Pei Jun Zhang

It's for your own good, 2023

Wool, ceramics and other mixed media

As an Asian female, I grew up hearing, 'We wouldn’t be so worried if you were a boy,' and accepted the anxiety-inducing safety rituals that were taught to me 'out of care,' 'for my own good,' and 'to keep me safe.'

'It's for your own good' is a series of objects that satirize the extreme lengths women go to in order to keep themselves safe in public. The research explores the issue of gender inequality that manifests in a broader social context, where women struggle to feel safe in public spaces due to socially accepted bias based on their gender. This project is my response, an attempt to challenge the normalization of safety rituals that women feel compelled to adopt.

Material choices are pivotal in conveying Zhang's design justice intervention. They used wool felting to convey women’s soft yet firm characteristics while porcelain symbolizes the inherent fragility of safety rituals.