A critical discussion of the urban experience in relation to the issue of gender - Essay Example

?A Critical Discussion of the Urban Experience in Relation to the Issue of Gender ‘Men and women’s conception, experience, and use of urban space is different’ (McDowell, 1983: 59). Bondi claims that ‘urban space creates, imposes, reflects and distinguishes divisions between men and women’s experiences, control and use of public and private spaces in urban environments’ (1998: 161). The study of gender and geography has, since the late 1970’s been interested in the differing experiences of men and women in the city. For example, feminist geographers including McDowell (1983) and Darke (1996) have investigated how land use in the city has impacted on the way men and women live their lives, and how the role of gender impacts on the day to day experiences of men and women within the urban environment. This essay aims to explore how gender roles are played out within urban spaces. ‘Women writing on cities have arrived at differing conclusions’ (Darke, 1996: 88). Wilson (2001) for example experiences cities as exciting and liberating public environments and an escape from patriarchal imposed identities. However, she also acknowledges that ‘in recent years feminist have argued that there could never be a female flanuer…urban scene was at all times represented from the point of view of the male gaze: in painting and photographs men voyeuristically stare, women are passively subjected to the gaze’ (Wilson, 1992: 56). The differing viewpoints between feminist geographers themselves highlight the complex nature relating to studying gender in the urban environment. It is the aim of this essay to explore different discourses around the issue of gender within the city through Darke’s (1996: 88) classification of urban space into ‘the city of property’, ‘the city of zones’, and ‘the city of diversity’. I will also explore how the architectural design of cities, their sexualisation of space, and the fear of crime also impacts on a gendered experience of the urban environment. Darke states that ‘urban space is seen as belonging to men, and women are seen as part of men’s property, in some cases literally as commodities’ (1996: 88). From an historical point of view, Darke claims that ‘urbanisation coincided with the introduction, or at least intensification of patriarchy’ (1996: 91). Male domination led to men being the rulers, decision makers, generals and cultural leaders. Women were often subjected to domestic roles, hidden from public space. The introduction of women’s voting rights and gender equality laws went some way to rebalance gendered experience of the city as the 20th Century drew to a close. ‘However, even though legal barriers to women’s access to jobs and particular buildings have been removed, women are still excluded and made to feel uncomfortable in public space’ (Darke, 1996: 92). For example, Cockburn (1983) highlights how women receive not so subtle behavioural signals that tell them they are trespassing on the territory of men, e.g. wolf whistles on the street, sexual harassment in the work place and street posters depicting half naked women. Various authors including Darke (1996: 88) and Lewis et al (1989: 215) have highlighted that zoning patterns, based on stereotypical gender roles have created divisions between gendered experiences of the city, in which men control public space, hence becoming more specialised and important components of identity in the public sphere, whilst women are confined to private spaces. This is emphasised by Bondi ‘an important association remains between masculinity, public space and the city, on the one hand, and between femininity, private space, and the suburbs on the other hand’ (1998: 162). The ‘city of zones’ therefore compartmentalises activities such as work, leisure, travel and home life. Women are primarily seen as wives and mothers, whilst men are viewed as the breadwinner, whose job it is to go out into the public realm to earn a living and provide for ‘his family’. Darke’s (1996) concept of ‘the city of zones’ (i.e. women limited to the domestic sphere) is evident within the everyday fabric of the urban environment as Figure 1 depicts. Figure 1 – Gendered Roles in Everyday Life Boys also suggests that ‘architecture makes a physical representation of social relations in the way it organises people in space, i.e. it contains ideas about the ‘proper place’ of women, and what are the appropriate behaviours for women in particular locations’ (1984: 25). Boys argues, ‘most architect’s attempts to deal with the contradictions of women’s place actually obscure, misunderstand or ignore the realities of women’s position in the family and at work’ (1984: 27-28). Women’s experiences of public spaces though architectural design therefore appear to be overwhelmingly controlled by men. The physical arrangement of the built environment has thus reinforced women’s differential access to resources, which Boys (1984) believes has simultaneously legitimised and naturalised the gendered inequality of urban space. The concept of zoning has therefore resulted in the localising effect of the physical environment. ‘Women’s lack of relationship to their relative immobility and the distances of home and work generated