『Gutsy by Design』のカバーアート

Gutsy by Design

Gutsy by Design

著者： Amy Delgado
無料で聴く

Inspiring humans to be boldly inclusive so that everyone feels welcome ~ via ~ storytelling | coaching | research | sharing resources | talking to experts | partnering with others to solve complex challenges

gutsybydesign.substack.comGutsy by Design 社会科学
エピソード
  • He has kids?! What my 4-year-old taught me about invisible bias +Audio

    He has kids?! What my 4-year-old taught me about invisible bias +Audio
    2026/08/17
    When my kids were little, my husband and I took them with us to see the film Wampler’s Ascent at the ReelAbilities Film Festival. The movie centers a man named Steve Wampler who has a severe form of cerebral palsy, and his journey to climb the 3,000-foot vertical face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.At the time I thought it would be cool for my kids to see a film featuring a person with a disability and to see how that person engineered a solution to achieve their goal. However, rather than being blown away by the fact that this man figured out how to climb a literal mountain, my 4 year old was blown away by something else.As we watched the movie, and new people came onto the screen, this is how our conversation went.Her: “Is that his mom?”Me: “No. That’s his wife.”Her (with wide eyes and a shocked face): “WHAT?? He has a wife?!?”Then, a short while later, when two teenagers come onto the screen…Her: “Who are they?”Me: “Those are his kids.”Her (again, with wide eyes and a shocked face): “He has kids?!?”I sat there slack-jawed, wondering how, at FOUR YEARS OLD, these biases were already baked into her.A man with cerebral palsy being married.A man with cerebral palsy having kids.These things shocked her way more than a man with cerebral palsy innovating a solution to climb the giant flat rock face of El Capitan while managing spasticity and limited function in his arms and legs.How did this happen? How were these biases already so ingrained in her mind before she reached kindergarten — especially when our family regularly spent time in the company of others who have disabilities? When she has a disability herself?Sigh.My heart broke a little as I considered what she will have to overcome just to believe that she, herself, is worthy of the same things most people take for granted. Relationships. A partner. Kids. A job she loves. My kid’s perspective didn’t come from nowhere; her brain formed these thoughts from the invisible messages we hear every day. When we only see disability portrayed in stereotypical ways, and when we don’t see those with disabilities doing typical life things like getting married and having kids, it leave a void that our minds fill with assumptions.As disability rights advocate Haben Girma beautifully wrote: “When we see more people with disabilities in the media, we begin to perceive disabilities as part of the normal spectrum of human experience.”What we see is what we believeDid you know that only 2% of speaking characters in last year’s films were portrayed as having a disability? This woefully underrepresents disability as a human condition. When we look at the U.S. Census, 27% of Americans have a disability (yes, that’s one out of every four people).Even worse is that when disability is included, the stories often perpetuate inaccurate and harmful stereotypes. I am going to take you through the most common ones, and the messages they send to all of us.Cure at All Costs* Message: All disabilities must, and should, be cured.* Overrepresented story: A character starts with a disability, but is later “fixed” through medical intervention, miracles, or magic.* How it’s harmful: This promotes disability as a flaw to be corrected, completely ignoring it as a valid, natural part of the human condition. Some disabilities don’t get cured, and that’s ok. Challenge: Pretend you recently acquired a permanent spinal cord injury.While you are trying to navigate your new reality, and trying to find your way to acceptance, every show you watch tells you that your life is a tragedy unless a miracle ‘fixes’ you.Would seeing these stories make it easier or harder for you to focus on living your life to its fullest, exactly as you are?What if, instead, you saw characters with spinal cord injuries portrayed as everyday people with multifaceted lives?A Burden / Object of Pity* Message: An individual with a disability is entirely helpless, tragic, and suffering.* Overrepresented story: Disabled characters shown having an emotional or financial drain on their loved ones, sometimes even choosing to end their lives so they can stop being a burden.* How it’s harmful: It sways audiences to believe that a disabled life is inherently a life not worth living.Challenge: Pretend you or your child was born with a disability.How would it affect you and your self-worth, or your child’s self-worth, to constantly see characters like you portrayed as a tragic burden who would be better off not existing?How would you think others saw you?The ‘Evil Cripple’* Message: Having an impairment causes or is the result of a warped soul or moral failing.* Overrepresented story: A bitter villain whose primary motivation for evil deeds stems directly from resentment about their disability.* How it’s harmful: It pairs physical or psychological differences directly with evil, generating subconscious fear of, pity towards, and aversion to people with ...
    続きを読む 一部表示
    17 分
  • A Vacation Bible School and a Drag Show Walk Into My Life… +Audio

