Why do powerful men receive the benefit of the doubt while others are forced to continually prove their legitimacy? Why is misogyny so often minimized, excused, or treated as a secondary concern across the political spectrum? And what does any of this have to do with cities, planning, and public space?
In this episode of Auto Asphyxiation, we explore the relationship between patriarchy, political respectability, and urban space through the work of Henri Lefebvre, Dolores Hayden, and Leslie Kern. Using recent political controversies and public figures, including Graham Platner, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and examples from New Jersey politics, such as Tom Kean Jr., we examine how institutions produce credibility, authority, and forgiveness differently for different people.
Drawing on Lefebvre's concept of The Production of Space, we argue that patriarchy is not simply an attitude or ideology. It is embedded in institutions, planning processes, political cultures, and even the built environment itself. From city halls to transportation systems, from campaign politics to public meetings, power shapes who is heard, who is believed, who is granted a second chance, and who is allowed to work in Manhattan with zero static after a 250 million dollar deficit.
Patriarchy isn't holding up men; it is holding up the infrastructure of power.
Topics include:
Henri Lefebvre and the production of social space
Patriarchy as infrastructure rather than individual prejudice
The politics of respectability and public forgiveness
Dolores Hayden's critique of gendered urban space
Leslie Kern's vision of the feminist city
Political legitimacy and elite power in New Jersey
The relationship between urbanism, credibility, and belonging
Why feminist urbanism is essential to democratic cities
A reading list!
Henri Lefebvre — The Production of Space
Henri Lefebvre — The Right to the City
Dolores Hayden — The Grand Domestic Revolution
Dolores Hayden — What Would a Non-Sexist City Be Like?
Leslie Kern — Feminist City
Doreen Massey — Space, Place and Gender
Iris Marion Young — Throwing Like a Girl
Produced SUB/URBAN Review, a project exploring sub/urbanism, feminist urbanism, law and political economy, transportation, planning, culture, and the hidden power structures that shape everyday life.
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