‘The Relationship between Space and Gender: How are Women able to
Occupy, Appropriate and Reclaim Urban Space?’
MA Literary Studies: Literature and Culture: Comparative Literature
Supervisor: Tim Yaczo
Second Reader: Noa Roei
Thesis Deadline: 15
thJune, 2016
Introduction: The Public Vs. Private Divide……….... 3
Chapter 1: The Position of the Sex Worker in Contemporary Society……...……….…… 6
Chapter 2: Feminist Activism as a Form of Resistance?... 16
Chapter 3: Weighing the Relations……….……….... 27
Bibliography………. 32
Introduction
This thesis is fundamentally concerned with the relationship between space and gender and the ability of women to occupy, appropriate and ultimately reclaim urban space. As is observed in Jane Rendell’s Gender Space Architecture (2000), “The appropriation and use of
space are political acts. The kinds of space we have, don’t have, or denied access to can empower us or render us powerless” (4). This quotation refers to an explicit binary which is absolutely integral to this thesis, namely the dichotomy between urban space and appropriation, and the way in which those who do not have access to space are similarly denied access to power. I will argue throughout this thesis that according to the social relations between gender and space, women are restricted in their access to public space and, as a result, occupy a subordinate and marginalised position in society. I will also illustrate that not only are women unable to occupy and appropriate space in the same way as men, but that they are at the same time bound by political and social ideologies which restrict them from the public realm into the private sphere. The first chapter will consider the figure of the flaȃneur in correspondence with the role of the ‘street walker’, or sex worker, in society. The second will look at case studies of feminist activist organisations which are actively re-appropriating and reclaiming public space. My central objective in both chapters therefore is to create a new critical discourse as to women’s everyday experience in the city, and I will endeavour to question the tension between the way women are restricted in urban space and how they are able to reclaim autonomy. It is also worth briefly mentioning here that whilst forms of marginalization in public space intersect with and relate to other issues within identity such as nationality, ethnicity, race and culture etc., this thesis will focus primarily on the question of gender. It is important to recognise that whilst these intersectional issues do play a significant role with regard to one’s daily experience of the city, for the sake of time it is unfeasible to examine each of these issues within the confines of this thesis.
It is imperative therefore, for this thesis’ objective, to identify the origins of the social roles prescribed to both men and women with regard to the city, and to ascertain how both genders are able to appropriate space. This calls for an examination of the gendered divisions between public and private realm, which in turn requires a brief summation of the socio-economic, cultural and technological developments of the 19th Century. One of the most notable and significant developments during this period was the Industrial Revolution and the resulting shift in terms of the organisation and management of space. The Industrial Revolution was a period of dramatic transition and saw a rapid increase in processes of production, consumption and other sources of manufacture. The division between the public and private, and the consequent social roles attached to both realms, occurred as a result of the new organisation of production and consumption which the industrial revolution manifested. It is evident therefore that as a result of increasing industrialisation, a clear division was constructed according to public and private realms, and that the private sphere was attributed the responsibilities and duties of housework and childcare while the public sphere was dominated by business, politics
and labour work. I would argue that this division between the public and private clearly determines separate gendered roles in society, and as a result of industrialisation and the division of labour between home and work ultimately intensified the division between men and women. Furthermore, I would also argue that these divisions are still at place in modern, contemporary society, and that the very construction of the city and city space still reflects this gendered ideology.
The subject of whether women ultimately benefited from the Industrial Revolution has long been debated by historians and critics alike. However, what this thesis will hope to expose is the way that industrialisation is responsible for the division of gendered binaries between public and private, and the demoralising and exclusionary restriction of women to the latter. On the one hand, whilst women were allowed to enter into the work sphere and exchange labour as a result of industrialisation, this did not necessarily mean that they were in anyway less restricted by the gendered binaries which existed within 19th Century society. Women notably worked in conditions that were unsafe and dangerous, and earned less than half of what their male contemporaries earned. Furthermore, domestic work still dominated the majority of women’s experience during the Industrial Revolution period. In addition to this, men monopolized highly skilled work processes and women were still excluded from several avenues and opportunities of employment as a result of their gender. Therefore, the economic framework of this new industrial city was such that, whilst they were active in the world of work, women remained invisible and on the whole excluded from visible society. Furthermore, whilst it is the case that women were no longer bound exclusively by household duties, I would argue that the role of women in society remained in fact deeply contradictory as women were simultaneously expected to participate in production processes and also maintain the labour of the household. The social role prescribed to women therefore did not allow for the same access to livelihood and autonomy that men were granted. Similarly, women were not permitted to utilize city space in the same way that men were able to. In this way, a distinct gendered ideology emerged during 19th Century society which placed the role of women in the domestic realm and thus as a result of the new processes of production and consumption, the division between the private and public was formed.
This division between the public and private is additionally reflected in the literature of the period, which dramatically illustrates the contrasting experiences of men and women during the 19th Century. One of the most prolific examples to examine with respect to the conflicting experiences of men and women in the city is the tradition of the flaȃneur, which was one of the most popular interests throughout literature in 19th Century society. In simplistic terms, the figure of the flaȃneur can be described as one who walks through the city at leisure, witnessing
and contemplating life around them, but without being seen themselves. The flaȃneur is explicitly associated with anonymity and the ability to simultaneously be part of a crowd, but at the same time disconnected from it. As certain critics examining the literature of modernity have asserted, the figure of the flaȃneur is also often exclusively male, as a female flaȃneur (otherwise referred to as the flaȃneuse) would not able to occupy space in the same way as a man is able to. For example, Deborah Epstein Nord writes that, “For women observers of the urban scene… femaleness itself constitutes an object of curiosity and subverts their ability to act as either the all-seeing eye or the investigator of public life. To see without being seen, or to be seen without becoming a spectacle, is rendered impossible” (240). This quotation explicitly embodies the fundamental difference between the way that men and women are able to move through space. The problem lies with the fact that women are unable to avoid being seen, and are therefore essentially unable to remain invisible or anonymous in a crowd. This raises questions about the issue of spectatorship, and of women as inevitable victims of the male gaze. The implication of this is that women are frequently made to feel vulnerable or exposed as a result of their sex, and at the same time are unable to occupy space, free from surveillance, in the same way that men can. This vulnerability radically alters the way women are able to move through and appropriate space. In this way, the tradition of the flaȃneur embodies the struggle both in the literature of women and in women’s experience of everyday life to find autonomy in the city. I will return once again to this example of the flaȃneur at the beginning of the first chapter to examine in greater detail the implications of what is means to be autonomous in urban space.
