Gendered space: associations between urban environments and gender social categories
A substantial body of literature across various disciplines—such as feminist studies, humanistic geography, sociology, history, political philosophy, and urban design—has long illuminated the intricate relationship between urban spaces and masculinity. Despite the richness of this research, there is...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Acta Psychologica |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825004998 |
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| author | Simona Sacchi Giulio Faccenda Daniela Ruzzante Chiara Sparascio Federica Spaccatini |
| author_facet | Simona Sacchi Giulio Faccenda Daniela Ruzzante Chiara Sparascio Federica Spaccatini |
| author_sort | Simona Sacchi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A substantial body of literature across various disciplines—such as feminist studies, humanistic geography, sociology, history, political philosophy, and urban design—has long illuminated the intricate relationship between urban spaces and masculinity. Despite the richness of this research, there is a notable scarcity of psychological studies that empirically examine the cognitive associations between urban settings and masculinity. To fill this gap, across six studies (N = 802), the gendered perception of urban spaces was investigated through direct and indirect measures, hypothesizing that these settings are not perceived as neutral on the masculinity-femininity dimension. Our findings reveal that urban environments, such as streets and squares, are perceived as more suitable for men than for women (Studies 1a and 2), more strongly associated with masculinity than femininity (Study 1b), and imbued with more masculine than feminine traits (Study 3). Furthermore, Studies 4a and 4b analyze Instagram images of prominent influencers and advertisements from a leading newspaper, demonstrating that the association between urban spaces and masculinity is both reflected and reinforced by mass media. Finally, the implications of these findings for the development of inclusive cities were discussed, emphasizing the need to ensure equal rights to cities and participation for all citizens. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b0736997fdfd4db79f36a44db5a8738b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0001-6918 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Acta Psychologica |
| spelling | doaj-art-b0736997fdfd4db79f36a44db5a8738b2025-08-20T03:15:08ZengElsevierActa Psychologica0001-69182025-08-0125810518610.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105186Gendered space: associations between urban environments and gender social categoriesSimona Sacchi0Giulio Faccenda1Daniela Ruzzante2Chiara Sparascio3Federica Spaccatini4Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy; Correspondence author at: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, P.zza Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milan, Italy.Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, ItalyDepartment of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, ItalyDepartment of Political Sciences, University of Perugia, ItalyA substantial body of literature across various disciplines—such as feminist studies, humanistic geography, sociology, history, political philosophy, and urban design—has long illuminated the intricate relationship between urban spaces and masculinity. Despite the richness of this research, there is a notable scarcity of psychological studies that empirically examine the cognitive associations between urban settings and masculinity. To fill this gap, across six studies (N = 802), the gendered perception of urban spaces was investigated through direct and indirect measures, hypothesizing that these settings are not perceived as neutral on the masculinity-femininity dimension. Our findings reveal that urban environments, such as streets and squares, are perceived as more suitable for men than for women (Studies 1a and 2), more strongly associated with masculinity than femininity (Study 1b), and imbued with more masculine than feminine traits (Study 3). Furthermore, Studies 4a and 4b analyze Instagram images of prominent influencers and advertisements from a leading newspaper, demonstrating that the association between urban spaces and masculinity is both reflected and reinforced by mass media. Finally, the implications of these findings for the development of inclusive cities were discussed, emphasizing the need to ensure equal rights to cities and participation for all citizens.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825004998GenderUrban spaceStereotypesInclusive cities |
| spellingShingle | Simona Sacchi Giulio Faccenda Daniela Ruzzante Chiara Sparascio Federica Spaccatini Gendered space: associations between urban environments and gender social categories Acta Psychologica Gender Urban space Stereotypes Inclusive cities |
| title | Gendered space: associations between urban environments and gender social categories |
| title_full | Gendered space: associations between urban environments and gender social categories |
| title_fullStr | Gendered space: associations between urban environments and gender social categories |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gendered space: associations between urban environments and gender social categories |
| title_short | Gendered space: associations between urban environments and gender social categories |
| title_sort | gendered space associations between urban environments and gender social categories |
| topic | Gender Urban space Stereotypes Inclusive cities |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001691825004998 |
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