Contemporary Authors

• Defined by Design: The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places - 2017 Prometheus Books, Amherst, NY
• Designing for Diversity: Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Architectural Profession - 2001 University of Illinois Press, Champaign, IL
• Design Juries on Trial: The Renaissance of the Design Studio - 1991 Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, NY

• Wikipedia -

  Kathryn H. Anthony
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  Kathryn H. Anthony
  Nationality
  American
  Alma mater
  University of California, Berkeley
  Occupation
  Architecture professor, educator, author, advocate, critic
  Known for
  environment-behavior and gender issues in design
  Kathryn H. Anthony is an American professor of architecture, author and spokesperson specializing in gender issues in architecture. She is a Distinguished Professor from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) lifetime laureate.

  Contents  [hide] 
  1
  Biography
  2
  Selected works
  3
  See also
  4
  References
  5
  Bibliography

  Biography[edit]
  Anthony earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and a Ph.D. in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. She is the longest serving woman faculty member at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign’s School of Architecture.
  Anthony has addressed gender issues in architecture on ABC World News, The Economist, National Public Radio, and The Wall Street Journal.[1] Her research focuses on women in the field of architecture,[2] and she has testified before the United States Congress on the topic of gender equality in restrooms used by the public.[3]
  Selected works[edit]
  Anthony, K.H. Defined by Design: The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places. Prometheus Books, 2017[4]
  Anthony, K.H. Designing for Diversity: Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Architectural Profession. University of Illinois Press, 2001, 2008.[5]
  Anthony, K.H. and Barry Riccio. Running for Our Lives: An Odyssey with Cancer , 2004. [6]
  Anthony, K.H. Design Juries on Trial: The Renaissance of the Design Studio. 20th Anniversary Edition,1991, 2012.[7]
  Anthony, K. H. “Gender Issues in Architecture.” Chapter 34. in Mitra Kanaani and Dak Kopec (eds.) The Routledge Companion to Architecture Design and Practice: Established and Emerging Trends. Milton Park, Abingdon Oxford, U.K. and New York, NY: Routledge, 2016, pp. 533–548.
  Anthony, K. H. “Repositioning Power: An Alternate Approach to Podium Design.” in Beth Tauke, Korydon Smith, and Charles Davis (eds.) Diversity and Design: Understanding Hidden Consequences. Milton Park, Abingdon Oxford, U.K. and New York, NY: Routledge, 2016, pp. 191–206.
  Anthony, K. H. “Gender and Race in Contemporary Architecture: Reflections on a Seminar Taught for Over Two Decades.” Chapter 15. in Carla Jackson Bell (ed.), Space Unveiled: Invisible Cultures in the Design Studio. Milton Park, Abingdon Oxford, U.K. and New York, NY: Routledge, 2015, pp. 157–171.
  Anthony, K. H. “Studio Culture and Student Life: A World of Its Own.” in Joan Ockman (ed.) with Rebecca Williamson (research ed.), Architecture School: Three Centuries of Educating Architects in North America. Published on the Centennial Anniversary of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, 1912-2012, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012, pp. 396–401.
  Anthony, K. H. “Gender, Design and Stress. Expert Spotlight 5.1.” in Dak Kopec, Environmental Psychology for Design, Second Edition, NY: Fairchild Books, 2012, pp. 88–89.
  Anthony, K. H. “Design Studios.” Chapter 17. In Tridib Banerjee and Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris (eds.). Companion to Urban Design. Milton Park, Abingdon Oxford, U.K. and New York, NY: Routledge, 2011, pp. 223–237.
  Anthony, K. H. and Nicholas Watkins, “A Legacy of Firsts: African Americans in Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,” book chapter in Remembering Brown: The University of Illinois Commemorates Brown v. Board of Education, edited by Vernon Burton and David O’Brien, University of Illinois Press, 2009, pp. 281– 300.
  Anthony, K. H. and Meghan Dufresne. “Potty Privileging in Perspective: Gender and Family Issues in Toilet Design.” in Ladies and Gents: Public Toilets and Gender. Edited by Olga Gershenson and Barbara Penner. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2009, pp. 48–61.
  Anthony, K. H. and Meghan Dufresne. “Potty Parity in Perspective: Gender and Family Issues in Planning and Designing Public Restrooms.” Journal of Planning Literature. 21:3 (February 2007), pp. 267–294.
  Anthony, K. H. "Designing for Diversity: Implications for Architectural Education in the Twenty-first Century," Journal of Architectural Education 55:4 (May 2002), pp. 257–267.
  Anthony, K. H. "Bitter Homes and Gardens: The Meanings of Home to Families of Divorce," Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, 14:1 (Spring 1997), pp. 1–19.

