Dissertation by juliehodgon

THE IMPACT OF GENDER NORMATIVITY THROUGH SPACE CONFORMING TO SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS

Gender & Architecture

Julie A. Hodgon

THE IMPACT OF GENDER NORMATIVITY THROUGH SPACE CONFORMING TO SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS

001020664 Julie Anne Hodgon To be presented to the School of Design at the University of Greenwich as a part of the BA Hons Architecture course.

University of Greenwich ARCHT 1014 BA Architecture Dissertation Academic Year 2020-2021 Group 1: Gender & Architecture Tutor: Anne Hultzsch Word Count: 6,947

Except where stated otherwise, this dissertation is based entirely on the author’s own work.

ABSTRACT

The gender normativity that is embedded within society has impacted the way we perceive and experience spaces. With society’s gaze upon us, the pressure to conform within societal expectations is heightened. As explored

Acknowledgements Many thanks to Anne Hultzsch, Caroline Rabourin and Marko Jobst for your support and guidance.

throughout the different chapters, we can start to understand the effects it has within both private and public spaces through the experiences of Edith Farnsworth in Mies’ design to female passengers on public transport and those having to conform to the masculine standards within the military. The experiences discussed within these spaces reiterates Aaron Betsky’s thesis, ‘the man-made world is made by men, and women have had to make a place within them’ (Betsky, 1995), as we acknowledge how women – or anyone else not conforming to the stereotypical view of a heterosexual man – have had to adapt to the societal standards of both the private and public sphere.

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CONTENTS

“Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth.” - Simone De Beauvoir

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE:

CONFORMING TO MODERNISM, THE FARNSWORTH HOUSE

CHAPTER TWO:

CONFORMING TO WOMEN-ONLY SPACES

CHAPTER THREE:

CONFORMING TO THE MILITARY ACADEMY

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

IMAGE REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

MY PERSONAL INTRODUCTION TO GENDER NORMATIVITY

I remember when I was 5 years old, being the only girl in a sports hall filled with about 30 boys in similar age, as we all got ready for football practice. Being an oblivious little girl, I tried to contain my excitement as I watched my mum lace up my new boots. A couple years later, around the age of 8 or 9, I found myself now on the school’s boys football team. I think the first time I acknowledged that something was strange, was my first football match against another school. I remember stepping on the pitch and getting so many stares and confused faces from both the boys my age on the other team as well as their parents who were standing on the sideline. The amount of attention I had on

INTRODUCTION

me due to the fact I was a girl playing in a boys football match, made me feel so intimidated and small for the first time on this all-too-familiar pitch. Within a space where I

“You’re a girl.”

used to feel content and free playing the sport I loved, I now felt so unwanted and as if I had stepped within the wrong boundaries. Growing up, I remember asking “why is that for boys?”, “why can’t I play?”, “why is it a boys place?” and hearing almost the same response each time; “because you’re a girl, it’s not for you”.

The term space did not exist within the architectural vocabulary until it was introduced in the 1890s with its connection to the development of modernism. To put it simply, space as a term, category and quality of architecture developed together with the form and design of modernist architecture with its physical property of dimension. Adrian Forty, in the chapter on ‘Space’ in his book, Words and Buildings: Vocabulary of Modern Architecture (2000), recognises it as “a property of the mind, part of the apparatus through which we perceive the world.” (Forty, 2000).

Introduction

With reference to Henri Lefebvre’s The Production of Space, Forty expresses space to be

things have been designed in relation to an average men and women have then had

conceived by the mind and encountered by the body. This idea of there being a sense

to adjust themselves to fit within and make use of their surroundings. This idea of ‘one-

of space perceived through our own body and mind starts to reflect the way we interact

size-fits-all’ has been proven to be inefficient towards women – or anyone else not con-

and feel within these spaces, whether it be physical or mentally projecting ourselves into

forming to a stereotypical view of the male – as the size of the average man does not

these spaces.

relate to the average size of a woman. In Caroline Criado-Perez’s book, Invisible Women:

When I start to think about space, I start to recognise the feelings I want to experience

Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men (2019), she writes a chapter on this idea

and whether I’m comfortable or not. This then has an impact on how I feel whether I’m

of one-size-fits-all and mentions the impacts it has on women. This design method has

physically in the space or whether I think about a past memory in that space. These types

led to health issues as people have suffered with disproportionality, for example, the di-

of experiences will then have an effect on how one associates to these spaces.

mensions of a piano are influenced by the modular man and the hand size of an average man, this has put female pianists approximately 50% at a higher risk of pain and injury

