The spatial imperative of subjectivity

t4 The Spatial lmperative of Subiectivity Elspeth ProbYn History o/Iirae, Stephcn Hawking lr his A Rricl:when a body movcs' it afl'ccts the *rit"t tttut the or space an<I iimc - and in tum in which ".i"niut" it-"iut ot tpo.. time afli'cts thc w-ay Thcrc's 16) acl'(1988: forccs indi.rrnou. "n,l comsomcthing so obvious aboul this lcanrcd ho$ consider truly il'we is' mcnt. Ob-vious, thal we inhabit sFace Can wc ever concelv!' oI uc oursclves outiidc rhc spacc we inhahit'l Do not levcl recogniz'e thl} differing aflbct-s upon und *ilhin us as wc move through ,o." play ihat "t different spacesl Profoundly' \'c expcrlcncc our postsubiectivities. the ways in which we arc In lerms tioned in regard to oursel\es as subJ€cts' bc-otherwise' it can llow oitottt spaie una tlmc. glvcn rhat our bodics cnd our sense ot ourselvcs irc in constant interaction uith how and whcrc we arc placed'l at In this chaptcr, I want to look morc closely we ho\ that arguc also how this happcns l will e*perienc"'oursclues is deeply slruclured by hiJtori".l pto".'tt". that makc us into subjccls l us want to d;aw out theoretical models that help ofsubformation ofthc complexity the to realize iectivitv. What is it that drags upon us as we moue ihtough space'l How are different spaccs historically formulated as conduclve to some and not others'l subiectivities --io ttrint about subjectivity in tenns ofspace is evident vet relatively recent Popular concepiions of our 'selves' commonly place them as a long somewhere deep within us Therc is i.n""v in *"tt.tn thinking that places thc core olnu?.iu.t ,t enclosed wiihin lf subjectivity has U".n foac"O away as a prisline entity untouched^ of uu ift" or't*ura Uoav. tpace too has a history contained and ai bounded blinc conceptualized As Eue Best clearly argues. the pervaslve rn"tuptto.i"ution of space in terms of the femi- nine consolidates this 'persistent desire to domcsticatc spacc' to bring it within a human horizon and, most importantly to "contain" it within this horizon' (1995: 183) Much of the rcscarch in culiural theory over thc last dccades hrs bccn dircctcd at rcthinking such conceptualizations. Thinking about subjectivity In terms-ol tnal soace ol'necessity reworks any conccptlon suhicclivity is htddcn away in privale reccsses whar wc irold most dcar. as an indtvidual inttlnui" porr"r.ion' is in fact a vcry public affair' Thinkinc about how spacc inleracts with subjecrr'thinking hoth tcrms' and lheir ii"iiu "i"il. relaiton to each othcr. Much of the most cxciting work on subjectlv- has been influenc,"d by li'minist pcrspectives F-cminists have raiscd crucicl qu('stions about the ilv ielations of power that pemreate how subjectivito tics are constructcd and cxpcrienccd Contrary the sr\! lhat Lr long htstory in westcm thou8hr bodv-as troublesomc and as an impcdimcnl to prorcason. fcminists have argued that the body working the about uiacr us wlttr key knowledgc of our subiectivitics. Thc body then bccomes a srte for th; production of knowledgc' feelings' und history. all ol'which drc central to "-o(ton, subiectivity. As wc'll sr'c. thc body cannot be thoi.tcht ofas a contained en((yi tr is in constant lvith oth"rs. This then provides thc basis "ontict for considering subjcctivity as a relational matter. io ,t"rt *ith a simple question: what is subgc( used iectivitv? Olien subjectivity and idcntity because is understandsble This interchangeably. we think;f o;rselves as having an identily' or sevcral. For the purposes of lhis chapter' how- t ut" "u"r, employ the term subjectivity and rarely identity. This is because I !lant to outlrnc the ifre'wav subteitivity rclates to the concepl of associated also is see' we'll as *fti".f,. iu-Ui..i wit-h the idea of ideotogy. 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Althusser opens the term to what he called 'the ideological State apparatuses'. These include the family, education. religion and most of the legal proccdures. Akin to Picne Bourdieu's (l9ll4) emphasis on class and education, Althusser's point was that we are informed at an early age by the work of these ideological apparatuses. One of his central arguments is that wc are 'interpellatcd' or 'hailed' by ideology. The classic example is the following scenario: you are walking on the street and a cop calls out 'hey, you'; seemingly we instinctively tum, 'what, me?' At that moment, says Althusser, we have gone from being an ordinary individual aud have become a subject ofand for the law. There are other scenarios that Althusser doesn't mention. For instance, if you are walking on the saeet and somcone wolf-whistles, and you tum, morc Iikely than not you are being interpellated as a ('pretty') woman. ln other words, we may be walking along unconcerned whether we are male or f'emale, black or white, straight or gay, when something happens that forces recognition of the fact that we are gendered, raced and sexed. To go back to the