Description

Observing the texture, color, and conductivity of cervical mucus has the potential to support menstrual cycle and fertility tracking, generating a layer of rich bodily, tactile/haptic knowledge in addition to other collected data, such as cycle length or body temperature. The ‘tactful feminist sensor’ is a prototype for measuring the conductivity of cervical mucus in vaginal fluids, which varies across a menstrual cycle. From a theoretical perspective, the tactful sensor was inspired by Maria Puig de la Bellacasa and Karen Barad’s discussions on reclaiming touch technologies (Puig de la Bellacasa, 2009) and on touching the self and the body (Barad, 2012). In an attempt to both literally and metaphorically think with the sense of touch, Maria Puig de la Bellacasa offers “tactfulness” (the same word for “touch” in some languages, like tacto in Spanish) as a possible sensory value, a word holding implications of politeness and care for what is touched, acknowledging the politics of distance and power that are at play (one can be touched without care, and also without permission).