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Glossary

discriminatory design

Short Definition
Design practices that normalize racial hierarchies and use statistical norms within sociotechnical systems
Relevance
Design choices often perpetuate systemic discrimination, affecting accessibility, representation, and user experience. The unresolved question is how to fundamentally change design processes to prioritize equity without replicating the biases of designers, and whether existing structures can truly support that.
Additional Notes
Further Reading

Benjamin, R. (2016). Catching Our Breath: Critical Race STS and the Carceral Imagination. Engaging Science, Technology, and Society, 2, 145–156. https://doi.org/10.17351/ests2016.70 Costanza-Chock, S. (2020). Design Values: Hard-Coding Liberation? In S. Costanza-Chock, Design justice: Community-led practices to build the worlds we need. The MIT Press. https://designjustice.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/3h2zq86d/release/1

This is a 2023–2025 project led by InterAccess, in collaboration with Tangled Art + Disability, and FEZIHAUS™.