example of the policeman who hails you on the strcet: ifyou arc, say, young, black and male the chances are that the intemellation of the law will strike more d!'cply thcn iI you are white and middle class, ln the case of the latleryou may not even tecognize that you are being hailed. You may think that the apparatus o[ the law is there to serve you, not that you are a likely subject of its force. One of Althusser's key points is that ideas about who is a good or a bad subject are always preselt in our society. Given the huge range of experiences it is surprising how limited are the choices in terms ofgood and bad subjects. These notions are not ephemeral but are stitched into us through our everyday pmctices. As Althusser states, 'an ideology always exists in an apparatus and its practices. This existcnce is always mater- ial' (1971: 155). In this way we can begin to understand that the ideas that a society has about what is feminine or masculine, what is 'normal', etc. do not just seep into our heads; these ideas are reproduced over and over again through the practices defined by different apparatuscs, and then in our own pmctiaes. This is a more nuanced and much more pervasive view than was evident in the ways in which ideology was previously theodzed. We are subjected to the practices of different ideological apparatuses, and we become subjects in terms of them. This leads to Althusser's argument that there is 'no ideology cxcept by and in an ideology; thcre is no ideology cxcept by the subject and for thq subjecl' ( l97l: 160). Further, ideology has the furction (which defines it) of 'constituting' concrete individuals as sublects- Althusser also forcel'ully raised the f'act that we are all inlbrmcd by ideology. Indeed, we all arc l, ideology. and to a certain extent the very t-act of being within ideology is comfoning. Althusser uses the example of religion as a per. t'ectly hermetic system which gives its believers absolution. In giving yourselfto God you are not only assured of a placc in the afterlife; herc on carth you will know your position. In Althusser's terms, you are a subjcct in as much as you are subjected to a higher subiect, God. This higler subject guarantees your exislcnce: 'Peace be with you.' This structurc of subject fbrmation ls also cornmon outside religion. For example, in l2-step progmmmes modelled on AA, individuals give themselves over to a 'higher power' which then secures a subjectivity as 'a recovering alcoholic'. The l2-step syslem is a very simple ideological structure which allows us to see the process of subjection and subjectivity- Thc individual says to the group, 'Hi, my name is Fred, and I'm an alcoholic.' Thcre is no last name because th€ system is not interested in othcr subjectivities you may bring to the group. The u holc process is armed ur verbalizing. ullering and outing one subjectivity. This is secured by the prornise that ifyou do aniculatc this subjectivity you can also give over to the highcr subject all your other problems and worries. And that you will not drink. Ideological structures work on the concept ofmutual recognition that by subjecting yourself to a higher subject, you exist. To recap the points ofthis system ofideological recognition, we can state: ldeology interpellatcs individuals as subjects. Through practices they enact their subjection to the higher subject. This entails that therc is a mutual recosnition of subjecls and higher subjeet. rhe sribjecrs' recognition ofeach other, and finally the sub. ject's recognition of him,rherself. In tum, this provides the absolute guarantee that everything is so, and that on the condition that the subjects recognize what th€y are and behave accordingly, everything will be alright: 'Amen, so be it-' The result ofthis process is that most individuals enact themselves as'good' subjects. What emerges from this argument is that the category of the subject is absolutely central at the same p :suoDstu.scld.r leln)lnl Pue se8en8ucl ssoroe raqtgl Inq 'cuolB scuclaltrp lBnxos ,{q tou qinoql lnoqs suou -sonb r3PBoJq ol Iull sesec lEnpl^lpul aseql '4\oq .laprsuoc ol c^ou eql aletu a^\ Jl uelPllq:t Joq qll,4\ 9ul33aq ueulo^r e .lo 'e/(a lcelq u qllM lcells cul uo ueuo^l e.1o lq8rs eql xq PclulladJalut Sureq uorst,rua osle plnor a,t'cctlod aql {q laerls aqt uo pelu;ladretur ro pclreq Sureq-Jo uolld!JscP s.rassnqllv ol uJnlcl of ,leillllod eql pu€ lEuos -ic<I eqt, raqtaSot Suuq leql saon:rrad lecnt;od ,(ue^od aql lo 'eJualol^ cllscruop ut pelnlrlsuoc lf,cfqns e, uo solluJ] ,(I,rqcafqns Surlulql loJ lEsodold .sn nE'l eC '.aJrl lpor, ur oP lls o/$ ltrsJ ut se'rcpueS q8norql PJo c^lec sitEredo leql auo'lcatqnsJo pull ^tau -uof, ol st alt)f,efqo loH .lepuil8. qlt,$ .,{3olo -cpr. 3ur)eldal tuaurnfftP s,l3ssnqllVJo ldoJs ^q J(l xll^llJ..rfqns Jo lueur Jq) spuctxe sllarn€'l slro^'\ -aSe8ue slr Jo suEeu xq ^llelueu8PunJ 8ul{ol cqs'lessnqllv oslP slslsul ,{floloapt leql 1og ,{8oloapt1o tuocql s.ressnqllv uo selel lnJ -asn lsou eqt Jo ouo sl .rapuaS Jo salSolouqsel' ropua8 -ro suo|l€luoseidet lPJnllnJ lstulueJ ss esJo^lp se oq uec saf,ttaurd-o.lclur osoql soalne'I .p lol (sz :1i1l6l) 'slrhrllso^ur 3uue^1odur ro li^1od Jo scrlnos PUD ,{ruoie qloq proJle tPql scrurxstsar ,{Iep puD sJrl trIop lnoqe lucun8ls (8861) .sll3lne'l le)ttrlod-olrlur tqt ul :uo!lulu,serd:11-Jlcs l.