Gender

Gender issues are in INURA principles

Marvi proposed in the principles to mention that we have to deal with productive and reproductive work together. And that the gender difference have to be faced without prejudice (self definition / hetero-definition)

The two principles are the following:

3. In our work we recognize the importance of ethnic and cultural diversity, and the need to oppose racism, class and gender discrimination.

4. Changes in forms of work and of community and domestic life must be understood and planned in relation to each other.

Maggio M, (1998), Space and time for reproduction, INURA bullettin n.15, pag.24-26

If every social relation can be described as producing a space, which spaces are produced by gender relations? How are they intertwined with other spaces and with other social relations?

5. Racism, Class and gender
(INURA declaration 3 and 4 that relate with “domestic work” or reproduction work, so the gender role as something that have to be addressed; production work and reproduction work have to be understood and transformed in relation to each other)

We agree with the points raised in the INURA meeting in Zurich that there seems to be an absence of the debate around the issues of Race/Racism, Gender and Class in the NNM project. We suggest that we enhance the project’s focus from the ‘ideal’-type NNM processes to include these themes and their impact on urban social space. Issues such as the rising inequalities and their subsequent spatial transformations, social mix – segregation – polarization, urban conflicts, the rise of racism and the far right (with its spatial implications), or gendered spatial perspectives are recurrent urban concerns that seem to become even more topical in the last years.

The feminist philosophy of differences (Liberia di Milano, Luisa Muraroundefined ) from its start relate the discover of the female differences with the subversion and the transgression otherwise, it say, call for difference would be an archaism. Nevertheless the category of the difference as it is in the patriarchy come out very often as an essentialism. We have to address this.

The most of the social-economic researches show that in many countries the female unemployment is much higher than the male one; the income for the same job is lower; there is still a glass ceiling that prevent women to access the high management positions. In country like Italy it is still frequent that women are killed by men that are not ready to accept their freedom of choice. This seems to be the inheritance of patriarchy: but what role is played by neoliberism and NMM?

In that vein recent feminist critiques can be very helpful in pointing out a set of issues to be discussed by INURA Groups. For instance feminist critiques have shown that, the gendered processes of restructuring introduce a complex set of occupational inequalities and strategies of social reproduction, which the initial formulations of both the ‘global city’ and the ‘welfare regime’ theorizations have not taken into account.

Another stream of research critically combines theories of post-Fordist social stratification with economic geography to study intersecting class and gender or class and race inequalities in world cities and their interrelation with decisions by the state and the administrators.

In that sense we found very timely the points raised in the INURA Declaration:

Migrant cities

…''The urban world, both in the North and in the South, is more and more characterized by social polarization, spatial segregation and legal disintegration (sans papiers). Basic social needs are not met for a growing part of the population. Wealth and poverty continue to be geographically differentiated as expressed in segmented housing, public and social spaces, health services, education, access to basic resources such as land, water, and food).''

Racism on the rise

''Globalizing cities are diverse. Yet, as racism, ethnic violence and intolerance have become natural ingredients of the neoliberal global order, forms of social organization based on solidarity among communities of urban residents and workers have come under attack both ideologically and physically. Whereas cities have often been the laboratories of progressive social experiment, democratization, autonomy, collective organization and urban liberation, they have now come to be associated more frequently with dystopic forms of hate-filled politics and more or less organized populist or even fascist violence.'' 1 Luisa Muraro a feminist philosopher of the “differences” analyzing the fights of the seventieth note: “What for a men was a revolution, for a women cannot be renounced....the signification of the sexual difference cannot go without transgression, without subversion of the existing. Cannot be trace out from the received symbolic order...Otherwise, bringing forth the sexual difference would be a useless archaism...” (L.Muraro, Al mercato della felicità, Mondadori, Milano, 2009, p..95), Translation is mine. in the categories (august 2012) in building alternative there are: <p class="sdfootnote" style="margin-bottom: 0.21cm; line-height: 100%">"Building alternatives (16) (area or icon): Developing alternatives to everyday life, housing, collective spaces, culture, art, housework / reproduction work / care (gender role)".