    A Vacation Bible School and a Drag Show Walk Into My Life… +Audio
    2026/08/10
    I had experiences last month with two very different groups who welcomed with abandon. These groups curated belonging like it was second nature. However, from the outside, they look like they should exist at opposite ends of a spectrum. One was the Vacation Bible School (VBS) team at a local United Methodist church, and the other, a local drag show & brunch fundraiser.But before I tell you those stories, let me tell you a little about how I became this person who volunteers at a VBS and attends a drag show in the same weekend.Learning by WatchingI was raised Catholic, and both of my parents worked for the church we attended. My mom was the director of religious education, and my dad the director of music. For my siblings and I, the church was our second home, and the people at church were our second family.When I share with people that I was raised “very catholic,” the image it conjures in their minds usually misses the mark. I don’t mean rigid dogma or strict rules requiring hourly rosaries. What I do mean is that we spent a lot of time at church and that my parents taught us, through their actions, that all life is inherently sacred and valuable. And that because every person’s life is sacred, that human dignity is inalienable — meaning it is given, not earned, and it cannot be taken away for any reason; not poverty, illness, disability, skin color, being an immigrant, having a different sexuality or gender, being in prison, or for any other reason.I will never forget the night my older sister, who was a year ahead of me in school, brought a friend home for dinner. He had messy black hair that spiked a few inches off his head, dark eyeliner, bold outlined lips, and heavy metal jewelry. I watched my mom’s eyes widen in initial surprise when they met, but within a split second, her face rearranged into a warm, genuinely welcoming smile. She told him how nice it was to meet him, and we spent the evening visiting around the table.My parents didn’t demand conformity. They didn’t preach to me and my siblings about accepting and welcoming people different than us. They showed us with their actions; with the way they made people feel welcome, included, and protected.Beliefs which alienate vs. includeAs I looked for a spiritual home as an adult, it was hard to find a church that felt like what I experienced growing up. It felt like trying to locate one unique grain of sand on the vast ocean floor. Along the way, I came across too many examples of faith and religion being held up as rationale for alienating and vilifying people who live or believe differently. I couldn’t help but wonder how the foundation had slipped so far away from loving our neighbor and valuing the dignity in all life.My family eventually found our home in a Jesuit parish with a strong focus on social justice, and I am continually thankful to the friend who introduced us to this community. A few months ago, I came upon another faith-based community which made me feel at home - and this is the one I’m going to tell you about today.This is going to sound like the beginning of a joke…What happens when an Israeli Jewish woman, a lesbian couple, a Catholic, and their families show up at a United Methodist church to volunteer for Vacation Bible School (VBS)?Magic. That’s what happens.Entering this community felt like walking into a warm hug. There were no rules about who fit and who didn’t. No gatekeepers making sure we conformed to their version of faith. And no rigid doctrine deciding who was “in” vs. who was “out.”To me, the ultimate expression of faith is expanding the table to include everyone, without any pressure to conform. Sharing our own beliefs and values in a way that welcomes someone to explore, while in parallel showing genuine interest in who the other person is, and being willing to shape our own beliefs based on what we learn from them.Ministry at this church was space-making; not gatekeeping. They drew people in, and made them feel like they belong. They demonstrated what it means to value all life, unconditionally.Here are a few things that stood out to me. * The church staff was excited and positively blown away by my friend’s ability to bring in such diverse volunteers from outside their community. They weren’t awkward or stressed out about interacting with people different from them - they were jazzed by it.* My kiddos volunteered and were warmly invited to join social post-camp activities with other teen volunteers. Disability was not a barrier. There was no hesitation in the invitation. The attitude seemed to be, ‘of course they should join us!”* The staff checked in with me and my kids on physical accommodations, volunteer roles, and to make sure they had everything they needed to feel supported. Not just for the VBS itself, but for the post-camp teen fun as well.* My kiddo with a disability and I pre-planned how she would navigate the transition between floors (peeling off from ...
    続きを読む 一部表示
    16 分
  • Beyond the Average User - Reshaping Everyday Products +Audio