^!l aql le Ploq ilel pul' liiJJit c^uq op leqt suuol pisod cq uer lrpuc3Jo uolltruNuor lu' -ri.lJrp ! to slur.l 5qt teg [rJo-5ceds eql ur] cr.q sr l[l] Jo {o tteid ,(eql pue ,{lr,\rlrcfqnsJo -rsr^ lou rteds aql, 'Jjo-aleds aql, saqutsop aqs aJaq^r uotlelonb 3ut^iolloJ eql JeplsuoJ saslnoc 3(ue4 eql aplslno ar? l€ql eJll -slp tuBururop Jo lo stJedse aquJsJp ol 'Ilo-aJeds aql 'tlucl Jllctu --JurJ Sutzuocql .aJl-1' 'fuoeql Pue .eJll' uaa^\leq $lDnqs 'puEtl raqlo eql uo 'stlarns'l tuElu uals^s B se ,{Soloapl ,4\oq le^el .c uo^\ le.lreloaql E t€ sequcssP ressnqllv 'lnd xldtut5 se,rlcs -rno Io sasuas lno uodn aprulul leql slueluou dn s^\orqt agrl ,(epfua,re lsql lu€tue8pel,4\ou)lie oql sl .sllarn€'I ap elll slueun;rB tsrulual pu€ rassnqtlv uaa/{qaq sesueraltlP luupodut aql 1o euo xlasrJaJd lng Surqrntsrp aq p1no,n f8oloept aplslno pu? aptsut Eureq leql aas uec a,Tr lqEtrle sem Surqtfua,ra lDql asues E JoJ pt^\olle urelsfs eqt urqlt,n 3ut,r11 leql sem,{Eoloaptlo uottducsep s.rassnqllv Jo suollueluoc eql Jo auo- lEql eJar JAi eseJaf lJs.rlsqe lou rre satlt,T tlrefqns leql Eapl f,lseq aql ruor; paacord a,t 'satlt,rtlcafqns Jo suoll8.ln8u (92 :8861) .alqrst^ saluu au?{ alqeEJut lnq au?{ aql ul elq uorJ eql leq^\ I sesn sllelnP'I aO ,(lt,rtlrafqns otui a"uelua lectt,rt e qtlr' sn septlold .p -uo,t\-pl€q oslE a.l0 eiP Kiql :satlllue s,{e$19 patcnpuot rlrtr'!,, suo fugssrJeu E lnq'uolltsod elqe iltoluorun-ue st srql leql sanale sualne'l ec -uoo leuEds aql lnoqP lulod l?IJruc eql ol unla.l olraqJsel poo8, e Sulaq ur palsarut,{1daap eq feu I qSnoqt ua,ta 'lJafqns ,peq, E sB uels^s IeuorleJnpe 3ql fq Pelelladrolul eq PIno,t\ rno .;o erqoqdotuoq 1 ueru ,(e? E ss 'eJnllnl -slxatuo.) luJlaJ1lp ul ferauri eqt ui^tD '(ll^tl I -cefqns xtu Jo syud 1aa1 1;tm sseluees sq lou f lqeqord llt^r seul^tlJafqns {tu'reqcBal looqrs elEur ,{sB e (uE I Jl 'af,uelsul to1 sellt,rtlrefqns Surlcrguor eltnb sarult.tuos llqequt Pue pal€lleo s,(ea,r aq1 erouSt uer slql 'pclueul -3e{ s€,(lt^rtJelqns lls lnoqe Ilel ol alqeuolqsq .uroJaq seq lt eltqA lenpt^lpul Juo,{q lou uEql -retul eJs a^\ uauo aJoru 'pal3Bua cJE ,(lt^ntalqns Jo seraqds lutql ol pcsn eq uol tuoeql s.Dssnqtlv lgql lceJ eql st lno ,\\eJp ol luB^r uo q8no4l I teqr,r'lueunSre slEJlllul s.lleH t.uo^l l eltq/l^ arueJeJJrp qll^1 l^ll sn slel ^rolloJ snoutrJ (9861) s.lleH_ul ressnqllv'lueuralels 'f:oaqt srq tuo.t1 pa^\og uollelaPlsuof, lueuootul reqtouV sl?npt^tpul se sn ol lueuodult aru uonJefqns Jo seotlcerd tno ul dn pltnq a.a\ teqt s.Dr^ncefqns aql leql sl lutod luepodlut eq1 tuarsJJrP lY\oq lnoqP 'ruals,(s re8re; e o1 uotlelal ut ploq e^r uolllso{r '(01 :336l) .uorsl^ Palq -nop leqt Jo 'uorst^tP leql Jo 'ltnd ploJ-o^\r lEql trefqns r ueq| arou Sutqlou sr ,{11ea-r leuos:ed pue atetunut ,{lesualul uaes ,(Bru leq^\ 'sp.lo^\ eplsul etull etuss ,(8o1oapr aql eplslno eql le s! lgql auo sl tustu[u3J ulqll^\, 'saniJe 3qs lcafqns eq1 Jo s8ul4o^\ ?ql Jo ere^\E lou op qJrqfr s,{e,,i\ ul sr^lcsusql ..aJuauadxa.. uBa uaru Sutusau pug seapl Jo tulBel eql ul leql SnOIJSUO' pUB JO SnOtf,SUOJ 'OS EUIaq JO jo 'Jepuai P,l ^toloepl s seJnpord 'rapua8 1o sr oq^i trafqns aql Jo ,(pnls l€ctluc aql ro 'tusturueJ leql sanB$ sria-rne1 ap',{3o1oapr ulqtl^\ se JlJstultl lzruSoJaJ louu?J oq^\,{Eoloapr ur lcefqns s.ressnqlly o1 .{:erluoc 1ng sactlcerd.lo .ssaf,old Pu€ lrnpold' eql sE,(lt^lt.efqns uo slsEqdue aql Jseq eA\ uI83B ereH (l :8861) .PelJtparluoc s€ papl^lp qJnu f3o1oap1 os tou puB'aldttlmu lnq pautun lou'aloJeraql lcefqns s :suoDslal 'lsnxes se lle^1 s9 'ssglc Pue acer jo Sutcuauedxa eql ul pelapuat-uc lcafqns e5z art^trttlans lo i.qlo u1 .rott"ntt, tJpJ rql JoJ tunoJJe san8re aq uaqn UBntS leeJ ltaql ol puodsalor ,(;;n1 ol moq sr uolqold lqt. tzqt erolu lt slnd (9861) tleH q.rq^\ ut ^Usal. (991 :lt6l).a^rl,{eql suontPuoc uouelar fueulSerut leer aql ol slenplltPul asoql3o aql lnq 'slenpl^lPut Jo aJualstxe oql ua^on q.lq^r suonuler l?ai aql Jo uals^s aql lou, sluas -ardar ,(3o1oapt 'suucl s.lassnqllv ul stuals^s ,(lrleel ;ecrSoloapr 1ua:agrp ol pel€fqns ?uleqJo u1 sa,rlas os e,vr Surop pa,{olls eIe ol eql la8ioJ -Jno lJafqns eA{ :uotsstuqns rno 1o Suudaccc pur ea{ ore ar11 snonStque st ll leql eurtl 3^l-Lwfdl,ll 'rv[vds aHr PLACTNG SUBTECTtVtTtES of large numbers of single mothers, we can understand what it means to bc inside and outside the ideology of gender. At these moments. we may go from being 'just' an individual to recognizing ourselves as ggndgred subjects. To take another example, ifyou are not heterosexual (and maybe even ifyou are), the dominant representation of romance and family will at times irritate. At