• Kathryn H. Anthony Website - https://kathryn-anthony.com/

  KATHRYN H. ANTHONY, Ph.D., ACSA Distinguished Professor 
  School of Architecture University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

  See her faculty website here

• The Illinois School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Website - http://www.arch.illinois.edu/faculty/kathryn-h-anthony-phd

  Kathryn H. Anthony, Ph.D.
  ACSA Distinguished Professor

  Profile: 
  Professor Anthony teaches, conducts research, and writes about how spaces and places affect people. Her expertise focuses on such topics as social and behavioral factors in design, gender and race in contemporary architecture, and entrepreneurship in design. She has also developed a new seminar on architecture, cinema, environment, and behavior.
  Her research has spawned award-winning books, Design Juries on Trial: The Renaissance of the Design Studio and Designing for Diversity: Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Architectural Profession, as well as two iOS educational apps: Design Student Survival Guide and Student Survival Guide. 
  Professor Anthony's latest book is Defined by Design: The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places. It demonstrates how design shapes our lives in ways most of us would never imagine--affecting our comfort, our self-image, and even our health.
  Her next book, Shedding New Light on Art Museum Additions: Front Stage and Back Stage Experiences, co-authored with Altaf Engineer is due out in fall 2017. 
  Her publications have sparked media attention  in NPR, CNN, Time, the Guardian, the New York Times, and elsewhere. She has testified before Congress regarding gender equity in public restrooms.
  Education: 
  Ph.D. in Architecture, University of California, Berkeley; 1981
  Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology, University of California, Berkeley; 1976

  \Kathryn H. Anthony

  Kathryn H. Anthony, Ph.D., is ACSA Distinguished Professor at the School of Architecture, its longest serving female faculty member, and author of Designing for Diversity:  Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Architectural Profession, and Design Juries on Trial:  The Renaissance of the Design Studio. She has served as a spokesperson about gender issues in design on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, National Public Radio (NPR), The Chicago Tribune, The Economist, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Time.com, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. She has received national awards from the ACSA (Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture), American Institute of Architects and the Environmental Design Research Association.

Defined by design

(May 1, 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/bw/index.htm
Defined by Design
Kathryn H. Anthony Prometheus Books 59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197 9781633882836, $18.00, www.prometheusbooks.com
Defined by Design: The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places considers design in everyday life and how design influences psychology and social issues. While this title could have appeared in either of the other sections, it's reviewed here because artists, especially, need to read this important survey of how design alters life itself. From fashions and high-tech design elements to packaging, architectural construction, and everyday objects, Kathryn H. Anthony points out flaws and problems across the board. Coming from a teacher of architecture and design who has served on design juries for decades as well as teaching students, this is a powerful survey that should be in every college-level arts collection, read by anyone interested in the social and political connections between artistic choice and designs and social impact.
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"Defined by design." The Bookwatch, 1 May 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA495940293&it=r&asid=14ef1b2436b610fadfb23ab3060dba3e. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A495940293

Defined by Design: The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places

264.3 (Jan. 16, 2017): p52.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Defined by Design: The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places
Kathryn H. Anthony. Prometheus Books, $18 trade paper (310p) ISBN 978-1-63388-283-6
Given the topic of how poor or inadequate design can cause unintentional difficulties and even harm, the ill-structured nature of this book is especially ironic. Anthony (Designing for Diversity) attempts to give her chapters order by using descriptive chapter heads and subheads, but she quickly veers from her stated topic; for example, she discusses the dangerous design of snow blowers in a chapter about inaccessible packaging. In another chapter, she describes how cell phones may lower sperm count when carried in the pants pocket, moves on to distracted driving, and meanders back to mentioning that hot laptops may also affect men's ability to reproduce, all within the same subsection. Descriptions of many of the factors that go into poor design (such as inadequate testing car seats) are informative, the complaints follow one after the other with no pause to suggest solutions or alternatives until the very last chapter, in which solutions are likewise heaped together in a way that reads more like a laundry list than a call to action. (Mar.)
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"Defined by Design: The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places." Publishers Weekly, 16 Jan. 2017, p. 52. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA478405301&it=r&asid=5c91bcba03ef07cb982be3f686434dba. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A478405301

