I also thought that the geographies of fear article brought up some interesting points in regard to how men feel in the public sphere. I try to be smart when choosing where to walk in certain areas. Personally, I generally don't feel threatened in Athens because I feel I could defend myself against the average drunken aggressor I would meet on a weekend. Though, this may also be attributed to the familiarity of the area and the understanding that the population is primarily college students in this area.
This being said, I think that most men have a very different perception of fear in public spaces that they are not familiar with. I recall an experience I had with a friend in Phoenix over the summer a couple years back. We were going to Phoenix for a segment of the Southern Baptist Convention and stayed in the downtown area because we could use the transit to commute. I had a very different experience walking at night in Phoenix than I did walking back home in Ohio. During our time in Phoenix we decided to take the transit service to get something to eat before we went back to the hotel in another part of the city. It was late, we were tired, and we got the transit stops confused and ended up a long way from the hotel.
Using an app on my phone we then decided to leave the transit station and find something to eat in the surround neighborhoods. I soon realized that we had gotten lost and had been walking in a less than reputable neighborhood. Basically at the end of the day, we had wondered into an area that could be easily defined as the Hispanic part of the hood in Phoenix at night. Now, let me say that this was a very different experience than I was accustomed to from my time spent in my hometown Newark or Athens. I had no familiarity with the area or the people and I didn't know the social norms for that area. There were a lot more people out than I had expected. There were crowds socializing in parking lots or out in their yards, dogs were barking, people were playing music and drinking. I felt a little uncomfortable because I was the only black guy (along with my white friend) who were walking around an almost all Hispanic population.
All this being said, we had a very different perception of fear in the public sphere than in other places. Generally
I think it was the fear of the unknown that made us uncomfortable because we didn't know what to expect from these neighborhoods we trekking through attempting to find the transit.
This being said, I think that most men have a very different perception of fear in public spaces that they are not familiar with. I recall an experience I had with a friend in Phoenix over the summer a couple years back. We were going to Phoenix for a segment of the Southern Baptist Convention and stayed in the downtown area because we could use the transit to commute. I had a very different experience walking at night in Phoenix than I did walking back home in Ohio. During our time in Phoenix we decided to take the transit service to get something to eat before we went back to the hotel in another part of the city. It was late, we were tired, and we got the transit stops confused and ended up a long way from the hotel.
Using an app on my phone we then decided to leave the transit station and find something to eat in the surround neighborhoods. I soon realized that we had gotten lost and had been walking in a less than reputable neighborhood. Basically at the end of the day, we had wondered into an area that could be easily defined as the Hispanic part of the hood in Phoenix at night. Now, let me say that this was a very different experience than I was accustomed to from my time spent in my hometown Newark or Athens. I had no familiarity with the area or the people and I didn't know the social norms for that area. There were a lot more people out than I had expected. There were crowds socializing in parking lots or out in their yards, dogs were barking, people were playing music and drinking. I felt a little uncomfortable because I was the only black guy (along with my white friend) who were walking around an almost all Hispanic population.
All this being said, we had a very different perception of fear in the public sphere than in other places. Generally
It is interesting to think about the diffent ways that men and women experience fear. In class and in the articles that we read there was a clear distinction between men and women in that women feared being alone, while men felt more fear while they were in a group of people while in the public. The experience that you shared while you were in Pheonix would arguably be fearful for most people. It makes me wonder if Koskela and Brownlow would have different opinions on which gender would be 'more affraid'. Because in this case, based on Brownlow's article, men would be more fearful.
ReplyDeleteThis also made me think about the uses of public space. From the video in class that we watched, certain demographics were forced out of spaces and ended up hanging out on the streets. This clearly was problematic for the city. I wonder if residents in Pheonix are struggling to find public spaces in which they are able to utilise other than the streets.
I'm right there with you. I get nervous walking around downtown Minneapolis at night as well. I'll try to use well lit areas and avoid parking garages (almost impossible, by the way). When I read Brownlow's article on mens fear, I couldn't help but compare myself to his study group. There is no way I could be challenged to go to a place that I was afraid of without good reason. Maybe my testosterone isn't quite as ramped up as these guys. Or maybe it just knows better...
ReplyDeleteThis is kind of a good example of geographies of fear for both men and women, because I know I would not feel comfortable walking around in an area I was not familiar with, and most men would be too. I think that although both men and women could be fearful of this situation, they would have different types of fear in mind. Going off the article about men's fear, I think most men would be concerned about being jumped or getting into a fight, while women would fear some sort of sexual violence. However this situation seems like one that both genders could fear because being in an area where you are unfamiliar with surroundings makes you vulnerable, which is what fuels street violence.
ReplyDeleteMy brother was in a similar situation, he is teaching english in Russia and the streets are not particularly safe if you are not familiar with the area or know where you're going. So his friends would not let him walk alone anywhere, especially at night. This was because my brother was slightly unfamiliar with the area-and he was still learning Russian. This made him vulnerable, and a target for violence. When he told me about this I told him he could finally understand what it's like for me walking around at night- you're always alert of your surroundings because you expect something to happen if you are not.