In summary, the central objectives of this thesis is to examine the gender impacts of urbanisation which ultimately restrict women’s right to the city, and to identify how women are able to reclaim urban space. My central argument will seek to expose the ways in which women are ostracised from urban space as a consequence of the cultural stigma attached to the ideology of the private and public divide which has been perpetuated and indoctrinated by society. I will also attempt to demonstrate that women who occupy public space are ultimately segregated, marginalized and excluded as a result of their sex, and that their use of public space is therefore restricted. What I also hope to achieve throughout the thesis is to identify and locate certain sites of resistance which are available to women to reclaim urban space. Certain questions that I will be attempting to answer include: what is the relation between space and gender? What are the social, political and economic impacts of a city which is constructed around a gendered binary? Are women able to resist the gendered ideology which restricts them to the private sphere? And furthermore, in what form is this resistance manifested?
One of the key ideas that this chapter will examine is the notion of the street walker or sex worker as a figure who is able to resist and transcend the limitations imposed on urban space. In order to effectively explore this avenue of research, it is first necessary to return once again to the figure of the flaȃneur who has been previously briefly discussed in this thesis’ introduction. The figure of the flaȃneur plays a crucial role in exposing the gendered nature of contemporary urban space and so it is appropriate therefore to begin this chapter with a critical evaluation of the contemporary flaȃneur. It is also necessary to establish, however, certain other boundaries within which this chapter will function. For example, the framework of this chapter refers explicitly to working women, in both the UK and Europe, who operate within a specific bracket of sex work- namely street walking. The reason for this limitation is that in order to effectively examine the position of the sex worker in contemporary society, a specific axis needs to be set up on which accurate results can be mapped. In this way, the object of analysis for this chapter can be clearly defined as women who literally walk through streets on a daily basis, and who therefore are indicative of the effects of the social production of urban space. One of the most significant elements to discuss is that, due to the nature of voyeurism and the urban spectacle, it is only men who are able to fully embody the characteristics of the flaȃneur. Given that one of the most definitive and fundamental qualities of the flaȃneur is the ability to move in and throughout the city, whilst remaining invisible and anonymous, it is impossible for women to occupy space in the same way as men. I will argue that on the whole, women are unable to resist the male gaze and are ultimately subjected to the urban spectacle. I would also suggest, however, that the figure of the prostitute, or sex worker, could potentially be recognised as a symbol of resistance. For example, the form of street prostitution can be seen as subverting the spaces of consumer society in that the female prostitute challenges men’s control and domination of public space. Having said this, however, a counter argument would be to suggest that the sex worker nevertheless still occupies a marginalized role in terms of the debate regarding rights to the city. It is the interface between these two opposing arguments which I will examine throughout the chapter, in the hope of forming a new narrative and discourse concerning the relationship between space and gender. I will also examine the changing nature of public space, and explore further links between social and spatial relations.
For the purpose of ensuring a clear chapter objective, I think it is necessary to clarify and elucidate certain specific definitions regarding some of the key terms I will be referring to. For example, a notable distinction to be aware of is the shift in terminology from prostitute to sex worker. I would suggest that in several examples of literature of the 19th Century, the term ‘prostitute’ was widely used as a way to describe a transgressive female figure who can be seen to expose and resist the gendered inequalities which existed within contemporary society.
Furthermore, the depiction of the female prostitute was as something ‘other’ and as one who is able to deny and resist the restricted social order of the time. However, due to several shifts which have occurred over time, the term ‘prostitute’ has now evolved in modern and contemporary society to the term ‘sex worker’; a shift which can be seen to reflect certain cultural and social developments regarding agency, sexuality and social order. While the two terms still share several of the same associations, there is a distinct sense of empowerment and agency which is now attached to the term ‘sex worker’ in modern society, and which appears to extend beyond the restrictive and demeaning implications of the term ‘prostitute’. So, for the sake of clarification, I will use the term sex worker throughout the chapter unless I am explicitly referring to the figure of the prostitute depicted in 19th Century literature or culture. Some of the questions I will be posing, and consequently attempting to answer, relate to the ability of the sex worker to enter and exist within the public realm. What is the relation, or intersection, between space and identity? Furthermore, do dominant urban processes simply reproduce domesticated sexual norms, or does the figure of the sex worker embody a resistance to the social order which has been perpetuated by the production of space?
In order to clearly convey why I have chosen to introduce the figure of the flaȃneur as a means to explore the role and position of the prostitute, it is first necessary to critique and evaluate this connection in further detail. Deborah Epstein Nord analyses the tradition of the flaȃneur and the spaces of modernity in her book Walking the Victorian Streets: Women, Representation and the City (1995), and asserts that the nature of the figure of the observer is one who is able move in and throughout urban life with “impunity, aplomb, and a penetrating gaze” (2). This description illustrates the agency and licence which is attached to the figure of the flaȃneur, and the way in which he is able to observe freely. She goes on to demonstrate how rare it is for there to be a depiction of a female city wanderer who is able to move through the city in the same way as a man, and argues that the only identification of a female figure who is able to do so is one who is presented as either a scandalised, immoral or repressed figure, or as one who is marginalized in society. She observes that the figure of the prostitute is one who epitomizes and embodies the anonymity and impermanence associated with modernity, however, that she is also unable to resist the male gaze. She writes that, “Whether by the anonymous and transitory act of sex itself or by the suddenness of her appearance from and evaporation into the crowd, the sexually tainted woman serves to represent the experience of the masculine spectator” (Nord 6). This reflects the notion that whilst the figure of the prostitute is able to move through urban space, they are unable to resist spectatorship. I would argue therefore that in the representations of women in urban space, it is rare that these figures will be entirely autonomous, or have the same unequivocal access and mobility which is embodied
by the male flaȃneur. The male flaȃneur is paradoxically both visible and invisible, and is simultaneously present but removed from the crowd around him. As previously implied, this is able to happen not only due to the way in which public space is made accessible to men, but also because of the power and autonomy that is granted to the male sex as a result of their gender. However, the only opportunity for women to participate in urban space in the same way as men is if they occupy the position of the fallen woman. Furthermore, even if this is the case, “To see without being seen, or to be seen without becoming a spectacle, is rendered impossible” (Nord 240). In this way, I would argue the very presence of femaleness in an urban scene is inevitably constituted as a spectacle to be observed, or as something to be objectified.
