IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2017 - 51

clearly evident. As the world now contemplates social
interaction with humanoid robots, we are likely to
be assailed in many other senses including sight
and touch. Humanoid robots' forthcoming mass production and integration in society is likely to be transformative. As Fitzpatrick argues, humanoid robots
will have "significant cultural ramifications," including understandings of gender [1].
The purpose of this article is to discuss how gendering humanoid robot artefacts in our social realm
might transform human-human interaction and understandings of gender. Due to the complexity of this
research space it is important to consider the range of
current literature in this area. The range includes discussion of culture, ofhow gender is embodied in different societies, of design, of the design process and
human-robot interaction (HRI), and of the social implications, drawing culture and design together. Recognizing the common social perspective of these
subjects, we use an anthropological perspective to examine how applying gender to robots may affect society beyond designers and potential users, and in
different cultural contexts. Importantly, we also consider what the creation of robot gender might mean
for human gender. We are on the cusp of the humanoid age, with humanoid robots not yet widespread,
therefore literature on this topic is limited to hypotheses on the potential impacts.
We argue that assigning gender to robots will challenge and transform social and cultural understandings
of gender. Societies require gender to perceive and
interact with humanoid robots. This article intends to
question the motivations underlying the design of
humanoid robots and encourage designers to pay more
attention to gender during the design process.

Humanoid Robots
The term humanoid robot refers to an autonomous or
semi-autonomous device with various technologies
that allow it to interact with its environment [2]. The
robot may be just human shaped, or it may closely
resemble a human (also called an android), and it is
usually designed to interact in a similar way to humans
in an environment designed for the human body [2].
There is a long history of building human-shaped ma chines combining artistry and mechanics that mimic
human behavior, beginning with automata, which
provided popular entertainment from the sixteenth
to nineteenth centuries in Europe and Japan. With
advances in technology since World War II, designers have increasingly attempted to create humanshaped robots [1], and roboticists are now attempting
to take this further to create embodied intelligence
or cognition [2].
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A key question that arises when examining social
robots is: why make humanoid robots at all? First,
humanoid robots may be able to better interact in
human-engineered environments [1]. This is particularly
the case for tasks that are too dangerous or difficult for
a human to accomplish, such as working in emergency
situations. Second, humanoid robots may also be developed to supplement humans in societies with declining
populations. Designers propose that robots can fulfill
particular social roles, such as providing entertainment
or companionship [1].

As the world now contemplates
social interaction with humanoid
robots, we are likely to be assailed
in many other senses including
sight and touch.

Roboticists have, in fact, debated the value of creating a robot with a basic human form versus one that
could pass as human. Robot designer Masahiro Mori
warned against creating robots that appeared too
human, that risked falling into what he called the
"uncanny valley" [3]. A human-shaped robot could
evoke positive reactions from users, but one that had a
realistic human appearance triggered an uncanny sense
of encountering the undead. The term "uncanny" was
first developed by Freud in 1919 in his analysis of the
story "The Sand Man" where the main character Nathaniel falls in love with a female automaton named Olympia
[4]. Other designers such as Hiroshi Ishiguro advocate
the development of realistic robots that can pass as
human, with silicone skin, hair, and clothing [5]. As
humanoid robots become more humanlike in form,
assigning gender is increasingly important to prevent
the robot falling into the uncanny valley.

Culture and Robots
Close your eyes for a minute, and imagine a humanoid
robot that is designed to assist you in your daily work.
What came to mind? Was it just human shaped, or
did it look almost like a human? Was it male or female?
Was it the same height as you? Could it speak? What
was it doing?
Culture is an important aspect in the development
of robots, and the assignation of particular gendered
characteristics to them depending on the culture they

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