Locked doors, steep stairs

Alice T. Friedman
19.7 (Apr. 2002): p16.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2002 Old City Publishing, Inc.
http://www.wcwonline.org/womensreview
Designing for Diversity: Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Architectural Profession by Kathryn H. Anthony. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2001, 271 pp., $34.95 hardcover.
How far back do we have to reach in order to find the few women and people of color whose buildings have been recognized by critics, clients or the design professions? The answer is a revealing and dispiriting indication of the scarcity of opportunities available to them in the field of architecture in the US. The best known. from these groups--men and women like Julia Morgan, Eileen Gray, Eleanor Raymond, Robert Taylor, Vertner Tandy and Julian Abele--were all active in the early twentieth century. When their works are mentioned in history books or survey courses at all, it quickly becomes apparent that while they were certainly brave pioneers, scarcely any other women and people of color have followed in their footsteps and built works or reputations of wide renown. Although, after more than a century of activism by feminists and civil rights advocates, conditions in the profession should have improved markedly, there is very little to celebrate where matters of diversity are concerned.
One of the many contributions made by Kathryn Anthony's ground-breaking new book is to call attention to noteworthy buildings by underrepresented architects. She cites works by women like Norma Sklarek (the US Embassy in Tokyo) and Katherine Diamond (the Air Traffic Control Tower and Administration Building at Los Angeles International Airport) or by African-American men, including Boston's Donald Stull and David Lee (Vent Building No. 7 at Logan Airport). But these projects, which have received a modicum of critical attention for their design excellence, are the rare exceptions in a field dominated by white men. As Anthony comments, "Compared to the pace at which most other fields have responded to diversity, the progress of architecture has been nearly glacial."
With the help of her students at the University of Illinois, Anthony conducted one of the first nationwide studies of gender and racial issues in architectural practice, gathering data through interviews, archival research and surveys over a ten-year period beginning in 1991. The research team began by visiting architects' offices and interviewing some 88 "underrepresented architects." In a later phase of the project, surveys containing some four hundred written questions were sent to architects "representing a broad cross-section of ages, races, ethnic groups, geographic areas and levels of professional expertise in the field." Anthony describes her far-reaching objectives:
(1) to compare the situation in architecture with that in other fields, including those in the business world; (2) to compare the professional experiences of white women, women of color, white men and men of color in architecture; (3) to identify and analyze obstacles and opportunities for professional advancement in architecture, with a special focus on those for underrepresented architects; (4) to analyze some of the ways in which underrepresented architects have succeeded in shattering the glass ceiling, (5) to analyze successful strategies for diversifying the architectural profession. (p.6)
Although it will hardly come as a surprise to readers of this publication that discrimination exists in professional training, hiring, promotion, advancement, and level of critical attention, the crucial numbers that prove inequalities exist have been lacking. Anthony handily supplies them at the outset by simply highlighting data available through the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the major professional organization in the field.
(p. 6)
The numbers she cites will surely be astonishing even to the most cynical of observers: they reveal a world that has altered so little in the nearly thirty years since attention was first focused on the pervasiveness of sexism and racism in the fields of architecture and design. As of 1999, for example, only thirteen percent of members of the AIA were women, and eight percent were people of color; of the latter group, 1.8 percent were African American, 2.6 percent Latino, 4.1 percent Asian, 0.2 percent Native American. Within the schools of architecture, where teaching, mentoring and design philosophy not only shape future careers but set the tone of the profession, only sixteen percent of full-time faculty were women, and ten percent were people of color. As one might expect, the numbers from these groups in part-time and adjunct positions were much higher. Among the most alarming statistics that Anthony produces is that in 1996, 26 states had five or fewer licensed African American architects in practice; q uite a few states had just one and seven had none.
