ancient cities

756 Spaces of Difference
Sp a c e S o F di F F e r e n c e
The “spaces of difference” concept refers to how
space is socially constructed to be different depending
on who the individual is in a particular space
and how that individual utilizes that space. Ideas
about spaces of difference are important to academics,
city planners, governments, and nongovernmental
agencies in terms of understanding how
Western ideologies and social construction processes
create and reify inequalities in everyday
environments. These processes physically and
socially manifest in the urban environment affecting
the everyday lived realities and practices of
urban populations. These populations are not
homogeneous; rather they contain a multiplicity
of identities. In this ever-decreasing spatial world,
thanks to globalization and the compression of
temporal and spatial distances, international agencies
and relations, and geopolitical rhetoric, the
illusion of homogeneity is crumbling. No longer
can socially bound groups, especially those groups
who are in dominant positions, hide behind a clear
border separating them from the “other” (i.e.,
everyone not like them). Nevertheless, attempts
are made to maintain separate spaces based on, not
difference, but sameness, such as in gated communities,
social clubs, and gentrified redevelopment
practices. Today, it is well acknowledged that identity,
even for one individual, is of a multiple nature,
making spaces of difference increasingly difficult to
maintain. Spaces of difference are becoming more
theoretical, constructed, and perpetuated conceptually
concomitant with its physical space.
When the notion of difference is attached to the
idea of space, an “othering” occurs. Edward Said
has brought the idea of the other to social science
through his work on the theory of Orientalism.
Said’s work details how this practice of othering is
communicated through an “us and them” or, in
reality, an “us versus them” understanding of
social order. Spaces of difference are created
through discursive practices all working within the
same space based upon these notions of difference.
This communication allows individuals to categorize
and relate to their surrounding spaces from
neighborhood to national to global scales.
Contemporary theoretical approaches to spaces
of difference have a vast range from feminist
movements to sociological perspectives to Marxist
studies to social identity arguments to queer theory
about urban environments. The purpose here is
not to argue one of these approaches over the
other, but to see how spaces of difference are created
by virtue of the existence of numerous discourses
that produce an everyday lived experience
of difference. Many types and forms of these
spaces of difference exist in urban environments,
but for this purpose the focus will be on some of
the overarching categories of difference, including
gender, age, class, ethnicity and religion, sexual
identity, and appropriate uses of urban spaces. By
creating these categories of differences, everyday
inequalities and notions of appropriateness are the
realities of urban experience and play key roles in
how multiple layers of users and spatial practices
create complex spaces of difference in the same
physical space.
Gender and Feminism
Thanks to feminist studies, gender divisions and
inequalities have been brought to the attention of
many academics, governments, and businesses.
Women no longer are “supposed” to stay at home
in the realm of the private while men are free to
move about the public world uninhibited. Yet,
women are still facing glass ceilings in employment
environments and a general classification as the
“softer” sex. Linda McDowell is one of many feminist
researchers investigating gender relations in the
workplace, especially within corporate and highend
jobs in the United Kingdom. She has discussed
how, when women are admitted into white-collar
workplaces, certain gender performances are
expected, either ultra-feminine or masculine,
through attitudes, actions, and even dress. These
types of workplaces still do not accept women as
equals but often have token females to claim equal
opportunity practices or to show progress toward
integrating women into traditionally “masculine”
employment positions. These gender performance
expectations can also be imposed on men, and
males in traditionally “feminine” positions may be
seen as suspect, especially in child-caring roles.
Within white-collar jobs, the ratio of men to
women is uneven, especially in highly educated
and skilled employment such as corporate executives
and academics. Conversely, women highly