What might an Oracle for Transfeminist Tech teach us? Maybe some playful ways to imagine technologies that escape the “matrix of domination”

New technique and practice can open out the mind, expand frameworks, burst open possibilities… But what exactly are Transfeminist Tarot Cards going to do for us?

Quite a lot, we think. We maybe should start with a definition of what “transfeminist” might mean, in this climate where the “T-word” is doing a lot of work for various constituencies. Here’s how the Oracle for Transfeminist Futures (the designer of the tarot-cards, along with other fascinating organisations like Coding Rights, and Design Justice Network ) define their transfeminist space [puncuation in the original]:

this is a space that provides tools for enabling collective brainstorming on alternative imaginaries surrounding technologies.

there is substantial evidence that most of the algorithms that command our digital interactions are biased, particularly towards reproducing what black feminist scholar patricia hill collins calls the matrix of domination (capitalism, heteropatriarchy, white supremacy and settler colonialism).

in other words, tech is currently designed in a way it helps to maintain the status quo of social inequality and the norms of consumerist, misogynist, racist, ableist, gender binarial and heteropatriarchal society.

 what would the future look like if we could hack this trend?

Their new tarot cards are a tool for this hack:

There are generative rules to the game (available on PDF) - some of them below:

Value card(s): Each Value card represents a transfeminist value. Take a moment to reflect individually, and/or discuss in your group, what this Value means to you.

Object card: Each Object card represents an everyday object. (Note: if you are playing with children, consider whether you want to remove the Dildo from the stack of Object cards before you begin).

People/Places [or Bodies/Territories] card: the People/Places cards all say the same thing: “Be in your own body. Be in the place you inhabit.” Some speculative design exercises encourage you to imagine that you are another kind of person, but transfeminism encourages us to recognize the importance of situated and embodied knowledge. In- stead of pretending that you are someone else and you know what they need, take a moment to reflect on who you are. What body are you in? Where do you live? What privileges and burdens do your body and place provide?

Situation card (optional): Situation cards provide you with a situation that you need to deal with. They can be a fun way to focus your creative energy. You can also do readings without Situations, or create your own (real or imagined) Situation!

Blank cards (optional): We’ve included blank cards in case you want to add your own Values, Objects, or Situations.

Example of Situation Cards

Samples of Object cards

Samples of values cards:

Create your blueprint

Your goal now is to envision a futuristic technology that is:

  • embodied in your Object;

  • guided by your Value(s);

  • developed by and for your People, in your Place;

  • and will help you solve the Situation presented to you by the Oracle.

  • Remember, it’s the Future, so Objects aren’t limited by today’s capabilities... everything is possible!

You may use the Blueprint sheet to organize your ideas. Your Blueprint should have a title, a diagram or drawing of your technology in action, and a brief description of how it works

Feels like fun - download the materials, play it, and send us what you’ve generated!

INGENUITY, TECHNOLOGY, FUTURES, PLANETARIAN, NEW ENERGY SOURCES, ARTISTSpat kanetransfeminism, transhumanismComment