A Home of “Her” Own Home Formation and Lived Experience of Single Women
Date Issued
2006
Date
2006
Author(s)
Chen, Jou-Yin
DOI
zh-TW
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to explore the meaning of ‘her’ home among single women through home formation and their lived experiences. Previous research on home formation in Taiwan did not pay much attention to single women. This research fills the gap by showing the housing situations and experiences before as well as after their departure from parental home.
In general, the concept of home is associated with a meaningful and relaxed place that a person feels attached to. This kind of description neglects the unequal power relationship among family members, and ignores the true lives of women in the patriarchal family. In this paper, the absence of control in self and space dimensions, or the helplessness when facing conflicts between Mother and Sisters-in law or self and Sisters-in law is the key reason for single women to leave parental home. The resistance and assistance they encountered while departure from home not only reflect the rigid position of ‘daughter’, but also reinforce traditional marital family with patriarchal and gender power. Self-determined home-leaving action needs to challenge patriarchal structure with strategies. However, while leaving parental home, single women will take a risk to fall into homeless. In order to find a house for living alone, they must rely on economic resources and additional insurance to lead self-oriented life. However, if they want to form their own home, they must get rid of traditional gender framework, and inhabit without ‘men’.
An opportunity to weaken feminity is also found in domestic space among single women who live alone. In the home without solid gender label, single women become the owner and the planner for their first time. In this circumstance, they will never be an essentialized or physicalized women and truly feel ‘at home’.
Subjects
單身女人
離家行動
成家行動
家空間
家的意義
single women
home leaving
home formation
living space
meaning of home
Type
thesis
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