The inevitability of male spectatorship is frequently interpreted and analysed by writers both during the 19th Century and in modern society, with the conclusion that it is almost virtually impossible for a woman to occupy the position of the ‘flaȃneuse’. As Aruna D’Souza observes, “It was the organization of urban space according to the terms of the male look that made it impossible for women to operate as active participants in the public world: reduced to an erotic object of vision, rather than its subject, the bourgeois woman was excluded from a particular experience of modernity” (6). This quotation perfectly encompasses the manner in which urban space is constructed to prevent women from being active autonomous members of society. It suggests that for the female wanderer there is always the threat of sexual, physical and even economic vulnerability. Furthermore, it exposes the way in which women are reduced from active subjects to passive objects, and how they are additionally excluded from certain areas of public space due to fear of threat. Even the figure of the prostitute or street walker is unable to fully transcend these associations which are attached to the female body. In this way, the physical and symbolic divide between men and women into public and private spheres is extended, and ultimately leads to the invisibility of women in the literature of modernity. I would pose the question therefore, is the modern day street walker still bound by the rigid notions of separate spheres that existed in the 19th Century? Furthermore, has the construction of the sex worker in modern society evolved to adapt and reflect the ongoing debates regarding agency and autonomy attached to urban space?
One text which may be particularly useful and productive to critically engage with and evaluate is Elizabeth Wilson’s The Sphinx in the City (1992), a text which combines fiction, essays, history and sociology in order to consider the impact of urban life on women.The effect of the Industrial Revolution was such that the city was entering a period of rapid development and expansion; a shift which is also notably reflected in the literature of the period. Wilson observes that,
“This sophisticated urban consciousness…was an essentially male consciousness. Sexual unease and the pursuit of sexuality outside the constraints of the family were one of its major preoccupations. This in itself made women’s very presence in cities a problem. The city offers untrammelled sexual experience; in the city the forbidden becomes possible” (Wilson 5).
This would suggest that the women who occupied and appropriated urban space were sexually liberated temptresses, or fallen women, who provided pleasures which could only be obtained outside of the domestic, private realm. Women who did not conform to this stereotype, however, struggled to exist within urbanised society. I would argue therefore that there is not only a substantial indication of the divide during the 19th Century between public and private, but also between the societal roles of women within both spheres. Women who are present in public space are considered to be sexually transgressive and disruptive to domestic life. In this way, the terms ‘prostitute’ and ‘public woman’ have over time appeared synonymous. John Allen directly addresses this issue and argues that, “The widespread and dominant association of women with the private rather than the public spaces of cities is used to construct a binary distinction between ‘decent’ women and less decent or deserving women. Thus for a woman in a public place, her spatial position is used to identify assumed social characteristics and especially sexual morality” (112). This clearly demonstrates the restrictive confines by which women were controlled and monopolized in society, and reflects the wider social implications of the public and private binary. The confines of the public and private dichotomy meant that there was little room for movement outside of the roles prescribed to men and women, unless it was an explicitly transgressive position such as the prostitute, for example. In this way, the organisation of production and consumption, and the resulting social roles, which occurred as a result of industrial expansion meant that a distinct ideology was formed between the distinctly feminine, private sphere and the masculine, public sphere.
Another point of view which is interesting to consider is the idea that the depiction figure of the prostitute, despite seemingly being transgressive, is in fact a domesticated figure who remains restricted within the private realm. Meaghan Malone writes that, “The prostitute is fixed, localized, and depraved in a way that the male city wanderer is not. Sheltered from view and immured in the home, she parodies the virtues of the domestic woman rather than correspond to the stereotype of the street walker” (81). This appears to suggest that representations of the figure of the prostitute is as silent, passive and repressed, and that the prostitute wanders out of economic necessity as opposed to choice. Malone insinuates that the figure of the prostitute remains invisible from public space and is as a result therefore still contained within the binary of the private, domestic setting. I would argue however, that whilst
the figure of the prostitute may be unable to visibly occupy public space, they are similarly ‘sheltered from view’ within the domestic realm. For example, whilst the act of sex work itself may take place in a private setting, the figure of the prostitute is very much disassociated from and set in contrast to other domesticated women. Furthermore, I would also argue that while the figure of the prostitute is indeed ‘sheltered from view’ this is not directly as a result of being restricted to the domestic, private home setting but instead is due to the social and spatial controls which regulate who is valued in society. This is evocative therefore of wider debates regarding the nuances of power according to what is seen and unseen, and suggests that whilst the prostitute can occupy public space, she remains unseen by, or invisible to, society.
Alternatively, I would also evoke a counter argument which suggests that the figure of the prostitute is instead granted a sense of agency and legitimacy because of the way she questions and disrupts the traditional ‘feminine’ sphere. Furthermore, it is also viable to assert that she is transgressive in the way that she is able to, in her own way, appropriate urban space. I would argue that the very practice of street walking is in itself a direct claim to public space, and that the prostitute’s occupation and appropriation of public territory can be understood and recognised as an attempt to resist the social, cultural and political restrictions of the domestic sphere. Whilst the figure of the street walker may be unable to resist the male gaze and the confines of urban spectatorship, she is still able to challenge the idea that women should be restricted to the home. In addition to this, the act of walking the streets is a movement which can be seen to defy the territorial restrictions on women’s mobility. I would argue therefore that if one occupies a position which is constructed to be invisible from the rest of society, as is the figure of the prostitute, then surely this invisibility simultaneously grants a sense of freedom and agency which is not bound by the confines of social order. The isolated position of the prostitute in society arguably allows for an increased ability to negotiate and participate in urban space, and in addition to this suggests that the street walker is able to appropriate and redesign the city for their own purposes.
