Feminist geography
Feminist geography is an approach to study in human geography which applies the theories, methods and critiques of feminism to the study of the human environment, society and geographical space.
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Areas of study
Feminist geography is often considered part of a broader postmodern approach to the subject which is not primarily concerned with the development of conceptual theory in itself but rather focuses on the real experiences of individuals and groups in their own localities, upon the geographies that they live in within their own communities.
There are a number of strands to feminist geography, which are not completely distinct, and include:
- Geographic differences in gender relations and gender equality
- The geography of women - spatial constraints, welfare geography
- The construction of gender identity through the use and nature of spaces and places
- Geographies of sexuality/Queer geography
- Childhood and youth studies
In addition to its analysis of the real world, it also critiques existing geographical and social studies, arguing that academic traditions are deliniated by patriarchy, and that contemporary studies which do not confront the nature of previous work reinforce the masculinist bias of academic study.
Examples
A simple example would be to consider the way that urban planning has a gender dimension with the expectation that men travel to a distant location for employment while women are involved with child care, basic shopping, and domestic functions in a suburban location. Why have cities evolved in this way, why have New towns been planned in this way, and by whom and with what ideology?
Another illustration of this approach to geography is to study gender differences in terms of personal access, mobility and safety, especially in respect to the design and use of urban space and open places such as public parks and footpaths. The experience of walking alone through a city centre late at night or public park even in daytime is likely to be different for males and females and also for people of different ages, cultures and so on.
However, feminist geography is not limited to the local scale. One example of a global topic of feminist geography research is the worldwide migration of women from the Third World to the First World to perform domestic labor and sex work.
Further reading
- Rose, Gillian. (1993) Feminism and Geography: The Limits of Geographical Knowledge. Univ. of Minnesota Press.
- McDowell, Linda; and Sharp, Joanne P. (eds). (1999). A Feminist Glossary of Human Geography. London: Arnold.
- Mcdowell, Linda. (1999) Gender, Identity and Place: understanding feminist geographies. Cambridge : Polity Press, 1999
- Seager, Joni and Nelson, Lise. (eds) (2004) Companion to Feminist Geography (Blackwell Companions to Geography). Blackwell Publishers 2004, ISBN 1-4051-0186-5
- Valentine, Gill. (2004) Public Space and the Culture of Childhood. London:Ashgate
- Gender, Place and Culture - A Journal of Feminist Geography Routledge ISSN 0966-369X Online ISSN 1360-0524
See also
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| Sub-Fields | Cultural geography · Development geography · Economic geography · Historical geography · Language geography · Marketing geography · Health geography · Military geography · Political geography · Population geography · Religion geography · Social geography · Strategic geography · Time geography · Urban geography |
| Approaches | Behavioral geography · Cultural Theory · Feminist geography · Marxism · Modernism (Structuralism · Semiotics) · Postmodernism (Post-structuralism · Deconstruction) |
Categories
Human geography | Feminism