Abstract
This working paper seeks to expose two meditations on sexual difference in design, based on preliminary philosophical inquiries. The first meditation, on binary opposition, relates the use of dichotomies within language, and also within the language of design that uphold a construct perpetuating a hierarchy and a status quo, where women are not fully included in neither the process nor the outcome. The second meditation is a suggestion of ways in which issues such as binary opposition can begin to be mediated on common ground, here termed 'third space', where a sharing between different subjects can occur. "The language system, or system of languages, doubled or accompanied by epistemological formalism and formal logic, takes from women and excludes them from the threshold of living in the world. Bars women from the to-and-fro of words, from the traversal of words that would allow them both to get out of and to return to their own homes To (sic) "take off" from their bodies, give themselves a territory, an environment, and invite the other to some possible share or passage." (Irigaray, 2004/1984) This exploration is part of the foundation of research aimed at making urban spaces inclusive to all.
Keywords
feminism and design, philosophy, practice, language, inclusive design
Citation
Sauvé, S. (2006) wander_woman_wonder: sexual difference in urban design, in Friedman, K., Love, T., Côrte-Real, E. and Rust, C. (eds.), Wonderground - DRS International Conference 2006, 1-4 November, Lisbon, Portugal. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2006/researchpapers/48
wander_woman_wonder: sexual difference in urban design
This working paper seeks to expose two meditations on sexual difference in design, based on preliminary philosophical inquiries. The first meditation, on binary opposition, relates the use of dichotomies within language, and also within the language of design that uphold a construct perpetuating a hierarchy and a status quo, where women are not fully included in neither the process nor the outcome. The second meditation is a suggestion of ways in which issues such as binary opposition can begin to be mediated on common ground, here termed 'third space', where a sharing between different subjects can occur. "The language system, or system of languages, doubled or accompanied by epistemological formalism and formal logic, takes from women and excludes them from the threshold of living in the world. Bars women from the to-and-fro of words, from the traversal of words that would allow them both to get out of and to return to their own homes To (sic) "take off" from their bodies, give themselves a territory, an environment, and invite the other to some possible share or passage." (Irigaray, 2004/1984) This exploration is part of the foundation of research aimed at making urban spaces inclusive to all.