In order to begin to attempt to answer some of the questions posed at the beginning of the chapter, I would like to engage with a contemporary critical discourse regarding sex work and urban space. Phil Hubbard examines this subject extensively in his essay ‘Sex work, urban governance and the gendering of cities’, and provides a valuable discussion with respect to the social production of space and geographical analyses of sex work. He observes that sex work has been pushed towards particular spaces and that it is “in effect, the outcome of a social production of space that involves the entwining of dominant representations of place (as sites of ‘irregular’ or even ‘perverse’ sexuality) with the spatial practices of a variety of actors including sex workers, clients, police, outreach workers, city bureaucrats, residents, businesses and so on”
(Hubbard 1). I would suggest that this indicates a pattern between the spaces of sex work and certain wider connections between social relations, sexuality and space. For example, sex work can be seen to occupy a highly ambiguous position within the dichotomy between public and private. On the one hand, sex work can be seen to disrupt the traditional setting of private, domestic life and the institution of the family, however, on the other hand, sex worker’s occupation of public space is at the same time highly regulated and restricted. This restriction is as a result of specific agents of social control, such as the police for example, who work to prevent prostitution from entering the public realm. It is clear therefore that there are strategies in place to ensure that specific areas of sex work are excluded and eradicated, both physically and mentally, from society. This brings into question another dichotomy; the dichotomy between the visible and invisible. This organisation of space would suggest that public space is ultimately controlled by a sort of social and spatial order; a socio-spatial control which simultaneously regulates prostitution. It is possible to assert therefore that both the private and public spheres can ultimately be utilized as not only a spatial control but additionally a social control on sexuality and identity.
It is also interesting to consider the perspective that the nature of public space can also offer platforms of resistance for women. For example, in terms of disrupting dominant heterosexual norms about the role of sex and gender, public space provides the opportunity for women to protest, march and occupy space as a means to overthrow these social norms. Hubbard also writes that, “For some women, these represent safe spaces where different sense of sexuality and femininity may be celebrated/ spaces of empowerment, positioning themselves outside the moral codes which they see as exploitative and constraining/spaces which symbolize and legitimate the oppression of women, maintaining the dominant construction of the city as masculine and heterosexual” (202). I would argue that this quotation helps to demonstrate the fundamentally conflicting nature of public space. On the one hand, it provides the opportunity through social or political action for women to explore their identity and sexuality, without feeling restricted by the boundaries and confines of heteronormative society. For example, this freedom, or resistance, can be manifested in the materials and practices of everyday life, or in political action, such as occupations or protests etc., taken by those who are aware of the dominant and restrictive social order. It is becoming more and more the case that women (and men) are taking to the streets to question and interrogate the confines by which they feel marginalised and oppressed. I would argue therefore that the construction of public space as a space which is “democratic” and “free from exclusionary violence” (Hubbard 164) is an illusion which is becoming increasingly dismantled. In this way, the attempts at drawing attention to the rights and empowerment of sex workers, by both feminists and activist groups
alike, have illustrated that there are viable forms of resistance which are endeavouring to overthrow and undermine the dominant masculine nature of public space.
To elaborate this argument in further detail I propose a brief examination of Certeau and his theory of resistance within the practices of everyday life. Certeau suggests that through everyday practices and experience, one is able to resist, disrupt and re-signify the confines of social order which are perpetuated by certain forces and structures of power. In one of the chapters from his book The Practice of Everyday Life (1984), Certeau suggests that through walking in the city, individuals are able to move in ways that resist the organising bodies of power structures or institutional strategies of the government and other corporations. Certeau writes that, “To walk is to lack a place. It is the indefinite process of being absent and in search of a proper. The moving about that the city multiplies and concentrates makes the city itself an immense social experience of lacking a place” (103). He appears to emphasize a sense of dislocation and detachment from the limitations of the city which is made possible through resistance of the organisations of spatial relations. In theory therefore, it is viable to suggest that, by resisting the confines constructed in and throughout public space, women have the potential to transcend the boundaries imposed on their gender. However, this logic is founded on the belief that women have access to a certain level of socio-economic power and mobility; a notion which this chapter’s research has frequently indicated is not the case. The question still remains, therefore, in what form does this resistance manifest itself? Furthermore, to what extent is the ability to transcend such confines innately connected with agency and social power?
In terms of the relationship between agency and resistance, it is necessary to consider not only the ways in which forms of accessibility and agency shifts between men and women, but more specifically the limitations of agency attached to the role of the sex worker. For example, women who work within the sex industry are not as likely to have accessible forms of resistance made readily available to them, in comparison to other men and women who may have direct access to particular opportunities, either social, economic or political. As previously suggested, it is evident that there are several social tools and structures in place to prevent the sex worker from entering out of the margins of society and into the public realm. I have previously argued that the literal limitation of women’s mobility in public space is symbolic of a metaphorical means of subordination by which women are controlled, and I would go on to emphasize that this subordination is further heightened for the sex worker who occupies a position in society which is continually marginalized and suppressed by forces of both social and spatial control. In this way, the sex worker’s right to the city and their right to appropriate, occupy and utilize urban space are additionally restrained and repressed. I would emphasize
therefore the way in which the relationship between space and gender is fundamentally tied together, and that the implications are radically different not only between men and women, but also within a separate female hierarchy. This refers to a distinct hierarchy between women in terms of class, race, job roles or opportunities, participation in society, and mobility. I would argue therefore that the sex worker, who occupies a marginalized position in society, is denied the right to the city as a result of structures of social power which restrict agency. Furthermore, it is also clear that the organisation of space has a long lasting and severe social, cultural and political impact on those who are unable to appropriate space, for example, the continued ‘othering’ of the sex worker.
The marginalization of sex workers is one of the key issues in terms of this chapter’s narrative given the explicit lack of their right to the city. The stigmatization of sex workers, on a global level, puts them at risk in a number of ways: increased violence and sexual abuse, limited protection and with few supportive networks to seek help. This social exclusion, and in many places criminalization, indicates that there are few safe spaces for sex workers to occupy free from violence, and that they are highly vulnerable to both physical and sexual abuse. The treatment of sex workers also evokes several questions regarding state control over bodies and sexuality. The current critical discourse regarding bodily autonomy suggests that criminalization of sex work perpetuates control over the bodies of women and their private sexual behaviours, which in turn constitutes state control over sex and sexual expression. Furthermore, the representation of sex workers in society simply reinforces the concept of sexual objectification and reduces the female body to a commodity, or as a vehicle for sexual pleasure. I would argue therefore that the condemnation and social marginalization of sex workers simply validates ongoing mistreatment in the sex industry and moreover encourages negative discrimination and sexualisation of the female body. I would argue therefore that there are also certain imperative links and connections to be made between bodily autonomy and physical agency in the city. The sexualisation, stigma, and often shame, which is attached to the female body is responsible, at least partially, for the objectification of women in public space. The question remains therefore, how are women able to resist the symbolic and restrictive nature of space and the construction of gender relations which continue to reproduce the public and private dichotomy?