As a society, we have socially constructed a gender normativity - a reinforcement of the

than male pianists. This reinforces the idea of how things have been designed for men

ideal standards of masculinity or femininity. In this dissertation, I will use my personal

and how woman have had to fit around these averages and the male default. Although

experience on the football pitch as a trigger to explore the impact gender norms have

this doesn’t refer to the designs of spaces, it gives an insight to how the world has been

on spaces and the way they are perceived. As Doreen Massey stated in her book, Space

designed in a way that causes women, or those who do not fit within the standards, to

Place and Gender (1994), “spaces and places, and our senses of them are gendered

feel left out, to be an other. Which then leads to the question,

through and through… And this gendering of space and place both reflects and has effects back on the ways in which gender is constructed and understood in the societies in

“Why can’t a women be more like a man?” (Criado-Perez, 2019).

which we live” (Massey, 1994). If spaces and places are gendered ‘through and through’, where did this concept come from, how is it constructed? And what impact does this

In relation to this male default, a sense of ‘others’ being left out, and my own experience

then have on the built environment and those who design architecture?

within a gendered space, I want to discuss other spaces and how they have had an effect on gender identities. Through this dissertation, I will be looking at several architectural

Aaron Betsky, a director at Virginia Tech’s school of architecture, reinforces Massey’s idea

sites and spaces that have had an impact on people’s experiences within them and their

of gendered spaces as he iterates “the space you are inhabiting right now is not gen-

sense of discomfort that has been influenced by societal views. With chapters analysing

der-neutral, however bland it might look and whatever law might pertain to its use”

the spaces from both private and public spheres, I hope to highlight the differences and

(Betsky, 1992). Betsky implies that regardless of the way something is designed, wheth-

similarities in the way these designs have a consequence on the way different bodies

er a space was to be designed with the intention of a gender influence or not, some-

experience spaces. How have people conformed to the societal expectations within the

how spaces will not be gender-neutral and societal views have a play on this. Through

design of the home, public Women-Only spaces and the Military Academy?

decades of gender segregation and power differences, the man-made world has been designed by men to fit their needs and interpretations whilst women have had to make their own places within and around it. The modular man is a prime example of how 3

Introduction

CONFORMING TO MODERNISM, THE FARNSWORTH HOUSE

The influence that gender and sexuality had on modernist architecture was quite significant due to the societal expectations of women in America during the modernism era. An experience that stands out, is the one between Mies van der Rohe, Dr. Edith Farnsworth and the Farnsworth House. Located in Plano, Illinois, the house sits in solitude on a grassy meadow by the Fox River, 50 odd miles southwest from downtown Chicago. With Farnsworth’s need for a house intended for weekend retreats, the house became an architectural design to be one that cannot be forgotten. Designed and constructed between 1945 to 1951, architect Mies van der Rohe intended to find the recognition he thought to deserve within the architectural world, aiming to develop a design for the house to exhibit in the New York Museum of Modern Art in 1947. Although what thought to be the perfect match - a client in need of an architect to design her desires and an architect in need of exposure - became a match filled with angst and misunderstandings. The design process of this house and its final outcome was the product of this. In a collection of her memoirs, Farnsworth writes her experience with Mies and the

CHAPTER ONE

house, recalling that she was in search for “a really fine [design] solution for an inexpensive retreat for a single person of my tastes and pre-occupations” with the assumption that her rights as the client within the architect-client relationship would be fulfilled (Friedman, 1998). She seemed to have a strong idea on how she wanted to live, and she expected that Mies, as the architect, to respect her point of view. However, her naivety had soon lead her into the discovery of Mies’s true intentions and what he had thought to have found in her, which was a patron who would put her needs and interests aside for his own purposes and aspirations as an architect. With this in mind, Alice T. Friedman addresses her own view on their architect-client relationship in her written piece, People Who Live in Glass Houses 1998, where she speaks about the issues of privacy and gender and sexuality. Friedman implies that gender and sexuality influenced the project as she notes, “gender values – assumptions about how

Conforming to Modernism, The Farsnworth House

men and women should behave in their daily lives – often play a role in architectural design, particularly in domestic architecture” (Friedman, 1998). With relation to the views within society during the time of this project, Friedman further states, “Farnsworth may have been a successful doctor, but the fact that she was also a single woman made her more dependent on the architect both personally and professionally” (Friedman, 1998). There is an implication that due to Farnsworth’s marital status, it exposed a sense of vulnerability which Mies had shown to take an advantage of later in the development of the design. Mies had continued to design the house as ‘pure architecture’ as he followed his intuitions, but what he thought was right, was actually “a building almost completely derived of a program” and became the perfect embodiment of his expression “Less is more” (Friedman, 1998). Image 1: North Elevation of the Farnsworth House.