some level, the very fbct ofbeing at odds with culture is experienced like a visceral schism. In this case, chances are that your subjectivity will be keenly experienced as diff'ercnt from others. There is no doubt that this moment of misrecognition - when you do not feel hailed by dominant ideologies - can be painful. But it is also crucial to the production ofanother subjectivity, one that may be in the 'spaces-olf ofmainstream culture. De Lauretis provides us with a critical framework for thinking about subjectivities and space. She is very clear that when she speaks of the movement back and lbrth, she does 'not mean a movement fiom one space to another beyond it. or outside' (1988: 25). In other words, she does not want us to think that there is ideology and there is 'reality', as if the latter were not inextricably caught with the former. Subjectivity is a process that is continually in play with'reality' and 'ideology', dominant representations and our own self-representations. And as de Lauretis puts it, we all live with. and indeed within. 'the tension of contradiction, multiplicity, and heteronomy' (1988: 26). Clearly then, subjectivity is not a given but rather a process and a production. It is also undeniable that the sites and spaces of its production are centlal. In other words, the space and place we inhabit produce us. It follows too that how we inhabit those spaces is an interactive al'fair. A jointly authored article published a few years ago argued that 'space is gendered and that space is sexed ... The rcverse has also been shown: gender, sex and sexuality are all "spaced"' (Bell et al., 1994: 3l-2). Their article presents a complex argument about sexual practices and space. ln tum, the joumal which published it (Gender Place and Culturc'y asked several people to respond, including myself'. I won't rchash my argument more than I already have, but I want to replay an example I used in order to extend the idea about subjectivity and space as interactive. Consider this scene: your average type of pub somewhere {for somc reason. a placc in Kitislano. Vancouver comes to mind), the men are propped up on the bar. shoulder to shoulder, prcsenring a solid front of space gendered as masculine; they are men s men but cer- lainly nol gay. A single woman enters and she checked ovcr, chatrcd up or ignorcd. And iflhat is space fecls stultifying. it is bccausc she is walka g Inro srrrrri upon discursive strah that producc masculinc snaoc as the ground of di ffercnlialion and the grounds lbr thcrr appropriation ofwomen as Woman (which rs to s.y. tl man-made gender). (Probyn. I994: 80) What I wanted to raise hcrc were the ways in which space presses against our bodies, and of necessity touches at our sub.jectivities. One ofthe important implications of thinking in terms of subjectivity rather than identity is that even in banal examples like this, thc denseness, historicity and structural complexity become clcar. There are ofcourse lots ofspaces that seem to be nalurall) masculine or leminine. For instancc. the kitchen is held to be the woman's domain. and in our daily lives we may oflen cxperience this: from mothers cooking for families, to parties where the girls gather in the kitchen to talk. Historically, pubs have been designated as men's places. In westem cultures until recently women were excluded either by law or by custom from entering the pub. tn Quebec there are signs on the doors ofbrasseries that state: 'Women welcome.' This is because by law they now have to lct women in. But it is a powerful reminder of how recent that change is. In Australia, women did not go to bars, and Aboriginal Australians were prohibi{ed un(il recently. lndeed lherc are stories about how, during the Vietnam War, black American soldiers were allowed into bars and pubs, whilst Aboriginals were not allowed. The idea that the pub is a male-gendered space is nor a myth but an actual historical construction. So when I ask what happens when a woman goes into a bar, it is clear that she must confront at some level the fact that 'she does not belons here'. She will occupy that space quite differi ently from the men who are 'propped up on the bar'. She will be made to feel her gender subjectivity, whereas men may bc ablc to fbrget that their subjectivities are also constmcted through the interyellation of gender. This is a small example. but it may help us examinc morc closely how as individuals we inhabit space. and how space inhabits us. ln the example of the pub, I also wanted to bring out the ways that sexuality is highlighrcd in certain spaces. Ifthe space ofthe pub is gendered as masculine, in my example it was also struc- tured by heterosexuality. We can again ask thc question of what happens when a woman goes into a bar, and complicate it by adding the l'act that she is going to meet hcr girlfriend. In this scenario, not only will the women feel their gender, but they will also be made to feel their difference: that they are not heterosexual. This space reveals that pans of their subjectivities are (6661) ,s33e{S .