A counter response to this may be to suggest that it is within these margins that women, and sex workers, are in fact most empowered, and free to explore or assert their sexual identities. I would highlight that this is an especially motivating argument because it identifies a means of resistance which is located within the private realm. It is viable to suggest therefore that it is within the private realm that women are freely able to celebrate their sexualities, and where women have the ability, licence and the bodily autonomy to assert new sexual identities.
For example, women who participate in sexual perversions or indiscretions, which can be seen to subvert the dominant, coded heterosexual norms by which the city is structured, are isolated by society into the hidden, private realm. And albeit invisible to heteronormative society and segregated from the public sphere, it is arguably the case that within the private realm they are also free from objectification, control or voyeurism. I would argue that the very nature of consumerism and voyeurism depends on a relation between passive object and observer, which I have already attempted to illustrate is the case in public space. On the other hand, however, I would suggest that the private spaces of the domestic realm are free from sites of consumption, display and eroticism because the binary between object and observer is disrupted. For example, within the private sphere, women are able to assert and explore new sexual identities, without fear of objectification or commodification. If this is the case therefore, then it is possible to ascertain that the private sphere offers access to agency, self-expression and authority which are unfiltered by the oppression which is legitimated by public space.
On the other hand, however, it is also evident this retreat into the private realm is still a restrictive movement which once again ostracises women to the isolated margins of society. Even if the private realm is considered to be a space which is safe and free from the dominant and systematic oppression of women, it is nevertheless still bound by reductive spatial and social confines. In addition to this, I would also emphasize that the private realm is not free from violence or sexual abuse, and in fact that these issues occur on a huge scale within the domestic realm. I would even go so far so to suggest that the divide between the public and private contributes to violence against women within the private realm because of their exclusion from the public sphere. For example, the current labelling of domestic violence as a ‘private’ issue suggests that it will not be recognised as a public concern. Furthermore, the privacy of the home means that it is also difficult to monitor and identify when domestic violence is taking place, so women who are subject to abuse within the private realm may feel additionally marginalised, vulnerable and excluded from society because they are not protected by public legislation. It is clear therefore that women can also feel isolated and vulnerable within a domestic, private setting due to the tensions and contradictions which exist between the dichotomy of public and private boundaries. I would argue therefore that the split between public and private simply feeds a socially constructed ideology which is ultimately highly problematic and disadvantageous for women in society. In this way, the dichotomy between public and private can be seen to function therefore as an ideological construct which perpetuates not only fear and violence in the public realm, but also within the private.
By way of concluding this chapter, I would like to draw a final emphasis to the way in which the segregation, or division, between the public and private according to sex roles can be
seen to simply reinforce and propagate women’s struggle to autonomously occupy and appropriate space. It is clear that the systematic oppression of women in public space is as a result of the social and spatial laws by which the city is constructed. This is evident in the idea that the manifestation of the female flaȃneur is virtually impossible because of the way that space is organised according to gender. In particular, the organisation of urban space determines that women are either commodified or objectified as passive participants in the public world. Furthermore, I would also stress the significance of the political, social and cultural impacts which the organisation and management of space has on the relation between men and women within society. The unconscious division between the sexes have determined that a woman’s rightful role is excluded from public society and is restricted within the domestic sphere. I have attempted over the course of the chapter to explore several different avenues of research in the hopes of determining what forms of resistance to the private/public dichotomy are possible. In addition, I have also explored the idea that the sex worker is one who is able to move in and throughout urban space, free from certain social and spatial confines. However, whilst this line of inquiry provided several valuable and productive arguments to suggest that the figure of the prostitute is one who is successful in resisting the social relations attached to the boundaries of the public and private, I would not go so far as to say the sex worker is completely free from social order. In fact, I would argue that the role of the sex worker, or prostitute, is increasingly displaced and excluded because of the positioning of sex work in the literal margins of society.
In terms of identifying some kind of resolution, I would argue that there needs to be a substantial restructuring and rethinking not only of the way the relationship between gender, but also in the very construction of the city itself. As Elizabeth Grosz suggests, “A reconceptualization of the relations between men and women- as is required for an autonomous and independent self-representation for women and femininity- entails the reconceptualization of the representations of space and time” (218). This would suggest that the inherent problem lies with the fact that the current construction of urban space does not allow for equal and autonomous representations of both men and women. I would argue that it is also clear the way in which space itself is a construct, does not have independent agency and therefore its meaning is ultimately determined, or reproduced, by the management and organisation of social, economic and political relations. I would conclude that feminist campaigns which advocate protests and marches to ‘reclaim the streets’ can be seen to challenge the right of men to occupy public space and therefore may offer a potential form of resistance. In the next chapter therefore I will go on to examine the form of feminist activism as a source of power and agency, and as providing women and sex workers the ability to collectively, or individually, reclaim urban space.
Chapter 2:
Feminist Activism as Form of Resistance?
The overall objective of this chapter is to ascertain a clear definition of the term ‘urban space’ and establish how it can be understood in the context of this thesis’s central concern with the relationship between space and gender. In addition to this, another principal aim is to focus on an example, or in this case an event, in which the practicality and reality of reclaiming urban space can be dissected and analysed. The object of study that this chapter will analyse is an organisation called ‘Reclaim the Night’, an international movement which calls for an end to sexual violence and abuse towards women. The ‘Reclaim the Night’ organisation aims to restore a sense of security and identity for women who have been abused, assaulted or attacked, and who no longer feel safe walking through open city space, and the reason why I have chosen this feminist movement is that it explicitly encourages women to actively reclaim their city streets. This act of reclaiming takes the form of non-violent protest and disputes the way in which women are unable to occupy public space in the same way that men can due to fear, violence or sexual abuse. Another reason why I have chosen to analyse ‘Reclaim the Night’ is that it is a platform which offers a voice exclusively for women, and therefore is able to challenge certain overarching patriarchal structures and gendered ideologies which are the root cause of so many key issues that the movement is aiming to overthrow. In this way, I would suggest that ‘Reclaim the Night’ provides a valuable foundation with which to explore the capacity for women to reclaim urban space and I will go on to analyse the movement in significant detail in the second half of the chapter. Furthermore, I will also endeavour to provide a vast theoretical framework in the first half of the chapter in order to engage with specific critical discourse regarding space and to provide a means of comparison and/or criticism. The significance of this is that, in order to determine a clear and well-rounded understanding of the social production of urban space, it is first necessary to define ‘space’ and to consider how urban space is manifested. Some of the questions which I will endeavour to answer throughout this chapter are: How is the relationship between space and gender constructed? To what extent does the fact that women are restricted from public space reveal societal values which are founded on a biased gendered binary? And furthermore, is there still a need in contemporary society for organisations such as ‘Reclaim the Night’?
