MASTURBATION CONVERSATIONAL KIT
Kit designed for socialpædagogs and sex advisor so they can build up conversations around spaces, activities and masturbation with people with Intellectual Disabilities.
This project was part of the Master's thesis in Social design in DSKD (Design School of Kolding).
Participatory Design
Participatory design tools were used along the whole process of design, in order of engaging with stakeholders.
During the different stages I held interviews with sex advisors, socialpædagogs, designers, one sex toy company CEO and two workshops.
These workshops were done, one in the beginning of the project and other one in the end.
Workshop
This workshop was held in the beginning of the project for what my goals were to understand the relation between the main stakeholders. 2 socialpædagogs, 1 sex advisor and 6 people with Intellectual disabilities were part of it.
The main challenge was to design conversational tools to maintain a conversation about sexuality having in mind that there was a chance these people wouldn't be able to talk, or don't speak in english at least.
Exercises
I found specially necessary to create levels of trust when choosing and designing the tools I would use for this workshop. This is because sexuality is not only an intimate topic for the participants but for the designer too. The first exercise would start “from the outside” (number 1), where the level of intimacy is low. Mainly to bring up ideas, and generate discussions around it. On a second level I would work with thoughts, desires, challenges, and a more elaborated process, and last with an intimate exercise.
Person with
Intellectual
Disabilities
Socialpædagog
Sex Advisor
Scenario
The people with Intellectual disabilities is developed sexually but not physically, and due its learning limitations, needs of physical and graphical things to learn.
Socialpædagogs are not prepared to talk about sexuality but sex advisors need them to involve to create confidence because don't count with enough sessions.
How can we incorporate and engage socialpædagogs into conversations related to masturbation with People with Intellectual Disabilities to create a background platform for sex advisors, so they can build up on top of them, and continue expanding the conversations?
Ideation
Most of the initial sketches and ideas were related to masturbation and how to make a penis able to show about fluids and foreskin hygiene.
Steps
First, to involve socialpædagogs by talking about public and private spaces, so second they can talk next to sex advisor about different activities, like brushing teeth to showering. Last, sex advisor can be in charge of talking about all kind of masturbation topics related.
Spaces
(public and private)
People with
ID
Socialpædagog
Activities
People with
ID
Socialpædagog
Sex Advisor
Masturbation
People with
ID
Sex Advisor
Prototyping
Physical prototyping of the penis can be divided into three components (base, structure, skin).
The first models for the base were done on flexible resin, but due to structural measures that was changed to PLA.
It also influenced the fact that the kit is open source.
Final Kit
Activity Board
Board to sort out spaces into public and private spaces, and activities into activities we do and don't do in these spaces. All the cards contain question as suggestions for guiding conversations.
Masturbation Board
Board to sort out masturbation cards into things we do before, during and after masturbation. All the cards contain question as suggestions for guiding conversations.
Exercise Board
Board for creating a workshop around specific topics, by using activity or masturbation cards, space cards and exercises cards.
Exercise cards are basically methods to help out socialpædagogs or sex advisors to create a workshop around a specific topic they want to talk about.
Card holder
Exercise Cards (methods)
Activity Cards
Extra Cards
Masturbation Cards
Space Cards
Card holder
Suggestions (guide)
Plastic penis
Board 1
Board 2
Board 3
Final Workshop
This kit was tested in a session with two socialpædagogs and six people with Intellectual disabilities.
In the session the first and the second board were tested, and in the video we can see an example of a discussion around 'watching porn' card.
Web page
This kit is open source, so for the last step was necessary to create a web page where all the files can be downloaded for free. It can also be found .stl files to print the plastic components and the site were they can be send to be print out.
Conclusion
This project was a long understanding process. Part of participatory design is to design the tools that are going to be used during interviews and workshops, but along the process these tools become the final outcome.
I understood during the interviews and workshops that somehow these conversational tools did not have to be necessary a connecting point to have in the end a final product, but these tools could be the final product instead.
A lot of people was part of this process, sex advisors like Mai Mortensen and Helle Koldsø, socialpædagogs like Tobias Hornstrup and also sex toys designers, sex toys companies, sensorial designers, therapists, from Australia, Argentina, France and Denmark.
All this process ended up with the last workshop I could prove satisfactory that each of these tools were debate openers, and that these tools can really bring stakeholders together and talk more openly about difficult topics to talk about.