{elre^ag sV duls raenb eqt 3o qt3uel aqt suru qcrq^\ teeJls proJxo Jo sleq ,(Bt or$ a1enlrqeq ,{Duanbarg mou uetuo,,'r tqiterls '€crE eql ol lseJ leenb elrugep B sI eleql ellqld '1oo1 o1 auoc slq8rers Jo spuesnoqtJo speryunq puB 'pelq8llq8lq st eceds eql .;o .sseu,{e3, aql 'lualuotu l€qt lV sleou snolnqEJ Jo epe,rcd e?nq iqt roJ pesolJ rr? sleals eqt serg rpre4 ,{e9 pue uerqsal ,{eup,{g eq} Suunp re^aaoH sqnls pue sJ?q 'slu9lnstsal roJ se s JeIueJo aqlJo auo ,^\ou sr qcrq,n tsrnq8ullru6 Jo eJoc reanb u,tolumop s.faspfs ur pauaddeq seq ef,uelsw.IoJ sIqI ',(e3 i(1uo se '.p0zlleuuou, euoceq uses eq ol eseec puB pe1lec aq lq8rur req,,n ol Su1eadde euroJeq ^eql ul !5s snoJluue^pB eJou {eql re^a^\oq eluu pu€ SunoX e flleturou 'slq8lers .,{lpuauJ ,{BA, esoql'sseco.rd [EnpBJB e q seaJ? sqnlc pu€ sr€q 'stlap 's?JBc alll senuo^ IEI .uruoc lce.qs OS[9,{eql 'sEaJE sselJ-Sullrot\ ,(lsnot,rerd pue ,{l1c rauut Jo ueuo alrnb 'uoDecgqua8 pozllueue8 e3o gud paulelf, eJB seDlcJo euoreq uaql puE s.resnb ^q pue ser^neoua(u suEd '$sBc aruos ul 'ser8elalls go 11nser aq1are.{eq1 qunqc aqtro d11ue1 e{tJo seJBds tugulsureur JI0 tou aloJalaql JrE stJeds Donb ,!teu ,{1ar'qeler aseql .eraq eteds eJ?s, Suuepep salSueq {urd qlr^\ su8ts gods ltqt pue ssrllc Jo saro. reenb eull l€ql sJBq eql - sec€ld fpueJl pue ueqrn ur essc aql aq ol spuel slql JO aceds .raenb Suulq"qq slq8tuqs Jo secuslsur Euqs.letur ueeq o^Bq eJeqt {llueceg i1celq no( ore 'altq,t 1ou u.no,{ g1 ueenb e no,( ap :seu Jo lErx-tou no,( 3JV;foq e ro esrnoc Ff qlLA peCeJ aJg e,{{ lulod qc?e l€ puv cle 'uorlrsod Prcos 'ss€lJ s€ naar sE ,{lrlenxes pu€ IaPuaS"{}Icluqle Jo snxeu eql le pelenlrs s,(e,rp ere selll^Dcafqns ino .reenb Jo lq8reJls 'ueur io ueuro^\ ,{luo Je^au oJe el[ 'ro1ce; euo o1 pru8ar ur ,{Ielos pelqqsuoc sr setlt -^ltafqns rno Jo auou .smoc JO .{ral I tnq elu€u ol 'Erpeu aql ',{tBI eql 'uor8llel 'uonBtnP. ',{lltueJ aqlJo sesnlEmdd€ eql ol plluec osF sI ll aJIIJo spodse IIe sopeNed ,qhquuuouo.pFq lo -BUrq JO IAS XeldrUOC B se olqeu8rsse llussseaou paJcprsuor ,t\ou st^t 'lspuaB alEureJ e ro rleu e ol alqeuirsse ,{lu€ssarau sE^\ aqs lo eq sB tsnf uosed uc^!fl.&a^e qrrq.,tt,{q Surddeur-pFo^\ lrr{ lsqy'A iql su^\ tunlu.. ctlt Jo tunl rql Luo{ ^\ru :slenpt,rtput Sutzt.roB -eleo pu€ Surpuelslepsn Jo ,{8,'!d ,\{au € ees ot u6eq a,,r\',firuuor qlueelauru eqlJo pua aql uorg ',(carces puu e8pal,,nourl Jo uorlJnrsuoJ s.,(talcos uretse^i ol leJlueJ sr tlsolt Jr.lt Jo eln8u eql 1eq1 panSu dlluenbole seq >1ct,t3peg,{1s.1oso1 e^A .tasol. eql ur. pelf,rulsuos sB,$ sanl^rltefqns rraql Jo lredse luucgru8ts e 'seJlsep lenxgs Jlaql rprq or epeu ueeq a\Eq suelqsrl pue s{ei JI 'spnpr^rpur lsSuorup pu€ uee^\leq e8?IurlJo apou e se pue ,{1t,,'urafqns pnpt,rtput jo puno:8 e.re feql € se qloq pelElnf,rueal 'rouustu srql uJ flrcglceds^llenurluoc lerodrual pue len1xa1 -uoc rreql ur pafelder eJ? lsql slueuala uoruurot eq ,{Eur enql qcrq,a ur sfear eql ol seJqse8 osle aldurexe srql seqr,rrlcafqns lueseJd urqllt petEc -uqur aruoceq sscncr:d lsud qctqm ur s,{e,,n aqt azruSocar ot peeu osle a^|ara,\\ srcNalo.td .{ljee pu"lsJepun u€. e,,t\ ',tl^tlJefqns esoql e^Erq ^\oqul mouoq s,ll€,{\auols uI paueu SuunoJo surel srBq aJa ajaqt puo^l eql ra^o II€ ,toN seJuele -Jed lsnxes reql epr-q ol pesruei or{^1 sFnpt^Ipul snoa8EJnoJ ,{q pelleru ere^\ pensue leql slou eqJ 'sacBds ,{eB ol p:egs: uI prp uouo ,{oqt se 'll peprcJ ecrlod aqt 6961 ul s^\oqs uaanb Serp o1 euoq s",t,\ a8€lJr^ qcr^\ueeJD s.Iro^ ,\\oN ut leq eql 'Suqselelu sr lle,\\euots lnq'ullslc a8rel Xlre,to ue aq ,{BuI luaue,lotu ,{eB ruaporu e;o Sutu -ur8aq eqt se JBq lle,,{euols aql ts eceld loo} lsql slou eql pelrpeJc e,req ,{ueur 'ecuelsul JoJ eulu -rural Jo eullnJseu parapua8 esoqt se esuap so ,Golsrq I pu? flrxelduroc e suq aceds.;o Suueenb ll eqJ (tZ[ :1661) ,flllBnxes sI srqt suoutpuot teql tuauelo euo leql pue et€ds qtl^ suoqEleJ lue -JoJJrp a^?q uatuo,,.r pu€ uetu (..3utuuoJuoc-uou,, ,ll?rJedso puE) luereJJrp leql estuSooal, puB Jo JJo-eceds eql ur Jlesrno,{ 1cru1suoc o1 st reanb ,(1rl?nxasoJeleq Jo eq ol 'suuel .sneJnel ap ,(3o1oepr s,arqln:r rno Surlragap .{llenuttooc .;o suorlcurlsrp rapue8 eql puo{eq lei ol ,!\ols erend ,&oeql lerntlnt puu .{qdurSoe8 lno pelulod seq Ilag pr^ec sV reenb epeu! uaeq seq pql aceds trq€qur uauo^\ pue uetu lq8leJts ,,[oq lnoq€ {u!qt osl€ uur e,4 'Je^e^'\oH eceds SuIuUep uo peq seq ,{lll?nxosolaFq Jo ,{8o1oept sql teqt lq6ta.