Topics in contemporary feminist ggeography

Abstract

The appearance of feminist studies in geography in the 1970's was an academic expression of the women's movement. Like that movement, the research has expanded and become more complex in the question it asks and the theoretical approaches it employs, reflecting both new insights and the changes that have occurred in women's lives in the intervening period. Several years ago, when feminist research in geography was relatively new, we wrote a critique urging human geographers to include within their purview all of humanity, not simply the male half. Such research has now developed in many areas of the discipline using various paradigms that we consider complementary, through we also note that changes are occcurring in emphases. Early work incorporating women in North American geographic studies focused, for example, on male-female differences in travel behavior, migration, action space and environmental cognition, socio-economic status, and quality of life. Although research on gender differences continues as a vigorous thread of enquiry, scholars are increasingly less reliant on broad structural explanations and more inclined to focus on women as agents or actors, seeking self-knowledge, devising strategies, and making decisions. Our purpose in this paper is to illustrate recent feminist studies in geography that center on women as active agents. We draw examples from research in both the human-environment and spatial traditions of the discipline. We will also pay attention o diversity among women, for it geographic research is to contribute to empowerment, it must also systematically consider women of different cultural and class backgrounds across the life span.