The Gender and Sexuality Research Network invites you to the first seminar of the year, which will take place this Thursday, 22nd of October, 1-2pm in the Graduate School G09. No registration needed; all welcome! This session will be led by Chris Foye of Real Estate Planning: “Why is housing more important to female satisfaction than male satisfaction?”
Abstract: This paper is concerned with how the relationship between housing and well-being varies according to gender. By examining the German Socio-Economic Panel study (GSOEP), it demonstrates that women attach greater importance to housing as a life domain than men. Hypotheses are advanced that attribute this gender gap to gender differences in i) personality and ii) values. First, personality. By referring to a wide range of literatures including affordances, social role theory, and gendered meanings of home, the paper proposes that women rely more on housing as a source of identity and social status, whilst men rely on housing as a source of economic status. Second, values. It is demonstrated that there is strong relationship between the women and the home in societal discourse leading women to assume the aesthetics and atmosphere of the home as their responsibility. Further examination of the GSOEP suggests gender differences in both personality and values may mediate gender differences in the subjective importance of housing.
About us: we are an interdisciplinary research group based at the University of Reading. Our aim is to provide a supportive and collaborative space for those whose work or interests include aspects of gender, sexuality and the body to share ideas and stimulate discussion across disciplines. We warmly welcome academics and students from any department who would like to get involved. Meetings involve a twenty minute paper followed by a Q&A.
Contacts:
Sophie Payne rf011651@reading.ac.uk
Maria Tomlinson: m.k.tomlinson@pgr.reading.ac.uk