    Beyond the Average User - Reshaping Everyday Products +Audio
    2026/08/10
    I find working on product accessibility and inclusive design energizing — It’s the part of my day job that makes me feel the most hopeful, and that fills me with the most pride. Recently, I had the privilege to sit down with Accessibility for All magazine to discuss this work for their May issue. The published features is titled, “How inclusive design at Procter & Gamble is reshaping everyday products for accessibility and real-life use.” You can read the article by following one of these links:* Web version with an audio option* Curated digital magazine formatObserve, Don’t AskIn the interview, I talk about shifting from a reliance on what consumers say to observing what they do... because watching how someone shops, handles packaging, or completes their routine reveals a lot more than asking them to explain it.The importance of observation is something I learned first in my personal life by watching my own children, and working with them on their daily routines. Every time I witness how much harder my kid who has a physical disability has to work to complete tasks, I’m reminded how critical minor design choices are for a person’s dignity and independence. A small choice like offering Olay body wash in a pump bottle makes showering a little easier for everyone, but it is a game changer for a person that has only one fully functional hand.Inclusively Designed Everyday ProductsWhen we design products beyond a narrow “average user” model, we create smoother, more independent experiences that benefit everyone. Tide Evo is a great example.* The packaging is easy to open (pull the tab to unseal, lift the top).* It’s ultra lightweight and mess-free (thanks to no extra water in the product, and no fillers)* It makes doing a load of laundry incredibly simple -- pick up a sachet and toss it in (no need to lift and tilt a heavy bottle, it dissolves quickly into the water).* Someone who is blind can both identify the product by touch in their home (tactile markings on the package), and find and navigate to the product in the store (NaviLens Smart Code on the package).* It cleans fantastically (even better than regular detergent according to a colleague who recently tried it for the first time)* And... it’s packaging is recyclable!True accessibility isn’t a one-time solution or a specialized add-on; it is an ongoing process of learning, evolving, and designing for real-life use.Another example is Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner. It was the first brand to integrate the universal tactile system, pioneered by P&G. This innovative system offers a straightforward solution for identifying products by touch, without requiring the consumer to know how to read braille (only 10% of blind individuals can read braille), and without having to speak the same language (e.g. works the same for English speakers, Spanish speakers, German speakers, etc.).Tactile at it’s core is a method for a person to identify something by touch. Many blind individuals already add stick-on ‘bump dots’ to appliances and products in their homes so they can identify the item and/or perform a task independently. This system builds upon that foundational habit, in a way that is also easy to adopt for those who acquire vision loss as they age.You have likely already interacted with tactile markings, possibly without even knowing it. Think about the small raised lines on the F and J keys on a keyboard that help you identify, without looking, where to place your hands. Think about ATM machines and phones that have buttons - have you noticed the bump on the number 5? Fascinating, right?I recently switched to Herbal Essences for my own showering routine to see if the tactile system would be helpful for a glasses-wearer, like myself. And holy cow, do I love it!Without needing to bring the bottle super close to my face and squint at the packaging (which was getting harder now that I also need progressive lenses to read small, close-up text) — I can easily verify whether I’m holding the shampoo or conditioner! If you, like me, have gotten into your 40s or 50s and and now need ‘readers’ to clearly see small text, this might be your new favorite innovation. :)For shampoo, there are four raised lines near the top of the bottle (right side of image), and when I run my thumb over it, it feels bumpy, like suds that are created when using shampoo. Conditioner’s symbol is two horizontal rows of raised dots (bottle on left side of the image). When I run my thumb over it, it feels smooth, like conditioner feels when applying it to hair. I don’t have to look at the bottles or read the small text in order to know which I had in my hands.True accessibility isn’t a one-time solution or a specialized add-on; it is an ongoing process of learning, evolving, and designing for real-life use.Thank you to the team at Mélange and Accessibility for All for highlighting this journey. And thank you to P&G for letting me weave the ...
    続きを読む 一部表示
    6 分
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
まだレビューはありません