You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day.

I'm your host, Elise Hugh.

Design researcher, Virginia Santee, has a simple but surprisingly profound question.

Do you feel comfortable and safe in your chair, in your car, and generally in your surroundings?

These questions might seem a little silly, but silly for different reasons depending on your gender identity.

That's Virginia speaking from the TEDx stage in 2022.

We don't really ask these questions of men because for the most part, we don't have to.

Our environments are built for men and how they experience the world.

The truth is, the world wasn't built for women.

In fact, in nearly every way, it's been quite literally built for men.

From Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man,

the famous ink drawing by the scientist himself,

detailing the human proportions of a male figure,

to the resting temperature of often too cold office spaces,

we've used measurements of men's bodies to design the world.

In her talk, she explores how the basic structures all around us

work against diverse bodies in subtle and not so subtle ways,

and how designing an office for women sparked an even greater conversation.

What if we build entire cities and economies for women?

That's coming up right after a quick break.

And now our TED Talk of the Day.

Do you feel comfortable?

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