{ uoJJ. reeqs aql elslcaJdde uec e,,i\ 'uouElladJ.tul IeJrJotsrq -oreleq ^llpnxas Jno 'lualnr lecl8oloept us sV {telf,os ul Jo,fuoeqt s,ressnqllv Jo sulJel uI l€nxasoJ.loq ro -oruoq .IJqlte 3q 3/$ lPql sltepueu lt arnSu e se 'setecrpur lueunAl€ s,Ict,ttSpas se 're^oetol^I 'lno ro ur :suorldo omt ,(po rog s,trolp tt q8noqlle 'uorsseldxe pqeds Eurlserelut u€ sI lesolc eqJ (Z :066 I ) -c.uals rx. Puo$ed Jo spodsE lenxes tsee; ,{lqrsuelso oql uo^r roJ '3ul -snJuoo re^a^roq 'suorlerrldlur Jo lltu ss^\ teql Auuapl pazuBurq I ',{rlenxes-oiolsq e Jo -ouloq ? ot lle^\ (0tt aql azrseqdruere,ro ol pleq st ll :t661) .ar€ds dn e{el pu€ epudolddB ot pe,rolle ars dnoJ8 e s€ sFnxesorepq ur suort?lar l€nxesoralaq jo 'eceds uoqauasordar pue uorsseJdxa srqtJo llnseJ p sV, 'penBJB ,{lDalc sBq eurluele1 IIrC sy ,{?oloept puu fuotslq ssoJce os Surop uu ,(aql nq 'u^\o reql eceds leql eleul ,(Eru ,(eqt lualxa ue o1 'ece1d.;o lno Suteq Jo 'ueujo^\ u€ru Jo uoqrsoddo ,ftelueuelduoc p ur peceld Aureq louJo '.uaulo,\\ reqlo a{!1, Ssleq los Jo 3'e luere-Ulp 8ulaq.;o uorlelar e ut dn lqaner l'rt^tJ.t3fans lo l^ltvuSdl{l 'lvlrvds !HJ- PLACTNG SUBJECT|VtTtES research in Manchester's gay village shows, the attraction for straight women is that they do not have to endure the pickup routines of stmight bars. Also they appreciate the style of the gay male clientele. ln Skeggs'research it became apparent that this straight invasion into queer space has repercussions on the queemess of identified queer space. In an interesting way, she argues that gender retums to trouble sexuality. This is espe- cially so in regard to the relations between straight and gay women in queer space. Simply put, straight women may be atuacted to gay men in terms ofa non-threatening relationship that is still based in a gendered opposition of sameother. However, their relation to lesbians is quite different. To be blunt, lesbians are more threatening because they exist in a same-same yet different relationship to straight women. Heterosexual women may worry that they could be the object of desire for lesbians in ways that are impossible or at least less likely in their rclationships with gay men. Conversely, Skeggs has also found that lesbians don't like the ways in which straight women appropriate space. There is an erasure ofthe fact oflesbians within queer space, as the spaca gets structured in terms of gay men to gay men, and straight women to gay men. This we need to conceptualize subjectivities in terms ofnot just the multiple positions we all hold, but how they get configured across space and places. In terms ofthc above discussion ofsexuality and space, it's important noi to conclude that there are hermetic spaces designated as queer and others as stmight. There are places which act as nodes, or meeting points, but it's not as ifwe take offan identity as lesbian once wc venture beyond them. As Geraldine Pratt argues, 'there is a deep suspicion about mapping cultures onto places, because multiple cultures inevitably inhabit a and identities single place (think ofthe mul- tiple identities performed under the roof of a family home)' (1998: 27). One ofthe imponant aspects ofPratt's work is the way she navigates between the excesses of that the toilets get filled with straight women doing their hair and makeup, and looking seeing subjectivity as completely fragmented and errant, and a perspective that would place subjectivity as a side-effect ofplace. Pratt's research has focused on how migrant workers in Nonh America inhabit their working spaces. In this sense, the workplace 'not only enable[s] but exact[s] the performance of panicular gender, class, and racial identities' (1998: 28). In other research Pran studied women employed in so-called non-skilled white-collar jobs. She argues that 'these women literally move through class locations during the day. At theirjobs they are working class, at home they are mid{le class' (1998: 34). What close ethnographic work reveals is the fact that most individuals seek to anchor their senses of them- askance at the lesbians. Given the fact that lesbians have historically found it much more difficult than gay men io assert their sexuality outside ofprivate spheres. tbis limits the free expression of sex in space. For instance, while public sex is accepted practice amongst gay men, what would the straight girls do if a couple of lesbians were having sex in the toilets? selves. The women in Pratt's study obviously have an investment in both their jobs and their middle-class identities at home. Against much of the highly abshacted theoretical work on fragmentary, floating subjectivities, this retums us to the idea thai we may be hailed by different ideological apparatuses, but we also scek some coherence even in the face of multiple interpellations. plays out in little but significant ways: for instance, Skeggs' lesbian informants complained This may seem like a trivial question but it does go to the heart ofhow space and subjectivity mutually interaca. One of the defining divisions in our culture is that of private versus public space. ln general, women have been only recently allowed to incorporate public space into of sell Where one gets to do what with whom is therefore an important point. While it is often argued that the public penetrates more and more into the private, it is less common thefu sense to hear how individuals' subjectivilies are