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Geography has played a role in shaping races and genders by creating boundaries that divide privileged individuals from others. Efforts are being made to challenge the perpetuation of racial differences and address the lingering sexist legacy within the field.
McDowell (1993) states that feminist geographers, as part of the discipline of geography, concentrate on the central concepts of space, place, and nature, exploring how these concepts are connected to gender divisions in various societies.
The quote illustrates the central concept of feminist geography: while sharing similarities with traditional geography, it offers a unique viewpoint.
Historically, women have been marginalized in the field and often depicted in subordinate roles that reinforce the idea of work as male-dominated. This perpetuates the notion of separate public and private spheres, restricting women's access to public spaces and hindering our understanding of complex gender dynamics. The definition also highlights the importance of gender in feminist geography beyond just focusing on women, supporting the idea that masculine perspectives can also contribute to feminist discourse.
According to Ford & Gregson (1986), feminist geography is defined as a geography that acknowledges and considers the socially constructed gender system of society.
Feminist geographies have commonly examined the connection between gender and class dynamics.
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While this approach has been fruitful, it has overlooked the issue of racism entirely. This highlights how established frameworks can hinder fresh perspectives on the methodologies of geographical thinking.
To effectively debate whether feminist geography is primarily focused on feminism or geography, it is crucial to explore the principles of feminist geography further.
At its core, feminist geography can be categorized into three main types: the geography of women, socialist feminist geography, and feminist geographies of difference (Johnston et al, 2000).
Women's geography examines the impact of gender inequality, with socialist feminist geography exploring the link between capitalism and patriarchy. Feminist geographies of difference study gendered identities, differences among women, and gender's impact on the environment. While there are different branches of feminist geography, the key question remains the extent to which each prioritizes feminism or geography.
To answer this question, we must look back to the origins of feminism. Ford & Gregson (1986) argue that examining the structures causing inequality between men and women reveals certain practices benefiting men while disadvantaging women. The issue of why women are consistently disadvantaged cannot be explained by gender inequality alone. If feminist geography is only seen as addressing whether women are at a disadvantage, then the question is essentially answered; in this context, feminist geography becomes more about feminism than geography. However, by integrating theory into the analysis, the feminist concept once again becomes a key aspect of the conversation.
The framework of feminist geography sparks numerous debates, with discussions often centering on the addition of a framework or research methodology to make the concept viable. The introduction of the concept of patriarchy is crucial in feminist geography, as it was originally used to describe male dominance before becoming a focus of theoretical analysis. Understanding patriarchy is essential to feminist arguments, as overlooking it would result in flawed arguments from a feminist perspective that fail to consider external factors and maintain objective positionality (Foord & Gregson, 1986).
Therefore, the significance of the point of view and the analytical tool is crucial. According to Rose (1997), if feminist geography aims to recognize its biases, it is essential to have a type of reflexivity that strives for a comprehensive understanding of the researcher, the subjects being studied, and the research context. This explains why it is important to thoroughly comprehend feminist geography before forming opinions, which is why I am exploring the various definitions of feminist geography.
Discussing patriarchy as a theoretical construct is essential for understanding its impact on defining social and cultural roles for women in the workplace. The under representation of women in geography departments in Britain highlights the need to rectify this issue, as emphasized by Bartram & Shobrook (1998). Their study shows that women are disproportionately represented in physical geography, particularly at lower academic levels, pointing to the ongoing effects of patriarchal relations on women's careers.
The current under-representation can also be connected to practices seen in the nineteenth century when women were excluded from science, particularly physical geography, due to gender biases. McEwan (1998) notes that this exclusion continued until the discipline of physical geography was institutionalized.
The minimal differences in numbers between female human and physical geographers today pose a challenge, as women are almost equally likely to pursue either field (Bartram & Shobrook, 1998). This suggests that feminist geography is less about feminism and more about addressing the imbalance by exploring the reasons behind it. One explanation proposed by feminist scholarship is that while more women are pursuing advanced studies in physical geography, the proportion of female postgraduates in this field has decreased due to a larger increase in male postgraduates.
One possible reason for the decrease in women pursuing undergraduate physical geography is that it is perceived as less attractive to them, deterring further study (McEwan, 1998). This perception may be related to the idea that the physical aspects of geography are viewed as more masculine, with fieldwork being seen as a challenging and daring activity (Maguire, 1998). This perception justifies the importance of feminist geography in exploring the potential impacts of this societal mindset.
The feminist geographer argues that feminism is not primarily about geography, but rather stems from McDowell's (1986) paper pointing out that women's subordination is linked to childbearing. McDowell identifies childbearing as key to women's oppression, connecting it to the exploitation of labor in class societies. This argument focuses more on biological feminism than feminist geography, as it addresses universal biological factors that apply to humans everywhere. Thus, the root issue with feminist geography is established.
In addition to discussing general feminist arguments, rather than focusing on specific geographical ones, it is pointed out that "cultural practices and personal attitudes change slowly, and male ‘control’ of the subject continues" (McEwan, 1998), as noted by Hansen et al. (1995). This observation refers to male dominance in physical geography and, although it directly addresses geography, it approaches the topic from a feminist standpoint rather than a geographical one.
In addition to critiques of feminist geography focusing solely on women's inequality without considering space, it is also argued that feminist geographers often emphasize examples of women's inequality, gender roles, and only partially conceptualize gender relations (Ford & Gregson, 1986). The rigid gender divisions explored by feminist geography may not always be appropriate and a more flexible theoretical approach may be preferable in certain situations.
Ultimately, feminist geography can be critiqued for prioritizing feminism over geography, but it is argued that as long as a spatial dimension is included and issues of positionality and reflexivity are addressed, this critical approach remains valid. The criticism of feminist geography often highlights how feminist politics take precedence over geographical principles in several aspects.
According to Peet (1998), feminist geography is still in the early stages of developing a distinct theoretical framework, which requires epistemological justifications, ontological delimitations, and empirical exemplifications. In order to thrive in academia, feminist geography must cultivate a gendered theory that challenges traditional masculine viewpoints in geography.
Challenging Gender Divisions in Geography: A Feminist Perspective. (2016, Dec 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/sexism-and-feminist-geography-essay
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