This is a place for me (and you, if you so choose) to ponder the role of gender in public space. I tend to think a lot about public restrooms, sidewalks, public buildings and businesses that purport to serve the public and I wanted a place to collect those thoughts and deposit my pictures as I write a book about the history of women and public space in the twentieth century urban U.S.
Present day 'girl watchers' can get this badge. Or a tshirt. Or a tote bag....
The language touting this badge is particularly tasty:
As an FBI agent (Female Body Inspector), it is your duty to serve the public by ensuring that every part of the female body is in perfect working order.
Holly Near endorsing the idea of The Women's Building in SF:
“If we are building a culture that is respectful of our lives, then we need a respectful place in which to build it. Sometimes when we borrow other people’s space, we also have to borrow their restrictions.”[i]
[i] Holly Near quoted in “What are leading women in the community saying about the Women’s Building?” Women’s Building of the Bay Area [no date but prob 1978]
In wandering around the internet this morning, I find that the anti-street harassment movement is flourishing. There is new press coverage, a new book, new orgs... (several of which appear in my links to the right). It puts in me in the somewhat odd position of feeling like the history I'm working on is relevant. It also reinforces the current trajectory of the book, namely that what unites everything from campaigns for public restrooms to the Hollaback movement is a quest for privacy in public in the belief that privacy holds the key to (feeling) both safe and autonomous.
Look, there is even an accessible PSA that articulates a few of the issues raised in my work!
