“Almost all the artifacts that we value as a society were made by or at the order of men. But behind every one is an invisible infrastructure of labor — primarily caregiving, in its various aspects — that is performed mostly by women”
Chachra, Debbie. “Beyond Making,” Making Things and Drawing Boundaries, 2017.
As an eighteen year old female college student struggling to choose a major, Chachra’s observation here excites me. Chachra points out that in our current society, and for most of history, “making” and innovating (traditionally male dominated) are valued over immaterial and continuous practices such as caregiving (traditionally female dominated). I had not considered that my idea of the right major could be influenced by a history of gendered professions with biased impositions as to what pursuits are worthwhile. While I recognize my natural gifts as a human fall within education and social connection, I have felt pressured to choose a major and career focused on creating something new, avoiding the mundane.
When I considered a career in education, I quickly dismissed it. Through her recognition of the biased way our society assigns value to different professions, Chachra gifts me with a greater awareness as to the context of the workforce I soon will enter. The majority of this country’s educators have lower salaries corresponding with their undervalued jobs and that is distinct from their impact. Charchra’s logic inspires me. Even though today’s society does not incentivize the pursuit of my particular talents, at least financially, that does not diminish the impact of my profession. With my life and time on this planet, I want to be a caregiver and help people.
Under the large umbrella of Digital Humanities, I am excited to experiment and become better versed in expressing myself in a digital format. I gravitate towards pencil and paper and, after a miserable two weeks of coding camp at the age of ten, have avoided the learning curve with digital while embracing that of the humanities. Regardless of what I end up pursuing, I believe that the efficiency, accessibility, and creativity that computers offer is an ever expanding potential that I do not want to miss out on. Specifically, I am eager to learn how to design digital graphics because I am frequently in situations that could be enhanced by this skill that I do not yet possess.
