This reminds of castles, and castles are for women right?
There was one thing on my mind before I decided that architecture was the path I wanted to pursue.
Is architecture feminine?
At the young age of 15, that was a question that I thought about a lot. And when I say feminine, I meant for women. I wanted to fit into the career that I belonged to. I was a women in a world of academics and I had never heard of the likes of female architects. So if you had asked me, a quick google search would lead me to people like Le Corbusier or Frank Lloyd Wright.
That wasn’t comforting at all. Would I find myself in a male-dominated arena?
I think you can get consumed with the idea that something isn’t for you if you can resonate with what is already out there. And Zaha Hadid wasn’t what I could resonate to.
So yes, it was hard to look up for inspiration when there wasn’t an architect I could relate to, let alone know.
Can architecture even be gendered?
Naive little me, thought I can’t do architecture. Why? Afterall in my head it was a STEM subject and in most cases things like engineering is more male-centred environments, so it wouldn’t be right for me.
WRONG.
There is nothing about architecture that is feminine. Heck, there is nothing gendered about architecture, Period. What was comforting, walking into the first class I ever had in first year, I was surrounded by women just like myself, in fact it may have been more women than men in the room. Somehow, just being able to be in a room of individuals that are here for the same reason was a relief. Architecture is for all shapes, ethnicities, educational background, race but especially creative ability.
What had this taught me? That to think of a career path as male or female dominated was doing a disservice to what it was all about. The labels we put on things only simplify what they actually are. And let me tell you, architecture was nothing but complicated. So then why don’t we hear the stories of successful women in architecture? Deeply rooted in ideology, we live in a world where it simply is easier to be anything but a white heterosexual male, let alone all the other labels we carry as baggages, parts of our identities.
It just opens the floor for debate, and that this is deeply rooted problem in the way we think, no?
To put it simply, which this topic is anything but, we aren’t or rather we shouldn’t look at it as a place we belong to because we recognise or find familiarity in. Instead, we must learn to choose careers based on your ability but most importantly, your interests whether creative or otherwise.
Although this discussion is far from over, I think it is fair to say that there is so much room for thinking and questioning the existing frameworks of what we deem suitable for ourselves no matter what!
A little disclaimer:
Everything that is mentioned above, is anecdotal and of my own thoughts, nothing I say is factual unless stated otherwise. This is a topic that I think we need to discuss more about, because there is still so much that I have yet to touch upon.
Let me know what you think about this topic. I have yet to learn more about this so feel free to share your thoughts I’d love to know what you think or some stories you may have to share!