One is immediately struck by elegance and simplicity through its rectilinear form amongst the nature. The house appears to be a place of refuge and tranquility as it sits on stilts that are anchored in the greenery, an attempt to move away from the disturbance of nature. The idea of solitude is reinforced by the interior being close to completely sealed off from the external world with only a few openings; an entry door on one side of the rectilinear floor plan and two small windows on the opposing wall. Although the transparency of the glass walls act as a way to be one with the grass, trees and river, the minimal openings give off this idea of a barrier, a restriction to the outside world. The rectilinear structure frames these views, making the landscape seem distant and abstracted, almost like picture or a painting. However, when the gaze is reversed and one is looking in, the framing of the interior make sights seem magnified and people and objects seem more tangible and tactile. There is a sense of vulnerability shown within the design as the interior is exposed to the outside world, almost to the point where it makes anyone feel welcome to enter, even the unwanted.

Image 2: Plan of Farnsworth House, highlighting the two openings.

In her memoirs, Farnsworth recalls a time during the design process where she asked Mies about his ideas on the materials used for the house and he responded:

Conforming to Modernism, The Farsnworth House

“I would think that here where everything is beautiful, and privacy is no issue, it would be a pity to erect an opaque wall between the outside and the inside. So I think we should build the house of steel and glass; in that way we’ll let the outside in. If we were building in the city or in the suburbs, not the other, I would make it opaque from outside and bring in the light through a garden-courtyard in the middle.” (Friedman, 1998). The issue of privacy and the vulnerability of being exposed and seen from the outside, were not considered as problems to Mies due to the seclusion of the building. However, this later became a problem that haunted Farnsworth during the time she inhabited the house. The design caused an uproar within the Press which became one that favoured Mies and his recognition but caused discomfort for the occupant. Fanatics of Mies’ design took weekend trips to the house, in admiration for the piece of work, which resulted in the disruption of solitude. The fame burdened Farnsworth with these weekly visits, Image 3: Window framing the external view.

having to wake up to “skirts fluttering behind trees” and visitors who “thumbed their way tirelessly” aboard her distress (Friedman, 1998). It was this experience of exposure that created her interest in nothing more than to become invisible to the gaze of others as she recalls in her memoirs: “I would prefer to move as the women do in the Old Quarter of Tripoli, muffled in unbleached homespun so that only a hole is left for them to look out of... [the outside world would] not even know where the hole was.” (Friedman, 1998). Societal expectations of women in the 1940s and 1950s were ones which Farnsworth found herself not conforming to. Instead of following the expectations of becoming a wife and mother to children, Farnsworth preferred to be a physician and a scholar. In spite of a demanding and substantial career that profoundly involved her, she expressed discomfort to the life she lived. A life where she was well aware that she lived outside of society, thus thoroughly questioning very mores that she was supposed to live up to as a woman. Women were encouraged to embrace motherhood and homemaking in

Image 4: View of the Terrace, depicting the steel coloums.

Conforming to Modernism, The Farsnworth House

single-family homes, homes that were not intended for simple retreats from the city, but ones that were safe havens for children and focused on their needs. Within the societal expectations came the merging of terms, family and home, one was simply not without the other, and this fusion was recognised by Farnsworth as a typological problem for the design of her retreat. In an unpublished autobiography written circa 1959 by Anne Parsons, an unmarried woman, also expressed her experience living as a single woman in America during the 1950s. “Life for the unmarried person after twenty five or so is simply not very easy because by this fact one is thrown out of all the better-worn social grooves so that even relatively simple things as what to do on Sunday become impossibly difficult.” (Parsons, 1959). Farnsworth expressed similarity in what Parsons had written as she too wrote about the “tired, dull Sundays” in her memoirs which resulted her into building this house, somewhere to retreat to on weekends when she would have nothing else to do (Friedman, 1998). It had seemed like Mies was heavily influenced by society when designing a house for a single woman as Friedman states, “Farnsworth had very little of a “private life” to conceal: as a single woman, the only thing that could possibly be worth hiding was her nightgown, the sign for her body.” (Friedman, 1998). This was a reference to the very open plan layout of the house, having only the bathrooms that are closed off for privacy, Image 5: View of the bathroom entrance.