by the decentralisation of dwellings has resulted in women’s confinement to private space’ (Boys, 1984: 29). Hubbard also suggests ‘the complex and often contradictory codes of sexual compartment that structure street life vary for men and women, and the visibility of particular sexual roles on the streets inform broader notions of women’s ability to use and shape both public and private spaces’ (2004: 323). However, Hubbard also challenges the notion that women have been confined to private spaces in urban environments and claims that the public presence of prostitutes, for example, sexualises and feminises public space, ‘the prostitute was the quintessential figure of the urban scene’ (Hubbard, 2004: 324). Prostitutes therefore disturb the masculine assumption that its’ control of the city is not complete, and disturb male assumptions that sexuality should be domesticated. Some feminist writers go as far to say that women taking to the streets as sex workers can empower gender roles, thus collapsing the ideology that associates men with urban space. However, the regulation of sexuality is profoundly gendered and women in public space are inevitably viewed as ‘out of place’, especially at night. However, urban space can also be a positive place for women, and according to Darke ‘despite the problems for women that the ‘city of property’ and the ‘city of zones’ present, the city is the place where many women still want to be’ (1996: 97). For example, cities can offer choices, liberate women and allow people to interact with others to challenge status quos. Urban space can also enable certain oppressed groups to live lifestyles beyond what may have been possible in other spaces, e.g. in rural communities. For example, Valentine states that ‘it is only in the city where lesbian and gay identities can be affirmed or celebrated rather than problematised’ (1995: 96). However, women’s fear of crime within urban environments has also affected the gendered use of urban space. Pain argues ‘the attachment of fear to public spaces, and the precautions which women take as a result constitute a ‘spatial expression of patriarchy’’ (1997: 231). Women’s fear of crime therefore limits their presence and interaction within urban spaces, which reproduces traditional notions about women’s roles and ‘places’ which are embedded in gendered power relations. This is despite the fact that men are more likely to be victims of crime (ONS, 2001). Valentine (1995) suggests that this is due to ‘inaccuracies in the information about sexual danger which women receive from the media, e.g. selective reporting of crimes against women. Fear of crime may therefore be linked to broader concerns and insecurities, i.e. women’s fear of crime could be both a product of, and reinforce their social position in which crime is normalised and women view it as an everyday part of urban life. In conclusion, there appears to be a distinct difference between gender and the experience one has within an urban environment. The patriarchal nature of urban spaces has resulted in women’s segregation and limited use of the urban space. The design of cities also contributes to women’s isolation and feelings of ‘out of place’. However, urban space can also be a positive place for women, which can liberate and challenge ‘traditional’ domesticated gender roles. I believe that gender equality within urban areas is improving. Perhaps future research into this subject matter should look beyond describing gendered relationships, and move into the realm of suggesting new discourses around the notion of space in order to change future experiences within an urban environment. Word Count: 1,498 References Bondi, L. (1998). Gender, Class and Urban Space: Public and Private Space in Contemporary Urban Landscapes. Urban Geography. 19 (2) p. 160-185. Boys, J. (1984). Is There a Feminist Analysis of Architecture? Built Environment. 10 (1) p. 25-34. Cockburn, L (1983). In Darke, J. (1996). The Man Shaped City. In: Booth, C, Darke, J and Yeandle, S. Changing Places: Womens Lives in the City. London. P Chapman. Darke, J. (1996). The Man Shaped City. In: Booth, C, Darke, J and Yeandle, S. Changing Places: Womens Lives in the City. London. P Chapman. Hubbard, P (2004). Women Outdoors: Destabilising the Public/Private Dichotomy. In: Nelson, L and Seager, J. A Comparison to Feminist Geography. Oxford. Blackwell Publishing. Lewis, J and Bowlby, S (1989). Women’s Inequality in Urban Britain. In: Herbert, D and Smith, D. Social Problems and the City. Oxford. Oxford University Press. McDowell, L. (1983). Towards an Understanding of the Gender Division of Urban Space. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space. 1 (1) p. 59-72. Office of National Statistics (2001) Gender and Crime. Accessed on 11th April 2011. Available at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=442 Pain, R. (1997). Social Geographies of Women’s Fear of Crime. Institute of British Geographers. 23 (2) p. 321-244. Valentine, G. (1995). Out and About: Geographies of Lesbian Landscapes. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 19 (1) p. 96-111. Wilson, E. (1992). The Sphinx in the City. Oxford. University of California Press. Wilson, E (2001). The Contradictions of Culture: Cities, Culture, Women. London. Sage. Read More