Reading about reactions to the announcement through tech blogs and forums, I've seen something come up rather consistently - a fear that iOS 7 is "too feminine." Too girly. Not a man's operating system. Blogger Jim Lynch went so far as to call it "An Estrogen-Addled Mess Designed for 13 Year Old Girls." I wonder whether or not his article is simply link-bait, so rather than link it here I've simply reproduced it in full after the jump. Whatever his intentions though, this seems to be a common sentiment.
This says several things to me.
First, is that men clearly think that women have no taste if they think that iOS 7's visual appearance is meant to appeal to the female brain. (It's probably located in the uterus or something, I don't know.)
More seriously, though, there is the assumption of masculine universality and feminine subjectivity. This attitude is embedded in a great deal of Western society. Male writers purportedly write universal literature and female writers write women's literature. Movies centered around men are geared towards both men and women, while movies centered around women are almost exclusively geared towards women. Men's opinions, thoughts, political ideologies, and creative output are deemed are deemed unbiased while those of women are considered inexorably tainted by subjectivity. And so, iOS 1-6 are masculine by their absence of femininity and yet, the masculinity of these operating systems should not be a deterrent to their use by the women who comprise a considerable proportion of its userbase.
If, then, iOS 7 is considered feminine, it is marked by subjectivity. The presence of femininity undermines not only its masculinity but also its universality. A "feminine" operating system should not be used by men, while a "masculine" operating system should be acceptable to women.
That leads me to my point. It is no secret that I consider masculinity to be a farce, albeit one with dangerous and often deadly implications. The celebration of strength and power within the contemporary imagination of masculinity is belied by a perpetual nervous fear of its dissolution. The slightest traces of cultural femininity are treated as major threats. The notion that one's sense of being could be compromised by bright colors and Helvetica Neue Ultra Light says less about the femininity of iOS 7 and more about the utter fragility of masculinity. But how else could a masculinity that precludes any trace of femininity operate? Masculinity is always vulnerable by virtue of its conceptualization.
Men who feel emasculated by iOS 7 are emasculated because of their understanding of what masculinity is. Not by their phone.
Apple has released a beta of iOS 7, and I couldn’t resist snagging it with my Apple developer account. I was actually quite excited to check it out first hand rather than just go by what I saw in the WWDC keynote. Unfortunately, it turned out to be worse in some respects than I’d anticipated.
When I first got it installed, I found myself really liking it in some ways. The Control Center, multitasking, iTunes Radio, Safari improvements and some other stuff were welcome and useful. I enjoyed using these new features because they added real value to iOS 7.
But my eyes!!! It felt like someone had dragged a cheese grater across my eyeballs when I saw the iOS 7 home screen, with its horrendous icons that looked like they were designed by a committee from the National Association of Gals (NAG) or…gasp!…Lisa Frank! Yes, iOS 7 comes perilously close to looking like Lisa Frank’s “Stuff Girls Love” site (hat tip to my friend and Apple devotee Don Blay for reminding me of Lisa Frank).
Was Lisa Frank one of the designers of iOS 7? Could be…could very well be…
iOS 7 Designed for Giggling 13 Year Old Girls
The minute that you enter the iOS 7 home screen, you realize that it has been designed for a gaggle of giggling 13 year old girls. Most of the icons are a mishmash of pastels that exude emotionally incoherent inconsistency. Some of the icons use gradients (camera, weather and messages) and shadows (the settings icon), while others have a more flat design (newsstand, compass and stocks).
The color scheme is almost unbearable if you’re a man that appreciates the stronger, richer and more detailed icons in iOS 6. The first time you see the iOS 7 icons, it feels like somebody kicked you in the balls with no warning and for absolutely no reason.
Masculine Versus Feminine: iOS 7 Has No Balls
There’s a real gender issue with the iOS 7 icon color scheme. The iOS 7 beta icons practically ooze estrogen! The manly, solid colors and design found in iOS 6 have been chopped off as viciously as Lord Varus’ balls and cock in Game of Thrones. In short, iOS 7 is a clam-o-rama of soft pastels that overwhelm male eyeballs, while bathing men in a sea of soft, limp nothingness.
If this is Johnny Ives’ work then it seems pretty clear that Scott Forstall was the alpha male at Apple. Or maybe it was Steve Jobs, or Jobs and Forstall together who put a masculine stamp on iOS? Either way, it’s pretty clear that iOS has totally lost its balls in iOS 7. What exactly does Ives have against men, anyway? Couldn’t he at least offer us a choice in icon theme colors? That would mitigate some of the feminized mess that is currently iOS 7.
Let’s not forget Tim Cook here either. There’s no doubt that Cook had to go along with feminization of iOS, he’s the CEO of Apple and has final say in any changes to iOS. It’s long been rumored that he’s gay, and that’s fine. But come on, Tim! There are all kinds of gay guys out there, some gay guys are very masculine in their sensibilities. After seeing iOS 7, I’m betting that Tim Cook isn’t one of them. Come on, Tim! Butch it up a little bit please, and fix this mess before it’s unleashed on the male public.
If you look at the icons side by side in the image below, it’s clear that the ones on the left are testosterone-based with strong, manly, dark colors while the ones on the right float in an estrogen-addled nightmare of emotionally needy pastels.
Note the contrast between the strong, manly icons on the left, and the hysterically feminine icons on the right.
The Emasculation of Game Center
Speaking of the lack of testosterone, Game Center has become a total eunuch. Some people complained about the green felt look in iOS 6, but at least that had a masculine feel to it. It reminded me of playing pool at a pool hall, or going to a casino at night in Las Vegas. It felt like you were going to a place that would welcome guys, and that you’d have a good time there.
But now? The Game Center icon is…bubbles. Ugly, girlish pastels-from-hell-bubbles. Yuck!
What the heck do bubbles have to do with gaming?
First of all, what do bubbles have to do with gaming? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Second, gaming is known as one of the few communities that is still mostly masculine in its perspective and sensibilities. So what was Apple thinking by slicing off Game Center’s balls like this?
It seems pretty clear that Johnny Ives and his designers have ZERO knowledge about the sensibilities of gamers. I suspect that none of them is a gamer, and probably could care less about inflicting this dick-less version of Game Center on male iOS gamers.
iOS 7 utterly removes the masculine energy of Game Center found in iOS 6. The Game Center icon went from exuding the promise of action and fun, to meaning absolutely nothing whatsoever. And when you tap the icon? You get…more bubbles! Ugh, ugh, ugh.
Final Thoughts About the Feminization of iOS 7
It remains to be seen what the final version of iOS 7 will look like, Apple still has time to change the icons and color scheme.
But, if past history is any guide, it’s unlikely that there will be much in the way of refinement. It’s much more likely that what you see today in iOS 7 is more or less what you’ll get in the final release.
If that’s the case then I’ll be sticking with iOS 6 for as long as possible. It’s much more comfortable on my eyes, and it still works very well even if it lacks some of the new doodads in iOS 7. I can get by with iOS 6 for a long, long time.
Of course, the possibility always exists that one of my iOS devices might die and need to be replaced. But even then I still have the option of buying a replacement device that will run iOS 6 instead of iOS 7. Not to mention Android and Windows Phone, neither of which have been feminized in the same way as iOS 7.
Yeah folks, iOS 7 really is that bad visually. Your mileage may vary, however. Especially if you are a thirteen year old girl, metrosexual beta male, or a member of NAG.
iOS 7 screams “girl power!” and I suspect it will have a lot of men running for the exits to Android or Windows Phone, if the final release looks the same as the beta.
What’s your take on iOS 7′s garish icons and girlish design? Tell me in the comments below.