Spaces That Need Refaces

Stories From the Field

Gallery: Spaces in Need of Refaces

These places send strange signals to women and people of color. What off-putting environments have you encountered? Share you story with us, and we might feature it on this site.

Fitness and Fun?

In this hotel fitness center advertisement, the woman is focused on the man, while the man is happily engrossed in his run. What kind of message is that? — Ellen Reinhart

Aren’t Women Geniuses, Too?

A Psychology Today blog post about the “geniuses of psychology” mentions no people of color and only two women, who were described only in conjunction with their male collaborators. This list’s lack of diversity is especially problematic for a field that is predominantly female, and has been so for many years. After all, psychology has produced several certified geniuses of color — that is, MacArthur “Genius” Award winners — including Angela Duckworth, Jennifer Eberhardt, and Jennifer Richeson. — Sarah Lyons-Padilla, Ph.D.

Men of Modern Mathematics

For years, a notorious Ivy League school math department displayed this poster, which doesn’t include any pictures of women.— Anonymous

This Could Not Be Me

This poster aims to get students involved in psychology research, but features only famous male psychologists. I fear that women seeing this poster may feel like they don’t belong in psychology. — Ellen Reinhart

See Yourself?

This sculpture is located outside the National Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. Titled “Relaxing Nobel Prize Winner,” the sculpture invites viewers to “see your self” in mirrors on the figure’s head and arms. Yet the head and arms are clearly those of a man. This artwork not only assumes that Nobel Laureates are male, but also may make women feel like they literally aren’t “cut out” to be Nobel-level scientists. — Alana Conner, Ph.D.