affected by the movement into the public or con- versely into the private. In Kathy Ferguson's (1993) tems, this is why it is important to think about the mobility ofsubjects. She states that she has 'chosen the term mobile ralher than mulliple to avoid the implication of movement from one stable resting place' (1993: 158). ln other words, Speaking in terms of our increasingly multi- cultural and differeniiated living conditions, Pratt states: 'lt seems to me that efforts ... are not advanced by representations that conceive of cities as blured, chaotic, borderless places.' I would add that our efforts to understand subjectivities also need to avoid celebrating subjectivity and identity as amorphous and as essentially boundless. Rather, as Pratt puts it, 'one must understand the multiple processes of boundary construction in order to disrupt them' (1998: 44). At first sight this emphasis on boundaries seems to go against the prevalent direction in cultural geography that insists on the chaotic on the fact that 'there is always an element of "chaos" in space' (Massey, 1999: 284). Doreen Massey, one of the more influential writers on space, defines this chaos as resulting uaruo,4r allq^\ lstll tustulual Jo suuoJ otuos uqlr^\ ef,uaNtsul snolsaz,{lJa^o ue fq Pa?nP -ord ueaq a^Eq ,(eru stqt 'ued ul .au, punoje ;errds ,(;ssalpua ol pauoas qctq,n ',(1t,rtleaf -qns yo uortsenb aqt uo e^tlcedsJed Surz9Ala^€u e uror3 ,(e,ne la8 ot pelue^\ I ,(llEnba ,(,1 tus oq^\ puE eqs sr oql\, Jo uottsanb aqt ,(q dn 1as uorsual e^ucnpord € P3uoIsIAua I {Jol\ ol san -r,ul)efqns lno 'laldsqc srql Jo lxeluoc eql ul 'ro aouauadxe tnd tq8tur a,n ,noq q8norqt lutqt ot I aul pe,a\olls lI'aurD eqt tV ,$sttes:a8uo1 ^€^rsuonsanb Surprn8 eql ua^a ,8ulql Poo8, B ou ees I op loN Jlas,{tu flrsseceu3o sr stqt fq^\ ^iou azruSocer ra8uol ou PIno^\ I qJ!q^\ uI eq plno^\ acsds l?ql araq/( atns lou tu.l 'fldtuts ellnd 'ssauuado 3o 111s11ulldo aqt uo ool sallar uorlBlnuuoJ srqt t€ql lulql ,,t\oo ^lt^Baq l lnq 'spro^! aclN (t9l :f661 'u,tqord) .llcsxul asruSocal leiuol ou ,{elu I J.rcrl^\ rJeds I :pruolst,ruc cq uer srllr;rqrssod crcqm $sds e olu! sn suado,{las!raJd suollsulSeu!lno a3e30o oI uorNenb ? qtns Iq peolueren8 !q uB. scllllod p|,q ro poo8 e reqlta le(o ro '5aue^Pe ul sle^lsus cql ,,r{otq am leqr ,0uteuat ,{ue dnlslP ol lue^| I .il ue oq^r PUP ;.qs sl oq^r, Jo suorsuet aql utql!^r leods ol 8ul/Ol ul :uorpeuuoc 4utq1 o1 i(e^{ auo ss uollsenb ?ur^\olloJ aqr pesod l'looq,{ljee uE ul sJaqlo ol uorlBleJ ur salll^n?efqns ezllendacuoc pue {ulq'l ol aoq Jo suotlsenb sladr.uoc osp U lJo^\eursg {llnJtJjlpleaqs leuoDalauatu u€ ur a^ll ol ^\oqJooueuaJs slqJ eql Jo auos etu JoJ $JnldEc (1002'u,{qord) aru speau I 'lnd i(llunl8 ecuelol^ pazllelteJ tullledde pu€'suouular i0olsrtl E Jo ellq^\ e urqll^\ usll€Jlsnv-uou e dqderSoat 3o aqs ueql arou req paeu uolNenb eql a^lo^ul ^lollJo ged esnecaq 8uvr1oaa,(u;o 'etu roJ pultu laq uo s8ultll luel s3Jlas,(u lJnPuoa ol sessacord e,rqcafqns sJalsr8al lr -Jodul arou peq aqs :luere.Ulpul req ga1 Xlarns Jelunocua llBurs Jno 'JoqunJ Pale slql uo{ Eursnoq purEuoqv aql Jo ece! 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Jo spull leq^\ i,Jeqlo qree ol uoDsler ut pauo0lsod setPoq ele ,4roH, :slse aqs 1Z9Z :6661) uoll€ler Jo eJeds e eul8eurl sr uorlsenb 3ql'selu^r asou usllllC sV ol ^roq ',(el sr sJeqlo ol saultulxo.td puP- suonBlarrelut 'suoneleJ Jo Pepr aql 'slunoJJs Augru ul sv '(z6z:6661 ',(assEl/{) ,saqto lueJeJJlp qll,4\ suollelar lno Jo eJnleu eql puB 'sellquaPl Jo sseupalele-rialul aql 'errury oql Jo s$uuedo aql, Jo uonu8ocal sJurlodJo uorldeJuoc rno ul I4suI ol st leo8 eqJ 'scrlllod lnoq€ {ulql a^\ 8ul,[euor uI 8un[utql ^\oq ro eql raqluJ alor 'acads Jo sJltllod aql lurl€ds Jo Eurlurqlar ur lerluec ,(asse11 ro3 st uondnlstp loJ Iertuelod eql pue sseuesool aql uo slseqdurJ eql ('82 :6661) 'pcdnlsrp ,{lluer.qur oslD st'spuc asool 8u!A?q se lls^l se 'uoql 'eagds lJsslslut 'sclull -euos 'poB s^se^uatul sauolaefPl] pullslP Jo requnu e {lesr.cld qrrq^\ ur suoll n8[uo. lPJlqdel8mff Jo ralJsrsrlt lettxopersd usuo aqt 'suotl?r?dos lauoplcrs esoql 'suolllsodqxnl crue$uoddeq .soqt uro{ lo 3^tlvu:ldxl 'lvllvds 3Hr PLACTNG SUBTECTIVITIES should not attempt to speak for'the oiher'. By now, hopefully, it is common sense that I cannot speak for an amorphous group, be it the other, or women. or whomsoever. It also has to be said that I am no longer interested in the ins and outs of 'Who am l?' The broad brush depiction will do fine: white, female, relatively privileged, etc. I am, however, more than ever committed io thinking about how subjectivities can be thought of in terms of being both structured aod porous, spatially determined, temporally heavy. This is why in this chapter I have retumed to the basics of Althusset's structural theory of ideology. I suppose I could have equally deployed theories such as Bourdieu's who develops a notion of how social structures are incorporated. However there is