somewhere for Farnsworth to hang her nightgown. There is something quite sexualised about the way Mies associates Farnsworth’s nightgown to those of a married woman and therefore something that is private and needs to be hidden to the others, however it’s not the same to Farnsworth’s own body as she is exposed within her own bedroom. In an interview with author, Joseph A. Barry, for the magazine, House Beautiful, Farnsworth expressed her experience within the house, and the frustration she felt in relation to feeling exposed within the house:

Conforming to Modernism, The Farsnworth House

“The truth is that in this house with its four walls of glass I feel like a prowling animal, always on the alert. I am always restless. Even in the evening. I feel like a sentinel on guard day and night. I can rarely stretch out and relax… What else? I don’t keep a garbage can under my sink. Do you know why? Because you can see the whole ‘kitchen’ from the road on the way in here and the can would spoil the appearance of the whole house. So I hide it in the closest farther down from the sink. Mies talks about ‘free space’: but his space is very fixed. I can’t even put a clothes hanger in my house without considering how it affects everything from the outside. Any arrangement of furniture becomes a major problem, because the house is transparent, like an X-ray.” (Barry, 1953) Having to conform to societal expectations as a woman, was not the only thing Farnsworth had to do, now she had to conform to the design of the house. Farnsworth states that Mies’ ‘free space’ was actually fixed, which encouraged her to feel confined within her house due to the ‘X-ray’ transparency. She was not free to do what she had liked due to the gaze of others, similar to the way women could not in the outside world without feeling at odd with the societal expectations.

Image 6: View looking through the house, like an X-ray.

Conforming to Modernism, The Farsnworth House

CONFORMING TO WOMEN-ONLY SPACES

The socially constructed gender normativity is a global issue that is still in encountered on a daily basis with some cultures influenced more than others. The normative dictates the public and private spheres, controlling the narrative that “the man-made world is made by men, and women have had to make their own places within it” (Betsky, 1995). In relation to masculinity being portrayed through manual labour (public) in comparison to the domestic labour (private) that is considered feminine. Taking this narrative, it is implied that there is a male dominance within the public sphere, whilst femininity is within the homes of the private sphere. Although this has been the normative for many, recent societies have seen the rise in female presence within the public space during the 20th century in a way to tackle gender inequality. However, in the hopes of tackling one gender issue, another had developed. In the 19th century, “women’s sexuality [was] controlled via the regulation of public and private space” (Solnit, 2005). In context, women were not only expected to work within

CHAPTER TWO

domestic settings but also confined to them as their “whole life would be consigned to the private space of the home that served as a sort of masonry veil” (Solnit, 2005) and inaccessible to others who were not their husbands, as homosexual acts were also considered forbidden. Therefore, the female presence in public spaces led to incidences that Rebecca Solnit wrote about in her chapter, Walking after Midnight: Women, Sex and Public Space, in the book, Wanderlust: A History of Walking 2002. Such incidences lead to sexual harassment towards women in public spaces, spaces that are considered to be safe and open to all but were not. Regardless of the evolving and improving times that we live in, feminine safety within the public space is still an issue within society. Sexual harassment and attacks towards women have resulted to solutions that involve gender segregation, creating spaces that are men-free. Countries such as, Australia, Germany and Switzerland, have adapted public car parks to include female-friendly parking zones that reassure women the safety of

Conforming to Women-Only Spaces

getting in their cars without running the risk of encountering male predators or being under their gaze. Other countries have introduced Women-Only spaces within public transport, whether it’d be an all-female bus in Mexico City, or the train carriages in Tokyo that do not accommodate men. The emergence of segregation measures in relation to feminine safety is a consequence of the continued masculine domination of the public sphere. Within this chapter, I will be discussing these Women-Only spaces, specifically train carriages in Tokyo and the UK, and analyse the different gender experiences. Women-Only Compartments on British Trains Image 7: Ladies-Only sign on compartment door.