Turning from statistics to analysis of specific instances of insensitivity or discrimination, Anthony looks at how the "star system" in architecture, underpinned by well-publicized prizes and rave reviews, creates what she believes are distorted values based exclusively on aesthetics rather than on the satisfaction of users. She cites a historical example-- Mies van der Robe's glass-walled Farnsworth House, in Plano, Illinois (1950)--and a recent one--Peter Eisenman's Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University (1989). In both cases, critics heaped praise on designs that some users found lacking, turning a deaf ear to the concerns and complaints of women in particular.
At the Farnsworth House, considered by many historians to be one of the great masterpieces of the twentieth century, the client complained bitterly that the transparent walls afforded her very little privacy and even less security, a matter of particular concern given the house's rural, isolated setting. The Wexner Center is an even more alarming case. Anthony cites a "post-occupancy evaluation" conducted by Jack Nasar, a professor at Ohio State, showing that a number of women users are fearful about working in the building after dark because of the many sharp corners, recesses and alcoves that become potential hiding places for would-be criminals. Some felt that the shape and placement of the floor- to chest-height windows made it easy for passers-by to look up the skirts of women employees. Elderly people and those with disabilities complain about narrow, exposed walkways, steep stairs and poor lighting.
Anthony's response is characteristic of her approach and tone:
Awarding prizes to buildings like The Wexner Center before the first woman or man has ever set foot in it is ludicrous. And selecting winners in design competitions primarily on the grounds of aesthetics is an irresponsible use of precious public funds. But Eisenman is not to blame. Rather it is the architectural profession itself. Its value system, which all too often rewards aesthetics while ignoring the experiences of users--especially diverse users--is simply out of touch with reality. These scenarios--and countless others--underscore the need for diversity in design.
(p. 18)
While these arguments are unlikely to change the system any time soon, Anthony offers ample evidence to encourage readers to think and talk about the issues she raises.
By focusing attention on the contributions of users, critics and creators (whether professionals, teachers, or students) of buildings, Anthony makes a strong case for treating architecture as environment--physical, spatial, cultural, psychological-- rather than as object. Much of her analysis draws on research conducted by environmental psychologists, social scientists and architects whose professional affiliation is far more likely to be with the Environmental Design Research Association than with the AIA. She emphasizes interdisciplinary, feminist and anti-racist approaches, pointing out the inadequacy of standard terminology with characteristic deliberateness and clarity:
In fact the terms "gender," "race" and "ethnicity" are oversimplifications. For conceptual clarity, I often refer to either "women" or "men" or "whites" or "persons of color," but each individual's experience is complex. For instance, social and economic differences can cause inequities, An African-American woman raised in the South Side of Chicago will likely have a different world view than her North Shore suburban counterpart, even if only twenty miles separate them. Similarly, an East Los Angeles Latino and his Beverly Hills cousin may feel light years apart. (p.22)
These earnest and lengthy discussions of method will no doubt make some readers cringe, and they do slow down the discussion, but the issues Anthony raises here are central to her project and rarely examined in print.
The value of the book is greatly increased by Anthony's candor and accountability. She deftly bandies difficult questions about the ways in which social and political values are embedded in architectural practice. Chapters on "Women as Consumers, Creators and Critics" and on "Sexual Orientation, Race and Ethnicity" provide detailed yet readable overviews, covering notable practitioners, past and present, institutional policies and brief histories of degree-granting institutions in the US, Europe and Asia. Anthony highlights the personal, political and professional relationships that structure networks of influence and recognition, including successful husband-wife partnerships (which have long helped a diverse group of women, including Ray Eames, Denise Scott Brown, Billie Tsien, Elizabeth Diller and Elizabeth Platter-Zyberk, to reach the top rank of the profession) and gay partnerships.
One-fifth of Anthony's survey respondents had a spouse or significant other who was also an architect. More alarming, "compared to men, women were almost three times as likely to marry another architect; over a quarter (27 percent) of the women surveyed, compared to only ten percent of the men, had an architect as a spouse." When asked to rate where they thought women architects had the greatest chances for career advancement, Anthony's respondents rated "running a husband-wife firm" near the top of the list. These partnerships draw on the husband's professional standing and male privilege both in the office setting and among architects generally, and are "less bound by the traditional home-work split."
