b e t w e e nfemale and male is important.It turns out, if a man trulyunderstands what a bra iss u p p o s e d t o d o, h e w o n' tdraw a pair of glasses as a bra.A f t e r l o o k i n g a t B a i t i a n' sbefore and after drawing of thebra, I realized that even thoughour experience is different,males can understandthe female experience.This test also proves thehypothesis that drawing abra can help to check theunconscious bias.How to draw a bra?" So a bra is supposed to support the body,not cover the body?- Baitian, Designer.I also adjusted the visuals ofthe material according to theirfeedbacks.Baitian didn't realize this isfor him to take notes, so Ichanged the layout.

Iteration 2The female friend is alsoa guide to the femaleexperience. Even though shelaughed when she saw Chris'sfirst drawing of a bra, he didn'tPrototype30Improve debrief.Test with artists.By the way, why males like todraw bras as glasses?worked!ngethiIt'll incentivize males to act.somTestI invited my friend Junyu totest the game. I asked her toinvite her male friend, Chris,from the F.I.T.What I Learnedfeel judged or uncomfortable.Instead, they laughed together.She was patient whileexplaining why bra shouldn'tlook like that. They sharedthe memory of looking fora reference for a specificclass. Chris told the stor yof drawing a piano chairt h a t h e c a n n e v e r f o rg e t .He told me that theyneed a reference tool thatoverlaps their drawingtool, so they can draw andlook at the reference at thesame time. They also lovewebsites like Pinterest, whichlinks to similar references, so itsaves time.allyI was so lucky to have Junyuto help me with this. Thefriendship between her andChris is the trust foundation.Most importantly, their femalefriends can be the reasonthe subject matters - youmight not care about thefemale representations, butyou love your female friends.FinGoalAfter two tests, I felt confidentto invite illustrators to test thisgame. My goal was to explainhow drawing according tofemale experience can make adifference, and use this to buildrelationships with male artists.At this point, I haven't given upmy idea of a visual dictionary,so I also researchedwith Chris on where thevisual dictionary can live.The test result gave me asurprise.

Junyu(Female)Game ProcessChris(Male)Prototype32The workshop worked.That's the first stepof behavior change,education. But get to then ex t l eve l , co n s i ste n t lypractice the behavior?Based on the artists'p r e f e r e n c e, I t h o u g h o n epossible solution is to givepencilers a new research tool.The research tool is based onPinterest Algorithm.The game was funbecause I enjoy drawing.Chris, F.I.T. illustration studentAlgorithumThe most terrible and thegreatest part of algorithm. Withthe algorithm, when you clickon sexualized visuals, it linksto more sexualized visuals.But when you click on genderinclusive visuals, more genderinclusive visuals pop up.That is to say, if your defaultpage is a gender-inclusivepinboard and you clicked any ofit, Pinterest recommends more.The tool is a pop-up windowreference tool whose defaultpage is a gender-inclusivepin board gathered by me.When you click the picture inthere, Pinterest recommendsmore positive gender images.When pencilers are rushingto the deadline and have notime to think about wherethey get the reference, itwill help them save time onresearch and create visualsthat are more positive.I used to work with a guy.We'll do pinterest boardfor every character.Seanan, WriterIt would be nice if I candraw on the computer andlook at the reference atthe same time.Chris, F.I.T. illustration studentI start to use Pinterestbecause it will link you tothe relevant reference.Chris, F.I.T. illustration studentTestI tested the algorithm, itworked. I found the code forcreating a pop -up windowthat's always on the top of allwindows. But when I ask ifthat's possible for teachersto recommend this tool, theyaren't sure about that, so theidea didn't work.What I LearnedLooking back, I wasn't sure ifit's necessary to have that tool,I still think the conversationsbetween male illustrators andtheir female friends are thetreasures to this project. Sohow can I scale that?

It is smart because youstart with somethingneutral.Lynne, Illustration TeacherThey highly complimentedwhat I'm doing, for itbrings up a "scary"topic with a light start w h o c a n' t d r a w a c h a i r ?They're looking forward tocollaborating. And wonderif there's a connectionbetween my project and theircurriculum. Or if it's better toexist as an individual workshop.I couldn't be more excited,though it couldn't be better andsoon outlined the facilitationplan.Prototype34I started to contact theillustration teachers outsidethe F.I.T. I signed up fora stor ytelling workshoph e l d b y t h e S VA V i s u a lNarrative program, that'swhere I got to knowtheir professor Jennyand Pratt professor Lynne.I interviewed them and realizethat the current environmentcauses a lack of ethical trainingin school, the "call-out" culturedisrupts all the trust andintimacy that people used tohave. Teachers are afraid totalk about issues like "sexualobjectification" becauset h ey m i g h t l o s e t h e i r j o b.Till Corona came.