In the mid 19th Century of Great Britain, Ladies-Only carriages were introduced to the public in reaction to the vast amount of recurring cases of sexual assault. Carriages back then were usually divided into compartments which caused difficulty to escape during an emergency, thus putting female passengers at higher risks to assault. This layout made it easier for incidents of sexual assault to occur which provoked female victims to climb out of the carriage window in order to escape these traumatising events, many would escape unharmed but others suffered serious injuries or even death. Thus lead to high demands for separate Ladies-Only spaces to prevent further events from happening. Despite the outrage, these spaces were quite unpopular among women. Between 1877 and 1882, some railways enforced Women-and-Children-Only compartments (Abernethy, 2015), but were discontinued in response to unpopularity as many single women were not comfortable with the surrounding talk of children and pregnancy. In 1888, a total of only 248 seats were used within these spaces, in spite of the 1,060 total that were available to only women on the Great Western Railway (Abernethy, 2015). Many women considered travelling in the smoking compartments instead or in the standard accommodation with fewer people rather than being alone in the Ladies-Only compartments as male attackers were still able to gain access. Although these Ladies-Only spaces were intended for the safety of women on trains, the response resulted in the scrutiny under women as men reacted in hostile if women travelled in other areas of the train. In an 1875 article that argued for Ladies-Only carriages, it stated:

Image 8: Two women pictured with a man in the smoking compartment.

Conforming to Women-Only Spaces

“It is incumbent upon the gentler sex not to lay themselves open to the gibes and sneers of the vulgar upon such a point as this, and the sooner they do so the better, or they will be the victims of retaliation.” (Abernethy, 2015). In other terms, if women did not conform to these confined spaces then they paint themselves as a willing victim and encourage it onto them. The victim blaming here is primarily forcing the narrative that these women need to avoid being assaulted in order to stop the problem rather than dealing with the cause. Similar to the narrative that encourages women to cover up otherwise they are ‘asking for it.’ Women-Only Train Carriages in Tokyo Tokyo follows a similar narrative with their Women-Only train carriages. Although first introduced in the year 2000, transport segregation was not foreign in Japan with the earliest carriage in 1912. However, these spaces juxtaposed the reason for the latest Women-Only carriages as these earlier spaces were targeted towards women, children and the elderly in other to protect from the overcrowded condition in the commuter trains as they were deemed an unsuitable environment. The recent introduction to manfree spaces, were a result of the sexual harassment, locally known as ‘chikan’. According to the Gender Equality Bureau’s survey in 2000, 48.7% of women over 20 years old had at least one experience of being groped on a train. Other surveys differ, with between 28.4% (Okabe, 2004) and around 70% of young females suggesting that they have been a victim to groping (Ishibahsi, 2003). Image 9: Japanese Officials pushing passeneger into a crowded train carriage.

Given the overcrowded conditions on the Japanese trains, the issue of groping is the most common act of sexual harassment and is seen to be physically harmless and almost always committed by strangers. It is said that chikan crime is likely to heightened risk perceptions and damage victims’ sense of self-control over their own life and make them think they live in a dangerous world (Kirchhoff et al, 2007). In result to these studies and a way to reduce the risk of assault, carriages coloured in bright pink with signs stamped ‘Women-only’ in both English and Japanese, “to make sure that they are visible even to 19

Conforming to Women-Only Spaces

the absent-minded male passengers” (Loukatiou-Sideris et al, 2009). It became widely accepted by society as any man who tried to board these carriages were shunned and ushered away by Japanese officials (Joyce, 2005; Surname et al, 2015). However, these man-free carriages were typically located at the ends of the train, causing women to walk the length of a busy platform in order to access them. This may result in more experiences of subtle groping due to the crowded scene. Not only was that a possibility and an inconvenience to some, but the removal of women to the last carriage is also symbolic to the problem of marginalisation as opposed to confrontation, enforcing the notion that the public sphere is still predominantly male (Horri and Burgess, 2012). Views on Modern Women-Only Spaces In spite of this notion, others argue that the existence of this voluntary segregation can enhance feminine presence and women’s access to the public realm. By providing safe public spaces, it allows women to maintain opportunities and an identity beyond the Image 10: ‘Women-Only’ sign in Japanese and English on a carriage window.

home (Spain, 2005). However, it also creates a stigma amongst women, despite the reason for the carriages, some people said “only ugly women ride them” or “I would be embarrassed if people looked at me and were thinking “No one’s going to want to grope you.” As well as some stating, “when men aren’t around, they don’t care whether people can see them” (Makino, 2020). Although, the carriages were to maintain safe spaces for women, instead women were still a subject to social expectations and judgements, many resulting in not using these spaces. Others resulted into portraying their strong views against these carriages and the predominating male public realm. In 2016, Gabrielle Jackson wrote the headline: “We need to think very carefully about what the proposal for female-only train carriages means – are we saying women aren’t safe to be alone in our society?”

Image 11: Women boarding a Women-Only carriage at the end of the train.