As might be expected, Anthony raises a host of questions about the ethical and practical implications of such arrangements. What about those women who prefer not to marry architects or not to marry at all? What happens in cases of divorce? What happens when one member of the partnership dies? This critical examination of one of the most widely accepted modes of career advancement for heterosexual women architects is one of many valuable elements of Designing for Diversity. Yet (and somewhat surprisingly, given Anthony's sensitivity to related issues) there is little acknowledgment that this pattern reflects and reinforces both the sexist and the heterosexist values that permeate the profession of architecture--and many other professional cultures, including academia.
Using narrative selections from her interviews and questionnaires, Anthony sketches out some of the experiences of professionals, especially women and people of color, in internships, exams and first jobs, revealing dramatic gender differences. Although most men reported satisfactory experiences, women were less likely to do so. One respondent (white female, age 36) wrote: "My first architectural job was after I graduated...I took over another woman's position...I got along great with my coworkers. Looking back, I was not taken seriously. I did not take my job seriously. It was so bad [that] even the secretaries would ask me to do their errands."
Anthony also examined pay inequity, sexual harassment, the "glass ceiling," part-time employment, layoffs and dropout rates. Most of her quotations come from responses by women (including African Americans, Latinas, Asian Americans, Native Americans, "foreign born" and white women) with a handful of comments by men (African American and white). All reflect widespread observation and experience of sexual and racial discrimination. One respondent, an African American female, wrote: "The obstacle I perceive as unique to architects of color is 'color.' I've been denied jobs on several occasions because of my color. I am usually mistaken for 'white' on the telephone--almost guaranteed a job until I arrive at the firm--only to see blank faces! I realize that there are usually no [people of color] working there, and [just] one or two white females."
Although it provides ample evidence for a dismal picture, Designing for Diversity also emphasizes the possibilities for change in the profession. In a chapter on "Networks of Power," Anthony describes opportunities for building networks of support through such professional organizations as the Women in Architecture Committee, of the AIA, Chicago Women in Architecture, the National Organization of Minority Architects, the Asian American Architects and Engineers Association, and the Organization of Lesbian and Gay Architects and Designers. Her concluding chapters focus on how firms, educational institutions and the profession as a whole can foster diversity through mentoring, childcare, flexible work hours, outreach and professional development courses, and by cultivating an awareness of organizations devoted to supporting the career goals of women and people of color.
Anthony is as thorough and persuasive here as she is throughout the book, but it is hard to resist the feeling that she is preaching to the choir. Most members of the profession have simply chosen to ignore both the problems she describes and the organizations she lists. Yet since the data, information and analysis are laid out more concisely and more methodically than ever before, there is some hope that she will raise awareness even among the old guard; the book certainly offers a wealth of resources to those interested in successfully navigating the shark-infested waters of the profession.
Designing for Diversity deserves a place on the bookshelves, bedsides and desks of all educators, managers, design principals and anyone else responsible for advising and mentoring those starting out in the fields of architecture and design. It should be kept close at hand, to be consulted again and again. Anthony is an unrepentant idealist, calling for nothing short of a "transformation" of the culture of architecture; what she offers her readers are the tools by which at least to begin that process.
ALICE T. FRIEDMAN is professor of art and director of the architecture program at Wellesley College, where she also holds the Luella LaMer Chair in women's studies. Her most recent book, Women and the Making of the Modern House: A Social and Architectural History, was published in 1998.
Friedman, Alice T.
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
Friedman, Alice T. "Locked doors, steep stairs." The Women's Review of Books, Apr. 2002, p. 16+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA84345162&it=r&asid=acb6e88fa046caf28f4a76ecfec2140f. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A84345162

