Raising awareness about toxic masculinity and femininity

My goal was to raise awareness about toxic masculinity and femininity with conversation provoking designs. Afterwards, to create an awareness brand consisted of shirts, masks, stickers, bracelets etc. for this topic, build an Instagram page to market my designs and post a documentary video. My name is Zaina Baitamoni, a 10th grader at the Ahliyyah School for Girls. My personal project goal was to raise awareness about toxic masculinity and femininity through design. I created my own branded design consisting of shirts, masks, stickers, bracelets, and more. I built an Instagram page to market my project and created a documentary video to support it. I have always been interested in gender-related issues, and this project was the perfect opportunity to explore the topic. Using mind maps, visual diagrams and brainstorming sessions, I established a specific goal and chose a target audience of teenagers aged 13 to 18. By creating merchandise that was affordable and useful, I was able to reach more people. I hoped to educate people, as well as challenge my learning and expand my knowledge. My goal was challenging because I had no experience with customizing merchandise. It was difficult for me to sell my products and deal with consumers. Customers expected great products at low prices, and it was important to differentiate my project through creative images, product descriptions, and unique customer service. I had to manage my time, especially on delivery and packaging. Additionally, I had to work on my skills in general to improve the business idea. I chose the global context “Fairness and Development” as negative toxic masculinity and femininity lead to inequality in our community. Because I incorporated design in my product, the global context “Scientific and Technical Innovation” was also explored. I tried to utilize new ideas while highlighting the topic through conversation-provoking designs. I faced many obstacles, such as my maximum production budget and the limited time to complete the documentary video. This made me propose and evaluate a variety of solutions to come up with a solution. I improved my communication and social skills during my project. I listened actively to other perspectives, accepted criticism, and made adjustments to my designs. I also negotiated effectively. I tried to persuade people around me to agree with my point of view on the existence of toxic masculinity and femininity. I used design, technology and partnerships to create enjoyable, credible and flexible merchandise and posts.