In her article, Jackson addresses the issues of sexual harassment and as a result, the gender segregation. Similar to Kirchhoff et al, Jackson states, “the female-only spaces 21

Conforming to Women-Only Spaces

don’t improve our society, they create a sense of fear.” The implication that the removal of women from a mixed environment generates fear, stems from the idea that men are so incompetent to change their bad behaviours that in a result, women have to stay away. Jackson further shows her frustration, “why are we always asking women to change their behaviours – get in this carriage, park in this space, use this taxi service – in order to feel safe?” (Jackson, 2016). Her question reinforces Aaron Betsky’s idea of this masculine world and the idea of women having to find spaces within, they have to conform to the gender normative and the social expectations, or they are left to be contained in these confined spaces. Following the history of these Women-Only spaces, some deem it is right to create these safe spaces, others portray outrage at the confinement and voluntary gender segregation. It could be argued that women who ride the mixed carriages instead of their assigned space, are putting danger on themselves and asking for the male gaze. However, some respond in contrast when they find the accessibility inconvenient and therefore result to the standard carriage. Some men, despite the call for gender equality Image 12: Parking sign in a female-friendly car park.

and Men-Only carriages, suggest that “the Women-Only car offers a measure safety to both genders” (Harding, 2015) as it not only offers safety to the victims of sexual harassment but also the false accusations towards innocent men. Although these spaces are a solution to the acts of sexual assault, they do not prevent the molesting gaze upon women but rather enhancing the exposure women feel within the public realm.

Image 13: Women-Only parking spaces in China.

Conforming to Women-Only Spaces

CONFORMING TO THE MILITARY ACADEMY

“Bring me men” are the words you are greeted with when entering the Skidmore, Owings and Merrill’s (SOM) Air Force Academy, located in Colorado Springs, US. Set in stone is the motto of the academy as it portrays their dedication to the “production of masculine subjects” (Sanders, 1996). When first built in 1963, the academy was designed as an all-male institution, however on June 26 1976, the campus became home to 157 new women cadets as a legislation was signed the year prior that permitted women in the US to enter service academies. With this being done, the greeting sign on entry became controversial as the slogan, “bring me men,” now had to accommodate women. Nevertheless, the inscription remained regardless of biological sex, both males and females were trained to become ‘men’. Everyone who enrolled in this academy had to fill

CHAPTER THREE

the standards of what it was to be a ‘man’ in order to graduate as a member of the US Air Force. This seems to reinforce society’s view of men in power as the objective of training in the academy was to “become leaders of character, motivated to lead the department of the Air Force in service to the nation.” (Unites States Air Force Academy, 2021). This implies that becoming a man and becoming a leader is in relation to each other, one isn’t done without the other but what does this mean for women? It reinforces this idea that women could not be leaders in power, they had to be trained to be a man in order to fulfil this role and work alongside other men in service. Not only did society’s standpoints have an effect on the military’s requirements but so did the design of the campus. The military enlisted architecture to form and convey the masculine traits that were necessary to reconstruct these cadets into serving officers as they introduced modernism into the design. With the need of militaristic spaces of discipline and control, the plan of the SOM’s Academy became dependent on the modernist grid. The grid acts as an architectural manifestation of the masculine regimentation and

Conforming to The Military Academy

order of the cadets during their four-year stay at the academy. Project architect, Walter Netsch, used the dimensions of a male cadet’s bed to derive a scale and apply it to the grid, it was “the scale of the receptacle of the male body at rest” (Sanders, 1996). Looking at the fundamentals of the grid, its scale, you already start to recognise the influence of the average man’s body and this male default within the design. Considering when it was designed, the program did not even need to accommodate female bodies. Not only did the grid depict the image of regularity and control of the organisation of spaces but it also determined the movement of the bodies within these spaces. The stone pavers laid outside is an example of this dictated movement as it followed the grid language with its geometric paving pattern. The cadets had institutionalised this paving layout which had exceeded Netsch’s intentions as it was now used to establish external pathImage 14: Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs USA.

ways which the cadets had to adhere to when marching through the campus. Due to its grid-like layout, discipline and control was projected through the design as it enforced a choreographed movement of straight lines and 90-degree turns as cadets marched in formations. The pavers that made up these pathways corresponded to the dimensions of the average shoulder width of a cadet, adhering to the gender-influenced design. Not only did women have to fit the standards of the training schemes but they also had to fit within these spaces that were not designed for them or even considered within the design process. However, although they were not considered, the institutionalised paving that influences the choreographed movements, allows all the cadets to move and march as one, no one is seen to be different. Accordingly, this sense of unit cohesion and discipline can also be seen in the “essential values of the military: appearance and duplicity” (Sanders, 1996). Masculine regimentation and control is reflected in the cadet uniform and all protocols regarding the appearance of this attire. In a precise arrangement, the cadets are required to display neat uniforms within their open closet in accordance to the daily inspections. During these inspections, order and discipline is to be portrayed within the dorm rooms which results

