Architectural Space and the Oppression of Women in Mexican Houses

Abstract

Among the borders separating men and women, architecture occupies a primary role on the reproduction of inequalities and tensions, by assigning roles and users to different spaces. Often, the studies focus on inequalities between men and women in the field of architecture; others have chosen an historical approach to reveal the participation of women in the history of art and architecture. However, it is also important to explore the gender differences inhabiting architectural spaces. Architecture reproduces and reconfigures subjectivities through asymmetries in symbolic space. This paper introduces the discussion on women and the structures of domination expressed in contemporary architectural work and its material realm. Two examples of housing design in Mexico are reviewed and analyzed, pointing at different ways in which men and women think, use and represent their daily spaces. The analysis is structured on a double component: the lived space and the typology of the dwelling. Then, a series of questions are established about the relationships between dwelling, the way of thinking and living of women, as well as the hierarchical and patriarchal horizon with the one that designs and builds the domestic spaces of contemporary Mexico.