Issue 34 WorkshopsMar 2020 - May 20205 Participants5 Comics4 FailuresSince the Corona disruptalmost all workshop plansand caused massive damageto people's mental health. Mythesis project just wasn'tthe topic that needed to betalked at that specific time.Every teacher and student isadjusting to online learning,so it was impossible to holdany workshop at that time?So what I'm going to do？My focus changed to howcan I amplify and share mywork. That came The Bra Talk.G o i n g b a c k to mydocumentation, I realizedthat the intimate and opentalk about the bra is theshining stone of my project.I bridged the gap betweenunderstanding of femaleex p e r i e n ce t h ro u g h t h o s econversations and unveiledthe unconscious bias.That taught me: We canunlearn sexual objectificationthrough conversation.BrandingHow It Workshe Bra Talk Comic is a seriesof comics of highlights fromthe conversations happenedbetween male and femaleabout bras.Why bras?The bra is just a proxy forbody. And body, whetherit's biological, social, orc u lt u ra l , i s a m u st w h e nt a l k i n g a b o u t g e n d e r.I facilitated three more talkswith female and male for morethemes of the topic.The body is the basis for the distinction between the sexes bodyexist within social and cultural contexts. Objectification Theory: Toward Understanding Women's Lived Experiencesand Mental Health Risks

StructureThe comic part of interventionconsists of a male bra, drewby the male who said thosethings on the comic. There'salso a female bra, representingthe female in the conversation.I drew that bra. These brasare talking. All the scripts ofthe comic are cited from theconversations that I facilitatedbetween male and femalecomic artists/designers.Test 1I wished to test how does itwork:Does catches people'sattention on the issue?Does it help males understandthe female experience andcheck their unconscious bias?Does it introduce peoplethe way to unlearn sexualobjectification?I f i r st wa n t e d t o c r e a t e adoodle challenge on socialmedia since it's a few thingsthat are still functioning theway it was. I invited morepeople to practice how tounlearn sexual objectification.It didn't get much response.Intervention38Test 2I was used to failures at thattime. Then I started my secondtest, which was to use it as away to educate people aboutthe importance of this issue.I got some response this time.An alumni even contacted me.We scheduled a coffee afterCorona:)

How It WorksThe Bra Talk Postcard is ayearly postcard sent throughe m a i l . I n t h e p o st c a rd s ,female artists say hi totheir male friends andcheck how well their malefriends develop theirfemale characters. Onevery postcard, there's adoodle challenge for themale artists. It asks the maleartists to practice drawing agender-neutral future, and givethem new ways of thinking.At the beginning of each year,the male who participated inthe workshop will receive anew postcard.But it still didn't reach the goalof helping male illustratorsp r a c t i c e t h a t t a l k d a i l y.At the age of Corona,it's hard to get people'sattention on anythingdigital. But is it possible tobuild stewardship upon thefriendship between maleand female comic artists?Then I came with the idea ofThe Bra Talk Postcard.TestI invite the female whoparticipated in the previousworkshops to join. Theybrainstormed and wrote thepostcards. With half an hour,we 32 doodle ideas, here aresome of them.Intervention40Draw your mom as asuperhero.Draw the daily routine of yourfemale character.Create a female characterthat doesn't look like female.Ask me about a femaleGive your femalecharacter a chance tolaugh at men.behavior that you might notunderstandAsk me about amovie that made meuncomfortable, let'smake it better!Coming IssueMay 2020 - ?

Theory of ChangeIndirect OutcomeMainstream superhero comic became gender-inclusive.Indirect OutcomeMore positive female representativets in mainstream superhero comics.Direct OutcomeMale illustrators improve understanding of female experience.Intermideate Outcome Start conversations around femaleexperienceOutputFuture42InterventionCreate safe environment tostart conversation aroundexual objectification.Rais

from an existing online movement, Hawkeye Initiative. Launched in 2012, Hawkeye initiative a satirical Tumblr page that comments and create images of Hawkeye, a male superhero, as the way comic depicts and treats female characters and superheroes in comic books. It pointed out female sexual objectifi