(Hu)man enough: Design interventions for facilitating familial conversations about masculine gender expression

Through my design research and practice, I help guardians establish conversations about healthy gender expression with their children. This thesis details my research practice, including the methods, tools, and processes used to create the MANY brand. This leads to a discussion on the need for further design research on the discontainment of masculinity—or why a single standard of manhood should not be expected of all who present masculinity. A world of hegemonic masculine content in media immerses children, regardless of guardians’ approval. Media portrayals of masculinity imprint the male societal construct on children, leaving concerned guardians at a loss as to how to go about protecting their children from the emotional harm of toxic masculinity. Guardians often are the first role models children have, so they play an essential part in shaping expectations of their children for how men and women should act and have the opportunity to challenge patriarchal expectations of gender, encourage healthy behaviors, and support personal expression. Guardians can facilitate impactful conversations with their children when they can thoughtfully discuss their fears, uncertainties, and disappointments. To help guardians in this role, I created a brand called MANY to educate about media literacy responsibilities and provide tools for facilitating conversations about gender identity and expression. MANY has multiple components, including a website, children’s book, and social media. One of the many resources on the MANY website is a family conversational guide on identity, vulnerability, and self-love. This guide facilitates the practice of mutual listening in which prompts for two-way exchange are built into the narrative to allow the child to voice their ideas about these important topics. By guiding conversations that validate the many possible versions of boyhood, parents, guardians, and caregivers can create a safe emotional space for introspection during the early developmental years.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.F.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art and Design

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Pridemore, Joshua

Contributors dc:contributor

• Benson, Eric
• Briggs, Molly
• Hetrick, Laura

• Identity Development
• Manhood
• Masculinity
• Media Literacy
• Parenting
• Parenting Strategies
• Parenthood
• Patriarchy
• Personal Expression
• Role Modeling
• Social Empathy
• Social Impact Design
• Social Impact Research
• Social Media
• Toxic Masculinity
• Ui/ux
• Web Design
• Responsible Innovation
• Boyhood
• Brand Identity
• Branding
• Case Study
• Child Psychology
• Childhood
• Childhood Development
• Children's Literature
• Conversational Tools
• Design Interventions
• Design Research
• Design-based Research
• Educational Resources
• Emotional Support
• Emotional Well-being
• Family Dynamics
• Gender
• Gender Expectations
• Gender Expression
• Gender Identity
• Gender Politics
• Gender Roles
• Gender Stereotypes
• Gender Studies
• Graphic Design
• Hegemonic Masculinity
• Identity
• Identity Design

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Joshua Pridemore

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122163

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F122163