Critical Posthumanism can help us understand design and the worlds it makes and is made of: How does design reinforce contemporary notions of “normal” or “accepted” human embodiment and how can it challenge normative ways of being? How have the value systems at the basis of nature-culture, mind-body, or gender binaries shaped design? What political, social, environmental, or technological critiques can develop at the nexus of design and posthumanism? What are the possibilities and limits of designerly engagements with critical posthumanism for more socially and environmentally just futures?

Critical Posthumanism is not one thing. One specific idea of human or humanity establishes a polarisation and division, elevating those who fit that singular description at the expense of everybody else. It is the root cause of social and environmental injustice expressed and investigated by many fields of study: gender studies, queer feminist theory, disability studies, eco feminism, critical race theory and more. Exposing the value systems that inform disciplinary development is key to addressing a multitude of design and design-related practices.