Power and gender

Karimnia, Elahe

Abstract

The theme of the London lab was provoked by the most recent, yet not the last, events of violence against women in London. Such gender-based power dynamics can be also found in the form of symbolic or non-physical violence within the built environment. Unsurprisingly, these issues are the manifestation of a male-dominated industry, whose decisions and ambitions shape everyone’s access to and safety in public spaces. Their expertise often lacks a real understanding of inequality issues that are felt not only by women, but also by others: unrecognised, discriminated, or marginalised bodies in public space. To include others starts by acknowledging otherness and considering othering, that is the act of doing things differently, embracing non-confirmative ways of seeing and making the city. In the recent Theatrum Mundi edition, Embodying Otherness, we addressed this knowledge gap, exploring othering through a choreographic lens. Following suit in the Movement Forum experiment, we expanded on those questions, asking specifically how gender-based power dynamics can be revealed and resisted. By what strategies can public spaces as civic infrastructure be de- or re-gendered? And how can built environment professionals better integrate otherness into spatial design?

Citation

Karimnia, E. (2022). Power and gender. In Encounters (30-34). London: Theatrum Mundi

• Publication Date: Oct 15, 2022
• Deposit Date: Nov 7, 2022
• Pages: 30-34
• Book Title: Encounters
• Chapter Number: 4
• ISBN: 979-1-9161864-9-1
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10127653
• Publisher URL: https://theatrum-mundi.org/shop/encounters/
• Related Public URLs: https://theatrum-mundi.org/