‘Reclaim the Night’ is an international movement which aims to raise awareness and protest issues surrounding sexual harassment towards women, male domestic violence and
rape. The organisation calls for immediate and direct action to end sexual violence, encouraging and empowering women to take a stand, demand justice and march for their rights. In terms of the birth of the movement, the marches first appeared in the UK during the 1970s as a way to take collective and affirmative action against male sexual violence towards women. In particular, a significant motive which inspired the initial UK marches was as a result of the serial murders by Peter Sutcliffe, otherwise known as ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’. This case was especially noteworthy, not only as a result of the scale and violence of the attacks, but also in that the victims who were sexually targeted, assaulted and murdered were vulnerable women, namely prostitutes or young female students. Since then, protests have taken place on an international scale for just over 30 years, with countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Australia all taking part. One of my central motives for selecting this organisation as a case study for this thesis is that ‘Reclaim the Night’ is run exclusively for women by women, thereby providing a voice, a safe space, and ultimately giving women the opportunity to reclaim the streets in which this sexual violence frequently occurs. It is in fact only one of two marches organised in the UK, the other is ‘Million Women Rise’, in which only women are allowed to march. I would argue that the fact it is a space exclusive to women is fundamentally significant in that it asserts a distinctly female voice; a voice which has previously been marginalised or supressed in society. In an interview conducted with Betiel Baraki, one of the volunteers and organisers of ‘Reclaim the Night’, I asked what effect this had on the atmosphere and general psyche of the marches. She responded that, “Women tell us that they feel powerful marching and taking up space, they feel as sense of belonging and see what sisterhood looks like with women from different walks of life coming together as one.” (Personal interview, 2016). Her response reaffirmed my interest in the movement, and even further reinforced my own thesis objective, as it addresses the key issue at hand: how women are able to reoccupy space. In addition to this, certain words which Baraki used, such as ‘powerful’, ‘belonging’ and ‘space’, can be seen to evoke key issues which are at the very heart of this study.
The ‘Reclaim the Night’ website1 advocates that, “We cannot claim equal citizenship while this threat restricts our lives as it does. We demand the right to use public space without fear. We demand this right as a civil liberty, we demand this as a human right” [Accessed 17-02-2016]. I would argue that the repetition of ‘demand’ emphasises a direct call for action, and suggests that women will no longer remain passive but are instead demanding their voice to be heard. In this way, ‘Reclaim the Night’ ultimately acts as a means to allow women express their voice and to reclaim their fundamental right to use, appropriate and occupy public space. I would also like to draw attention to the phrase ‘use public space without fear’ as this is an 1 Reclaim The Night. London Feminist Network. n.d. Web. [Accessed 17-02-2016]
integral aspect of this thesis argument. It is not that women are physically segregated from public space, or that there are laws in place to inforce they are prohibited access, however, it is the ability to use space freely and without fear which is the limitation imposed on women. The implications of the word ‘fear’ are clearly significant therefore and it may be beneficial to return once again to Paul’s analysis of the way in which fear is internalized by women. Whilst it is incorrect to imply that only women experience fear in the city and that men do not share the same everyday concerns for safety, it is feasible however, as Paul articulates, to suggest that, “Women’s restricted access to public space is a manifestation of socially produced fear that is constituted by the way space is perceived and imagined” (Paul 411). Public space can be construed as a space that is formed as a result of socialization processes and gendered power relations, which are in turn shaped by the individual everyday experiences. In highly simplistic terms therefore, space is shaped by experience. Furthermore, experience, or at least an understanding of one’s environment, is based on the internalization of sociocultural norms. Experience of everyday life contrasts for both men and women, and given that the socialization processes by which space is construed are formed according to gendered power structures it is clear that women perceive public space differently. In addition to this, by reproducing these roles, fear is simply perpetuated. This elucidates not only the way in which fear is constructed around gendered social processes and power relations, but also how fear is manifested in space. Prior to considering the relation of movements such as ‘Reclaim the Night’ with urban space, it is perhaps beneficial to initially consider certain accounts given in support of the ‘Reclaim the Night’ organisation which call for urgent transformation in the way that women are monopolized by the city. Activists, writers and public figures alike have come together in defending women’s rights and the need to radically alter the ways in which domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse are acknowledged in contemporary society. Mary Honeyball MEP, a member of European Parliament representing the Labour Party in London, advocates that, “Women should feel safe walking Britain’s streets at any time of night or day, this is a basic human right that should be fiercely protected by the government. ‘Reclaim the Night’ demands this right for women and I wholeheartedly support it” [Accessed 17-02-2016]. Similarly, Caroline Lucas MP, representative of Brighton & Hove, writes that, “I’m honoured to be able to support this year’s Reclaim the Night, which I hope will send out a strong message to the public and to local authorities that the streets need to be made a great deal safer for women and girls. Sadly, despite international and national initiatives, there remains a global crisis of gendered violence” [Accessed 17-02-2016]. What is evident in these examples is the emphasis on women having the ability, and the fundamental right, to feel safe in their own city streets. However, both Honeyball and Lucas acknowledge that this ability is significantly lacking, and that until
women’s experience of the city streets can be restored to safety there remains an urgent demand for change. In addition to this, Beatrix Campbell, writer and broadcaster, calls for a reimagining of the way we view the city. She argues, “Imagine the future ̶ imagine a city that in its everyday comings and goings celebrates women rather than exploits them, where the streets are not only secure but sweet, places of safety and public pleasure, where both women and men, the genders and the generations experience respect. That’s the future we want” [Accessed 17-02-2016]. The reason why I have included these particular messages of support for ‘Reclaim the Night’ is that I have hoped to emphasize the way in which public space is, on the whole, deemed unsecure or unsafe for women. These women writing in favour of the marches advocate that it is completely unreasonable and unacceptable for contemporary society to maintain certain patriarchal social structures and institutions which reinforce a dominant hierarchy within gender. I would support this assertion, and similarly argue that the restrictions imposed on women in modern society, and by the very framework and structure of urban space, limit the way in which women are able to occupy and appropriate city space. I would argue that it is necessary therefore to examine in detail a definition of what ‘urban space’ refers to, and to study the implications of the social production of space for women.
