A Journey Through Dong Neighborhood
Unboxing power relationships behind spaces for social cohesion at senior neighborhood after decay
Unboxing power relationships behind spaces for social cohesion at senior neighborhood after decay
The actual application of the policy is weak, but it has forced the Mahjong rooms at Dong to make dramatic changes. Although the buildings with Mahjong rooms are generally mixed-use, without a clear function division, owners often set a boundary to separate their living areas apart from public spaces. The application of the new rule had broken that boundary as the owners had to move some of the Mahjong room into living areas to avoid regulations. While authorities had claimed more rights over the private spaces in Dong Street, the elderly had been situated in family-like environments accidently. Among the 12 interviewed Mahjong rooms, 10 of them are offering home-made meals at lunch and dinner time in their own kitchen and dining room. Of the 23 interviewed seniors, 20 of them had had meals at the mahjong room, all of which agreed that this is strengthening their feeling of belonging to the Dong Community.
-from section 1
Nevertheless, the success of securing Mahjong rooms has its cost. Literature has suggested that the use of domestic space is a way of arming male identity (Chapman 2004). The downward shifting status of power of the senior males, which resulted from body (Hearn 2007), work (Phillipson 1999) and social connections (Davidson, Daly and Arber 2003), may encourage them to gain more power at home as compensation. This suggests that the retired male seniors are now claiming more power at home from the female members of the family. Mahjong room is shown by the interview to be occupied more often by the male residents (19 out of 26), but the home itself is a workplace for many of the local females (Domosh and Seager 2001). Making domestic space stretching to Mahjong rooms may impose additional work for the female domestic workers, of which many of them are carrying out domestic work for free and as a duty to the family. In conclusion, the gain of spaces for social cohesion is at the cost of exchanging domesticity for publicity and exchanging female claim to domestic spaces for a male claim to domestic space.
-from section 2.
-
Chapman, Tony. 2004 Gender and Domestic Life: Changing Practices in Families and Households. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Davidson, Kate, Tom Daly, and Sara Arber. 2003. “Older Men, Social Integration and Organisational Activities.” Social Policy and Society 2 2: 81 89
Domosh, M. and Seager, J. 2001. Putting Women in Place: Feminist Geographers Make Sense of the World, New York: Guildford Press.
Hearn, Je. 2007. “Men, Ageing and Power: Can Men’s Ageing Challenge Patriarchy?” Genusmaraton: Mittsveriges Genusforskare På Frammarch, Östersund, 71 79
Phillipson, Chris. 1999. “The Social Construction of retirement: Perspectives from Critical Theory and Political Economy.” In Critical Gerontolo'y. Perspectives from Political and Moral Economy, edited by Meredith Minkler and Carroll Estes. 315 327.
-from section 1
Nevertheless, the success of securing Mahjong rooms has its cost. Literature has suggested that the use of domestic space is a way of arming male identity (Chapman 2004). The downward shifting status of power of the senior males, which resulted from body (Hearn 2007), work (Phillipson 1999) and social connections (Davidson, Daly and Arber 2003), may encourage them to gain more power at home as compensation. This suggests that the retired male seniors are now claiming more power at home from the female members of the family. Mahjong room is shown by the interview to be occupied more often by the male residents (19 out of 26), but the home itself is a workplace for many of the local females (Domosh and Seager 2001). Making domestic space stretching to Mahjong rooms may impose additional work for the female domestic workers, of which many of them are carrying out domestic work for free and as a duty to the family. In conclusion, the gain of spaces for social cohesion is at the cost of exchanging domesticity for publicity and exchanging female claim to domestic spaces for a male claim to domestic space.
-from section 2.
-
Chapman, Tony. 2004 Gender and Domestic Life: Changing Practices in Families and Households. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Davidson, Kate, Tom Daly, and Sara Arber. 2003. “Older Men, Social Integration and Organisational Activities.” Social Policy and Society 2 2: 81 89
Domosh, M. and Seager, J. 2001. Putting Women in Place: Feminist Geographers Make Sense of the World, New York: Guildford Press.
Hearn, Je. 2007. “Men, Ageing and Power: Can Men’s Ageing Challenge Patriarchy?” Genusmaraton: Mittsveriges Genusforskare På Frammarch, Östersund, 71 79
Phillipson, Chris. 1999. “The Social Construction of retirement: Perspectives from Critical Theory and Political Economy.” In Critical Gerontolo'y. Perspectives from Political and Moral Economy, edited by Meredith Minkler and Carroll Estes. 315 327.