A Route to Somatic Literacy of the Pelvic Floor through Technology-Initiated Touch

The Pelvic Chair is a shape-changing chair that touches the pelvic area. Through rhythmic and gentle movements on different parts of the pelvic area, the touch interactions from the Pelvic Chair invite attention to the anatomy, muscles, and connectedness. We present a user study with 14 participants focusing on their experience of being touched by the Pelvic Chair. Through our qualitative analysis of participants’ experiences, we show that meaningful touch can offer an active approach to sensing the pelvic floor that contributes to increasing somatic literacy - becoming familiar with the pelvic floor, being able to feel and distinguish between tension and relaxation, and establishing new connections between the pelvic floor and the body. Using the Pelvic Chair as a design case we show the potential for technology-initiated touch in providing an intimate and safe way of touching and connecting with the body.