The term ‘urban space’ can be seen to indicate a number of connotations including Psychogeography, architecture, landscape, city planning and space. However, with respect to this thesis argument, urban space can be understood as referring to public space, or more specifically open city space. For example, city space includes streets, parks, piazzas, beaches or squares and any other public space that is open and accessible. In this way, public space should be available for everyone to utilize, regardless of race, class, gender, ethnicity or religion. However, as a result of the dichotomy between the public and private, and the gendered binaries which organise urban space, there is an inherent contradiction in the way that the city is constructed. I am interested primarily therefore in the way that different genders are assigned contrasting roles in urban space; how is it possible that my own experience of walking through the city as a woman can be so radically and dramatically different from the experiences of my male contemporaries? Furthermore, what opportunities are available to women to reclaim urban space? This thesis will highlight and expose these gendered binaries in order to demonstrate the ways in which women are ultimately denied access to, or at least certainly restricted in their use of, public space as a result of their gender. It is also important to clarify that the studies, surveys and other analysis which I will investigate throughout the chapter is exclusive to research orchestrated within the UK. I think that this limitation is necessary in order to draw concise and productive conclusions, whilst simultaneously providing a diverse range of subjects. In short therefore, the central objective of this chapter is to endeavour to
articulate how, and if, women are able to reclaim public space. The reason why the relationship between space and gender fascinates me is that it strikes me as unimaginable that space- an unfixed and invisible entity- can be experienced so differently according to gender.
As previously asserted in the thesis introduction, the city can be understood as being constructed around specific and exclusive binaries, including a distinct dichotomy between the public and private sphere. The private sphere can be seen to refer to the domestic realm, and contrastingly, public space is ascribed as a social space which should be accessible and open, namely the city streets themselves. This thesis is attempting to expose the way in which women are restricted from public space, therefore it is imperative to clearly elucidate why women have a right to access this public space in the first place. The term ‘the right to the city’ is a construct formulated by Henri Lefebvre2, a French Marxist sociologist and philosopher who refers directly to the social production of urban space. Lefebvre’s complex (and now perhaps somewhat outdated) theory can be seen to examine the social production of the city and suggests that the construction of the city is based on sites of inclusion, exclusion and marginalization. This would suggest that the city is constructed around specific sites which actively shapes which individuals have access to each space. In his theory, Lefebvre also indicates that the power structures which shape the city and underline the production of urban space are as a result of social, economic and political relations. He writes that,
“The right to the city, complemented by the right to difference and the right to information, should modify, concretize and make more practical the rights of the citizen as an urban dweller (citadin) and user of multiple services. It would affirm, on the one hand, the right of users to make known their ideas on the space and time of their activities in the urban area; it would also cover the right to the use of the center, a privileged place, instead of being dispersed and stuck into ghettos (for workers, immigrants, the ‘marginal’ and even for the ‘privileged’)” (Lefebvre 34).
This quotation reinforces the way in which the right to the city is formulated around the right of the individual as an urban citizen to use, live in and occupy public space. In addition to this, the process of defining the rights of the urban dweller in relation to the environment they live also refers overtly to their ability to contribute to and shape the way the city is developed and formulated. By way of summary, I would assert that Lefebvre’s theory is founded on the relationship, or the interaction, between the individual and the space around them. However, if this is the case, then I think it necessary to expand upon Lefebvre’s theory and interrogate and 2 The term ‘the right to the city’ is a reference from Henri Lefebvre’s “The Right to the City”. Writing on Cities. Trans. Eleonore Kofman and Elizabeth Lebas. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996. Print.
question in what ways this interface is structured, and altered, according to the binaries of gender.
In this way, whilst it is viable to conclude that the notion of ‘space’ which Lefebvre is referring to signifies lived space, namely the inhabitants actual experience of space in everyday life, I would like to pose a close analysis of an aspect of his theory as a means of identifying certain limitations. He suggests that the right to the city explicitly refers to those who live in the city and who experience and contribute to the production of urban space, and in this way, social relations and lived space can be seen to be intrinsically linked together. Additionally, he observes that the right to city is constructed around two fundamental basic rights: the right to appropriate and the right to participate. For example, Lefebvre writes in State, Space, World
that,
“Space is social: it involves assigning more or less appropriated places to the social relations of reproduction, namely the biophysical relations between the sexes, the ages, the specified organizations of the family, and to the relations of production, namely the division of labor and its organization” (186).
Lefebvre here explicitly attributes the right to appropriate space according to specific social relations, and even goes so far as to suggest that the right to participate in social space should be divided according to the organization of labour; a notion which the overarching objective of this thesis is endeavouring to overthrow. I would argue therefore that these references to ‘specified organizations’ and the ‘division of labour’ indicate that Lefebvre is still operating within specific and problematic binaries of gender. Perhaps it is due to the time in which Lefebvre’s theory was written, however, in context to this thesis’s own objective I would argue that these binaries are outdated and restricted. In this way, Lefebvre’s theory is limited in that, whilst it establishes a clear principle as to the social production of urban space, it fails to consider a gendered perspective in which power relations which can be seen to restrict women both the right to use and the right to participate in urban space. Lefebvre does not distinguish between the way in which male and female experiences of space are contrastingly manifested. Furthermore, Lefebvre’s call for a division of labor and its organization implies that he indorses the divide between the public and private and the gendered social roles attached to both; a distinction which I am endeavouring to subvert and overthrow. In this way, I would suggest that it is not effective to exclusively utilize Lefebvre’s theory, and in order examine the gendered perspective which his theory fails to observe it is necessary to consider additional theories which specifically articulate the need for women’s right to appropriate and participate in public space.