Defined by Design

(May 2017):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Defined by Design
Kathryn H. Anthony
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Drive, Amherst, NY 14228-2197
9781633882836, $18.00, www.prometheusbooks.com
Defined by Design: The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places considers design in everyday life and how design influences psychology and social issues. While this title could have appeared in either of the other sections, it's reviewed here because artists, especially, need to read this important survey of how design alters life itself. From fashions and high-tech design elements to packaging, architectural construction, and everyday objects, Kathryn H. Anthony points out flaws and problems across the board. Coming from a teacher of architecture and design who has served on design juries for decades as well as teaching students, this is a powerful survey that should be in every college-level arts collection, read by anyone interested in the social and political connections between artistic choice and designs and social impact.
Source Citation   (MLA 8th Edition)
"Defined by Design." Internet Bookwatch, May 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA497797641&it=r&asid=76cf6eaf529b3356273b23d6c47e9e27. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A497797641

"Defined by design." The Bookwatch, 1 May 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA495940293&asid=14ef1b2436b610fadfb23ab3060dba3e. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017. "Defined by Design: The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places." Publishers Weekly, 16 Jan. 2017, p. 52. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA478405301&asid=5c91bcba03ef07cb982be3f686434dba. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017. Friedman, Alice T. "Locked doors, steep stairs." The Women's Review of Books, Apr. 2002, p. 16+. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA84345162&asid=acb6e88fa046caf28f4a76ecfec2140f. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017. "Defined by Design." Internet Bookwatch, May 2017. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA497797641&asid=76cf6eaf529b3356273b23d6c47e9e27. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.

• New York Journal of Books
  http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/defined-design
  Word count: 631

  Defined by Design: The Surprising Power of Hidden Gender, Age, and Body Bias in Everyday Products and Places

  Author(s): 
  Kathryn H. Anthony
  Release Date: 
  March 13, 2017
  Publisher/Imprint: 
  Prometheus Books
  Pages: 
  310

  Buy on Amazon

           

  Reviewed by: 
  Jane Haile
  ". . .  the author has cast her net too wide . . ."
  Defined by Design “spotlights how design shapes our lives, and how gender, age and body biases affect everything we feel, think and do. . . . it empowers you to become a more critical consumer and shows you stellar designs that work exceptionally well for the people who use them.”
  Kathryn H. Anthony has a distinguished record in this field and over 100 publications on various aspects of designing for diversity. Her current book “connects with my own experience as a five foot two inch female with that of people everywhere who feel that the world is not always designed for you. You are not alone.”
  While she insists that our society has become “increasingly diverse in gender, age and body size” it would be more reasonable to attribute the frequent mismatches and misfits to an increase in mass production; relatively few people, for example, have personal tailors anymore, or make their own clothes. And on the other hand new consumer markets have been defined such as tweens, preteens, teens, and young adults who were never formerly catered to.
  Anthony addresses design in fashion, product design, and building design ending with a call to action to us all to become more intelligent consumers. Her most successful chapters are those where assumptions clearly influence design such as in the “taboo topic” of restrooms. She seems more comfortable dealing with gender than with other diversity issues.
  Probably her least successful though most hilarious and crowd-pleasing is the chapter “Skin Tight: Clothing and Fashion Design.”
  However, it seems too simplistic to attribute “four inch heels” (only?) on women’s shoes to some kind of gender bias unless one also includes the purchasers in this collusion. And does “toe cleavage” really refer to a situation “where the pinky toe gets severed off”?
  There is more headline-grabbing stuff in this chapter on zippers, thongs, and gendered pocket placement, but it seems a stretch to include veiling of women in the middle east and elsewhere, and the flammable saris and grass-skirts in India and Papua New Guinea respectively, in a catalogue of gender-biased designs, without more in-depth cultural and historical analysis. And are only women subject to these cultural catastrophes? Probably male Trobriand islanders fall off coconut trees because of inadequate equipment, and male Indian farmers get gored by sacred white bulls who can be very indiscriminate.
  Overall while there are a few of the “aha! moments” that we are promised, the author has cast her net too wide. There is far too much uneven data, seemingly randomly sourced and poorly organized, despite a plethora of subheadings in each chapter. The “facts” are often merely catalogued with insufficient reflection and analysis throughout.
  Finally while we have many quotations and complaints from consumers about the unintelligent design they are obliged to live with, there is scant information from the designers as to why they do what they do. Are they only driven by ignorance and prejudice? Christian Louboutin, please stand up and tell us, What has made you a millionaire?

