Space, Power and Gender: A Theoretical Perspective on Experiences of Space

Author Information

Nazli Yildiz, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey
Özlem Aritan, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey

Abstract

Space is a momentary reflection of the social construction process that includes non-homogeneous bodily practices and experiences. In the modern social order, spatial practices established in daily life are generally programmed to continue without being questioned and without disrupting the existing order. In fact, the experiences that give meaning to the routine, such as what is thought, what is felt, what is done in the maintenance of this order, are often blurred. The reduction of cities to an infrastructure where modern rituals are performed as a result of economic policies not only restricts practices and experiences, but also confines the social construction of space to a certain cycle. While individuals continue their routines without questioning their freedom to determine their own actions, this research takes a step back and focuses on the power mechanisms that affect the body and experience in space. In this context, Foucault's conceptualizations of power, the transformative effects of capitalist economic policies on space and society, and biopolitics will be taken as basis. In addition, theories of space and gender will be included in the theoretical framework. This will emphasize the dominance of space over the body through gendered spaces. How do power mechanisms and space interact? What are the traces of economic policies in body-space interactions? How does the transformation of space and society relate to gender as an expression of individual experience? Using a literature review method, the research aims to present a current field of discussion through these questions.

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