Image 15: Cadet wardrobe ready for inspection.

in cadets storing their regular clothes in cardboard boxes that are out of sight and

Conforming to The Military Academy

tacitly placed in areas overlooked during inspections, such as small cupboards above the closet and under the sink. This routine reinstates this idea of having to conform to these masculine tendencies in order to follow protocol, in doing so cadets are left to hide their identities in order to fulfil the values of a man. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue.’ Mandated in 1993, the policy regarding homosexuals within military services was instituted by the Clinton Administration. This policy allowed only closeted homosexuals and bisexuals to serve in the military whereas those open about their homosexuality were either barred or discharged from the forces, as those who demonstrated a tendency to engage in such acts were creating unacceptable risks to the good order, discipline, morale and the unit cohesion that is expected within the military. This strategy further enforces this idea of having to conform to this masculine system in order to do what is considered best for the armed forces. The set of commands used for the slogan insinuates a silencing towards the actions of and around homosexuals. The ‘Don’t Ask’ proImage 16: Protest against DADT in 1993.

vision authorised military officials to not ask about or require information that reveals a members sexual orientation in a way to sustain the acceptance of closeted homosexuals. In a similar sense, the ‘Don’t Tell’ required members to not claim their homosexuality, bisexuality or an indication of a tendency towards the engagement in homosexual activities as it may have resulted in a discharge from the military. A new provision was added to the policy much later stating, ‘Don’t Harass’, which ensured that the military would prohibit harassment or any violence towards gay service members. Although the policy was enforced to allow many homosexuals to serve in the armed forces, it still restricted many to fulfil their true identities and left masses expelled from the services. However, in 2011, the policy was repealed under the Obama Administration in order to allow openly gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals to serve in the military which caused a stir amongst

Image 17: People protesting against DADTin New York City, 2008.

those already serving. In a speech at the United States Naval Academy, General Powell stated, “The presence of homosexuals in the force would be detrimental to good order and discipline, for

Conforming to The Military Academy

a variety of reasons, principally relating around the issue of privacy.” (Schmitt, 1993).

atmosphere at cause Llarena to take a year off to contemplate whether it was the right

Powell insinuates the need for a barrier between homosexuals as well as between those

time to be a gay man attending the academy. However through a support system, he

who are heterosexual, similarly to the divide between straight males to females within

enrolled back into the academy to carry on his years there and graduating as a Second

the dorms and washing facilities. There is a slight innuendo on the possible relations

Lieutenant. Due to Obama’s repeal in 2011, those like Llarena were able to feel support-

between homosexuals, implying for a need of privacy which could also be mistaken for

ed through their time serving in the military, however this law had not addressed gender

hiding such activities.

identities and up until 2016, an estimated 15,000 transgender service members were banned from serving openly.

A navy spokesman also spoke up on this new issue, that was accepting homosexuals and bisexuals within the forces. Commander C. Quigley stated, “Homosexuals are no-

Cadets needed to conform to the military academy, some required more than others

toriously promiscuous”, without offering any evidence to this statement he continued

due to society’s influence on the military expectations. Those who did not conform, were

to announce that if gay men were allowed to express their sexual orientation openly

exposed within the cohesive unit, a slight difference of the uniform led to disciplinary

then washing in the shared showers would make heterosexuals have an “uncomfortable

action, more so for the difference that did not resemble the steriotypcial view of a hete-

feeling of someone watching” (Schmitt, 1993). However it could also be assumed that

reosexual male cadet. Many did not experience acceptance within the military, often

homosexuals express the same uneasy feelings.

leading to disbarment or choosing to leave out of fear of potential hate crime. Although the improvement through time, it can be said that traditional gender normativity is still

Despite the negative responses to the repeal of the policy, there are those in the military

deeply embedded within the military despite the changed policies.