Accordingly, in her essay ‘The Right to the Gendered City: Different Formations of Belonging in Everyday Life’, Tovi Fenster challenges Lefevbvre’s notion of the right to the city with a feminist critique and suggests that women’s everyday experiences often deny them the right to the city. In her own analysis, she illustrates the way in which patriarchal power relations control women’s experiences of the city, and how they affect their sense of belonging or security. Fenster acknowledges some of the fundamental attributes of Lefebvre’s theory in her own work, and likewise argues that the right to use public space includes, “the right of inhabitants to ‘full and complete use’ of urban space in their everyday lives. It is the right to live in, play in, work in, represent, characterize and occupy urban space in a particular city” (Fenster 219). This quotation emphasizes that the right to the city is constructed around the fundamental right to use, appropriate and occupy all aspects of public space. However, Fenster’s theory contrasts from Lefebvre’s in that she utilizes his definition of social space as a means to draw attention to, expose and critique the manner in which women are denied, on a daily basis, the right to appropriate space. I would argue therefore that Fenster’s theory engages with a wider discourse, and provides a platform with which to identify the ways in which women are restricted in their right to the city. In this way, Fenster’s theory is integral to this thesis as it provides the critical framework with which to examine the way women are denied their right to the city. Fenster suggests that women are not able to fully access all aspects of urban space, which in turn effects not only their sense of belonging but also their own identity as citizen or urban dweller. Given that the right to use and occupy space is a notion which is embedded in the heart of this thesis, an explicitly feminist critique such as Fenster’s provides a valuable perspective with which to question and interrogate the construction of city space.
In addition to this, Fenster also analyses and critiques a central argument put forward by Lefebvre as integral to right to the city, and this is the right to participate. The right to participate can be recognised in this context as the fundamental and integral aspect in the capacity of inhabitants to partake in all elements of the production of urban space. However, Fenster argues that this function is similarly based on gendered power relations which limit women’s daily use of urban space and ultimately restrict them to the private sphere. The gendered dichotomy between the public and private spheres determines that women are culturally permitted to exist within the domestic and private realm, however, are forbidden to enter the public realm. In this way, Fenster clearly elucidates the way in which denial to public space, and the construction of the dichotomy between public and private as either inaccessible or accessible, is responsible for preventing women from performing their full right to the city. Furthermore, the construction of a sense of belonging to a city is similarly affected by gendered binaries, as daily use of space and experience in everyday life is what ultimately constructs our
sense of identity and place in the city. In addition to this, I would also suggest that Fenster’s theory is more relevant than Lefebvre’s in relation to the purposes of this thesis, in that it shares similar attributes and values as both my object of analysis, ‘Reclaim the Night’, and my own critical perspective. For example, the ‘Reclaim the Night’ organisation is founded on the belief that women are restricted in their right to the city as a result of their gender, and that this limitation ultimately affects their sense of belonging, safety and security. Furthermore, in terms of the notion of safety and belonging, I find myself able to personally identify with the connections and parallels Fenster draws between the way women are denied access to urban space and their own sense of identity. In fact, one of the central motivations for this particular field of research was inspired by a desire to examine my own experiences of moving through urban space, and to locate my own internal experiences within a discourse that is created explicitly to represent the female voice. In this way, I would argue that Fenster clearly and directly articulates the way in which women are denied access to, or the right to, the city.
Another of the key issues which dominates this thesis, and the ‘Reclaim the Night’ organisation, is the way in which fear is indoctrinated, internalized and embedded in women’s experience of the city. Individual use of space is organized around experiences in daily life and when city spaces are structured to be increasingly masculinized this can be seen to restrict women’s use of space. I would argue that public space can be seen to be monopolized by male societal practices, creating an environment which is hostile to women and which ultimately perpetuates fear as a means to restrict space. In her essay ‘Space, Gender and Fear of Crime’, Tanusree Paul considers the significance of the connection between space and gender and the way in which space is manifested. She observes that, “The importance of space in controlling gender relations lies in the fact that a spatial classification is intrinsic in shaping one’s social and cognitive maps and in guiding individuals in organising and negotiating their everyday lives and situations” (Paul 413). This would suggest that an individual’s experience of the city and everyday life is intrinsically connected with an internal and personal network of social and cognitive processes. In this way, the social coding which prescribes the use of urban space can be seen to ultimately produce fear; fear that is “constituted by the way space is perceived and imagined” (Paul 412). Ultimately, if one’s spatial understanding of the city is fabricated around sites of inclusion and exclusion associated with fear, then urban space can be seen to function around gendered experiences of mobility and vulnerability. Furthermore, Paul writes that, “The meanings associated with public space emanate from socialization processes which also give rise to certain notions of normativity, which get re-entrenched through repetitive actions of humans in space” (432). Paul here similarly reinforces the way in which the city acts as a symbol of male dominated social and cultural practices and values. Paul is asserting therefore
that, the way the city functions is as a system by which gendered socio-economic relations are played out, and where women struggle to find autonomy in the urban city landscape. This theory is also especially useful, in conversation with Fenster, for defining an explicitly feminist critique and understanding of urban space.
I would like to take this opportunity to briefly underline this section of the chapter’s fundamental ideas regarding urban space. To summarize, ‘urban space’ on a surface level can be seen to refer to open city spaces including parks, city streets and town squares etc., however, it is also constructed around social processes or relations which in turn form sites of inclusion and exclusion. Furthermore, the binaries by which these social relations are shaped are gendered and can be seen to inherently restrict women’s use of public space. Women are ultimately restricted by the division and organisation of labour to the domestic sphere, and this segregation is as a result of the way in which urban space is produced and manifested by social relations and processes. In terms of establishing a critical voice regarding the relationship between space and gender, I have examined and critiqued two existing theories, those of Lefebvre and Fenster, in the hope of formulating a new discourse or voice. For example, while Lefebvre’s theory contributes the notion of the ‘right to the city’, he fails to observe the way in which the social production of space is gendered. In the same way, whilst Fenster accounts for Lefebvre’s failures by explicitly confronting a gendered perspective, I would argue that my own thesis objective extends beyond her theory in that its primary concern is how women are able to reclaim, not simply occupy, public space. I have hoped therefore to utilize certain critical theory whilst simultaneously initiating a new line of inquiry, or a narrative, which surpasses and extends beyond previously existing theories.
However, I would also argue that whilst the information surrounding the ‘Reclaim the Night’ initiative has been immensely valuable with regard to the discourse between women and urban space, it does evoke certain fundamental questions regarding the long-term impact and resolution of activism in the form of protests and marches etc. I would suggest that whilst women’s movements offer an inherently valuable means of support, and make available platforms for women to have a voice, it does not necessarily provide protection against issues such as public safety, sexual abuse and violence. It is viable to conclude therefore that the medium of the march or protest is somewhat problematic with respect to providing sustainable and long-term resolution, however, on the other hand women’s movements remain innately valuable in terms of overcoming emotional trauma or in simply expressing solidarity. I would argue that these issues need to instead be recognised by public legislation as ‘public’ issues, and can no longer simply be isolated and quarantined within the private realm. It is clear from the results of the interviews and research conducted for the purpose of this essay have indicated