  Jane Haile is currently an Independent consultant on women’s empowerment and gender equality. Her vast global human rights experience includes a variety of assignments working for the United Nations and the European Union. She is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Society, London, U.K., and her writing has been published by several academic presses.

• SF Crowsnest
  http://sfcrowsnest.org.uk/defined-by-design-by-kathryn-h-anthony-book-review/
  Word count: 897

  Defined By Design by Kathryn H. Anthony (book review)
  March 31, 2017 | By UncleGeoff | Reply
  Kathryn H. Anthony’s book, ‘Defined By Design’, tells a lot more in its sub-title ‘The Surprising Power Of Hidden Gender, Age And Body Bias In Everyday Products And Places’. In other words, the poorly made everyday products you have or might have owned and had or your children have had serious and often fatal problems with. When you see the number of deaths in the USA associated with young children swallowing small magnets or batteries let alone lead paint, you will want to read this book, no matter where you live in the world. You should also get worried when it also applies to adult equipment as well. I should point out these problems are associated with American made products. In the UK, we have a similar problem but it tends to come from the East that tends to export illegal imports posing as our products a lot of the time. Even so, the sentiments are the same. There is no regard to the dangers to children, let alone adults, who accepts them without knowing the possible dangers. UK agencies do get after such products and I was amazed how far behind the USA is in doing so themselves but, when they do, the companies are forced to withdraw and refund those who’ve bought these products. As you read this book, you are going to feel angry if you still own such products. From the sounds of things, because so many people filled in the various guarantees, the companies know who own these dangerous items but I would have to wonder about people who didn’t sign them.

  Something that quickly becomes apparent from continued reading is very few manufacturers take into account the various heights and weights, let alone those with some form or invalid problems in their designs, let alone take into people’s needs for flexibility. Anthony’s design of a variable height podium actually became a demand when various people heard about it. Having a flexible design should surely be seen as the means to get the most sales. Thinking about it, I can’t help wonder if manufacturers get caught in their own self image and don’t see beyond that for normality. From the examples given in this book, that also seems to be true.
  The chapter on toilet facilities highlights a world-wide problem of there never being enough cubicles for women. I think Anthony would be upset to find that in the UK, because of the recession, many towns have cut back or closed public lavatories because they can’t afford them, telling people to seek out shop toilets.
  Looking at the photo section and the one where a museum has a glass ceiling to enable people to look down at exhibits but unfortunately also enabling people to look up women’s skirts, did give me a simple solution. Darken the ceiling room, much like how police officers do so they can look into an interrogation room, and the problem should go away.
  Considering the money orientation in America, any enterprising firm should recognise from this book by making their shops or offices more user friendly to different heights and disabilities that they will attract more customers and clients and ultimately make more money, especially if they stay ahead of their competitors.
  Speaking of money, Anthony reminded me of a problem I heard of a few years back in that there is no difference in the size of a dollar bill to any of the other amounts in paper money. Just so I don’t discriminate across the world, put an assortment on the table and shuffle then with your eyes closed and put them in the right order. We British have our paper in different sizes and coming up textures which makes ours very easy to tell apart.
  Anthony makes a very telling point about instructions with medicines being tiny print. All right, you might read in the middle of the day but in the middle of the night and half asleep you probably could get things wrong. Now that is something that really needs to be changed world-wide.
  Don’t think Anthony is criticising everything as there are many occasions where she points out improvements that are taking place. There are some hospitals in the USA that now have elderly patients emergency rooms which are made to be a lot more calmer for OAPs that should catch on, depending on staff availability.
  One area that Anthony didn’t discuss is women’s clothes. I bet it was a man who came up with the idea of the zip up the back of a dress and the near impossible contortions to get it right to the top unaided. You do come away from this book thinking which is no mean thing.
  At the end of the book, Anthony points out the ways to check on safety for your children and even yourselves. This book is certainly an eye-opener and will have you looking around and wondering at how people have gotten used to such a state of affairs. Don’t forget the effect of a combined protest when you see something that should be improved.
  GF Willmetts
  March 2017

• DEFINED BY DESIGN
  https://books.google.co.cr/books?id=O_mmDAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
  Word count: 3

  PG. 17

Word Count