Public Space and Market Rules
Ideal womanhood is being constantly redefined as it reproduces itself through daily practices. Some of these ideals are related to personality and others to physicality and are positioned within consumption models that support certain life styles. The market economy, which can turn everything into its own advantage, supports this production, and women who do not fit such models can be deemed marginal and exposed to othering. On another realm, taking place in the public sphere, where the ideal subject is still male in many cultures, makes it necessary for women to face various difficulties, especially for those in positions of power. How do everyday life and the public sphere, seeming simple and random but actually constructing a social reality, establish, maintain and impose norms of femininity? What difficulties do women face in public and working life, and how do they overcome these difficulties? By which mechanisms should women be protected in working life and how should they be supported? How do women who walk an untrodden path achieve success?