Wo.Defy: a wearable, historical narrative told through somatic self-experience and self-reflection

This paper describes the exploratory design process of Wo.Defy, a bioresponsive wearable garment that integrates interaction design with feminist critique through an emphasis on intimacy, self-agency and self-reflection. Our research is based on a somaesthetics framework addressing values of selfexperience, poetics, materiality, and interaction semantics. Wo.Defy critically engages concepts of cultural history and identity to develop a richer understanding of design for the self. Our research design is informed by the historical precedent of the Self-Combing Sisters, a suffragette group in early 20th century Chinese society, who challenged the traditional Chinese status quo of gender roles and social conceptions of pre-arranged marriages through their chosen dress and styling of their hair. Wo.Defy contributes to the design discourse of wearable, embodied interaction through its emphasized integration of cultural historical research into contemporary wearable design practice, braiding a feminist HCI agenda through a somaesthetics framework.