A website where women can connect with one another through experiences and bring awareness to the issues they face
OBJECTIVES The main objective of this project is to bring awareness and understanding through the use of storytelling. From my user research it is clear that storytelling was one of the best methods to build empathy and understanding. Community and anonymity were also big factors that allowed people to be more comfortable in discussions they felt were controversial. This website accomplished these user needs through a Feminist HCI approach.
DESCRIPTION Sí, is a Feminist HCI project, which looks to connect women through their experiences, and to bring awareness to issues that are impacting women everyday. The website uses pixelated images of women as a visual representation of each woman’s story in the context of a common scenario or situation. When hovering over the pixelated images, a text box appears with a snippet of a woman’s story that has been submitted, These stories explain experiences that were uncomfortable or negative for the woman. The women also have the option to share a full story of their experience, which can be viewed by other users by clicking on the users pixelated image.
Users can interact with the stories on the website, by clicking a ‘hug’ button to show support or a ‘me too’ button to show you have had the same experience, and that they are not alone. When hovering over the ‘me too’ button you can see the number of people who have pressed this button, showing that although these are negative experiences, they are common amongst women. There is also the ability to report submissions that may be spam or inappropriate, to help keep the site a safe and supportive space. There are currently 6 categories on the website, which were chosen through user research, that represent common scenarios or situations in which women often have negative or uncomfortable experiences, which are: nights out, what I wear, travelling alone, workplace, healthcare and female expectations. Users can navigate through these categories to find different stories relating to each of these situations.
There is also the ability to suggest a new category, where users can submit an idea for a category that they feel is missing from the website. The site prioritizes the users experience by allowing them to filter content that they may find triggering. There is also the option for women who wish to submit a story, to just write a small snippet or the full story. Each category has a related chatroom for community discussion and a learn more page with relevant information and resources. Users also have the ability to decide if they want to include their username whenever they submit a story or write in the chatrooms. These features were developed based on user testing, to make the most comfortable experience.