As a man, I understood the idea of public space at face value. We live in a democratic society where we have broad access to freedoms. Our ability to move about on city streets, public transportation, buildings, and parks freely, being just one of them. It took me an embarrassingly long time to educate myself on the gender component of these freedoms and how they have been defined through history by the male hegemony. Because of our social conditioning the public space is subliminally (or sometimes explicitly) understood and treated as male space by men and some woman: an acceptance of the status quo. What does it speak of our understanding and appreciation of gender equality, when a womans freedom from unsolicited advances, cat calls, and comments on her physical appearance in a public space are dependent upon whether or not she is accompanied by, or seen as in the possession of, another man? Whether you subscribe to terms like feminism or not, I think the point should be that, generally, the status quo is based on systems of privilege, and that they need to be dismantled and discussed in terms of basic concepts of human equality. theatlantic/entertainment/archive/2014/10/hey-baby-what-its-like-to-walk-on-the-street-while-being-female/382032/
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 23:02:44 +0000
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