something about the immediacy ofAlthusser's desc ptions that attract me. They point to the multidimensional nature of how we produce ourselves, as well as how we live with difference. Subjectivity is a question ofsameness and difference, the near and the far. My preferred way of thinking about a wide range of issues is in terms of 'relations of proximity'. Dictionaries define'proximity' as closeness:'neamess in space, time, etc.' lt is related to the Latin p,'oxim!.r, 'nearest'. Personally 'relations of proximity' bring to mind the near and the far, what cannot be rendeted near, \ryhat is always produced as close. Furthermore, relations of prox- imity highlight the facts of connection or dis/connection. The term'connection' has become widely used, and belongs in much the same frame as'interrelation' or Massey's notion of 'arrangements-in-relation-to-each other'. Clearly her use ofthe hyphen emphasizes the connection between each term, and refers to possible connections amongst individuals. For me, this remains an imponant point even if, as I mentioned, I now want more ground upon which to base ideas of the types of connection that are possible. But logically, if we agree that we need to think about po.rrir,le connections, then we must also addrcss the conditioru that will make them impossible, or at least difficult to enact. ln adjoining connection and dis/connection, I want to render centml the facts that disable or render connection hard. These are the hard 'facts of life': conditions of inequality and noncommensurability due to economic power, class, social privilege, history, etc. They also retum us to the ways in which we are interpellated differently: that we are hailed by different ideologies in different ways, and that the institutions that maintain relations of how we are hailed pose blocks to possible connections. In other words, subjectivities are differentially itrformed. Emphasizing the absolute spatial nature of the of subjectivity should also remind us ofwhere and how we are interpellated. Instead of plastering over those differences, we need to stop and address them. Sometimes that stopping will result in silence. And that slash between dis/ processes connection should indicate a pause - a moment of non-recognition that may be expressed as simply as 'wow, you really are different from me'. The point is not to stay caught in that moment of bewilderment or enchantment: that would only reinscribe difference as an exotic, fetishized or denied quality. In other words, this would be to replay the noGsame as 'the other', which is to posit a relation ofdubious connection. Nor is it to legitimate tuming away, closing down in the face of non-connection. That would be to replay the history ofhow racialized, classed and other relations have tended to produce hermetic subjects. In Susan Willis' description, this would be a situation wherein 'To somc extent, all [whites] are reified subjects, against whom it is impossrble for blacks to mount passiooate. self-affirming resistance or retaliation' (1989: 174). Conversely, it also renders it impossible for whites to have any connection to blacks except those of guilt, denial or retaliation. This is not the type of dis/connection I am thinking of, and cannot be because it is effectively no connection at all. ln terms of bringing together the different points of this chapter, in retuming to Althusserian I have attempted to sketch out the ways in which space always informs, limits and produces subjectivity. Equally subjectivity connects with space, and it reaniculates certarn historical definitions ofspace. ln this sense, neither theory space nor subjectivity is free-floating: they are mutually interdependent and complexly structured entities. The interest in retuming to the ideological underpinnings of the very notion of ihe subject is that it tums attention to the ways in which subjectivities are produced under very particular circumstances. This then can lead the way to rethinking the questions that press upon us: from the ways that globalization testructures every aspect ofour lives. and interconnects us in visceral and symbolic ways with those 'far off', to the 'spaces-off in which we perform new modes of subjectivity and reaniculate the limits of gender, sex, race and class. We need to think of subjeclivity as an unwieldy, continually contestable and affi rmable basis for living in the world. Subjectivities are then simply a changing ensemble of openings and closings, points of contact and points which repel contact. ln space, we orient ourselves and are oriented. That is the spatial imperative of subjectivities. '.{lrlod :.8puqurt.) rl'l{'J .tilh.tBeD unuttH (sPc).ir0s dtl'tld puD uilllv uqol 'trrssen C ur ',s:)|lrtod lo s:lteds, (6661) (l 'I.ssul l .it I t6 'ssc-ld,{lrsli^run slrStnu :I:rr^\sulug ^\iN unruo PDII .til uu!!414 ptlD ,itodqJ ut$)atD uo !.i,ssi :lptotl u^\O.o'O t'rt rtl.) 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