services who voice the “little difference between serving among comrades who hide their homosexuality and those who are openly gay” (Schmitt, 1993). Graduate Second Lieutenant, Calvin Llarena, is a perfect example of this. During the time that the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t pursue’ was still in full effect, 17 year old Llarena had begged his parents to sign the enrolment papers to the academy. Despite their fears of their gay son being harmed in the military due to homophobia, they caved in which allowed Llarena to join. During his time at the academy, Llarena had felt unsafe. Another cadet had spoken up in class stating, “if I had one bullet and I had to choose between shooting the enemy and shooting a gay wingman, I’d kill the wingman first.” (Dawson, 2016) From this moment Llarena had felt at risk as he not only was hiding his homosexuality in the threat of being discharged from the academy but also for being physically assaulted due to homophobia. This sense of fear and unwelcoming

Conforming to The Military Academy

CONCLUSION

The gender normativity that is embedded within society has impacted the way we perceive and experience spaces. With society’s gaze upon us, the pressure to conform to societal expectations is heightened. As explored throughout the different chapters, we can start to understand the effects it has within both private and public spaces through the experiences of Edith Farnsworth in Mies’ design to female passengers on public transport and homosexuals within the military. The experiences discussed within these spaces reiterates Aaron Betsky’s thesis, “the man-made world is made by men, and women have had to make a place within them” (Betsky, 1995), as we acknowledge how women – or anyone else not conforming to the stereotypical view of a heterosexual man – have had to adapt to the societal standards of both the private and public sphere.

CONCLUSION.

As seen in Chapter One, Edith Farnsworth’s experience portrays the societal expectations and the gaze upon women in the 1950s of America. Through the analysis of the design, we are able to acknowledge the way gender and sexuality had influenced Mies’s intentions when designing the Farnsworth house. Mies had described how privacy was not a design issue as Farnsworth was an unmarried woman and the site was very secluded. However, the result of this led Farnsworth to conform to the societal gaze that came with the house, being exposed more than ever before. This experience reinforces Betsky’s idea as Farnsworth had to conform to the design of a man, having to change her behaviors within this space as others would invade her privacy to view the house. What was intended to be a secluded retreat from humanity, became the focal point of the gaze, which portrays the control that society had over women during those times. With the public sphere being predominately male, there is a sense of masculine control within public spaces that encourages a feminine vulnerability. Similar to the experience

Conclusion

of Farnsworth and feeling of being exposed under the gaze of others, women have

been forced through society’s views on gender, as well as class and race. Although there

been vulnerable to the molesting stares of men on public transport. Through Chapter

has been an improving change to gender norms and acceptance, we cannot erase the

Two, we were able to acknowledge the experiences within the Women-Only carriages

experiences that have be inflicted by the masculine and feminine stereotypes. This leads

on the trains in 19th century Britain and 21st century Tokyo. Although these spaces were

to question whether society’s expectations could be reconstructed through the design

considered a solution to prevent the sexual harassment cases on trains, the experiences

of the built environment. By encouraging diversity and inclusion within these spaces in

discussed insinuated that these spaces were more of a catalyst to the problem rather

order to influence how different bodies perceive them, it may also transform the way

than a forever solution. Its projected fear into society as it portrayed a sense of safety

we perceive others and encourage acceptance through the encounters within them. In

for women through the containment to single-sex spaces, as well as female passengers

the hopes that future little girls who want to play football, feel safe when doing so and

becoming ‘willing victims’ if they did not conform to these spaces, justifying the vile acts

not becoming a subject to the social expectations that will then influence the way they

of male predators. Being confined to the last carriage of the train, represents the idea of

associate themselves within these spaces.

exclusion of women in society, giving an insight into the gender normativity within the public realm. Comparably, Chapter Three evaluates the experiences within the military and the masculine standards that are upheld within the academy. Following the idea of masculine power and leadership, when the Colorado Springs Air Force Academy was built, women were not accommodated within the military, portraying this gender exclusion. However, once the military accepted females, they had to conform to the existing expectations of male cadets in order to maintain the service standards. Similar to the Women-Only carriages, if people did not conform to the academy’s calibre, they would stand out amongst the cohesive unit and therefore result in disciplinary action. The policy, DADT, regarding the acceptance of closeted homosexuals came into play which resulted into Second Lieutenant Llarena’s experience as a gay male cadet serving in the academy. Despite conforming to the rules, Llarena felt unsafe amongst other cadets due to their views and the possibility of being exposed for his sexuality. There is a sense of hiding a true identity and creating a façade that is in unison with the social expectations of the military, fearing the vulnerable exposure. Through these experiences, we start to see the effect that gender normativity has on these spaces and how people perceive them. Conforming to the built environment has 35

Conclusion

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