ABSTRACT
Space is gendered. It is a general assumption in feminist approaches to urban studies that gender relations – as, of course, other social relations – are inscribed in spatial arrangements (Becker 2004: 652). The initial consideration sparking my interest in research on gender and space was the search for an approach that would accommodate both the macro and the micro aspect of gender relations; that would allow me, in other words, to look both at hegemonic rules guiding gender performance and at individual enactment of gender.
How ‘space’ and spatial behaviour meet this requirement will constitute the point of departure in this chapter where I will first lay out my concept of space and its generally gendered character. Next, spatial behaviour will be defined as such nonverbal behaviour as determines the use and appropriation of space and as such is pivotal to the construction of both gender and space. Following this theoretical framework I will present the results of my empirical analysis of gendered nonverbal behaviour in public transportation facilities and at stations in Tokyo. I will conclude this chapter by discussing its relevance and attempt a synthesis of how men and women in Japan constitute public space and how they appropriate this space.
