Claiming the Right to the City: A Feminist Perspective on Experiences of Urban Spaces for Transgender Sex Workers

Date

2024-12

Author

Orhan, Rumeysa

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The concept and slogan "right to the city," as formulated by Lefebvre, advocates for a cohesive and empowering movement that aims to attain equitable allocation of resources and democratic rights within urban areas. Lefebvre elucidates the concept of the right to the city by emphasizing the entitlement to enter, engage in, and possess urban areas. Examining the notion of the right to the city through a feminist perspective, I concede and bolster feminist criticisms by contending that the prevailing patriarchal framework has not been sufficiently challenged. My research adopts a more inclusive approach by considering gendered practices of the right to the city in everyday life. In this context, tactics developed in all areas such as daily life, social environment and work life are analyzed. Employing a feminist approach, I conducted thorough interviews with 12 transgender women engaged in sex work and accompanied 7 individuals using the method of walking. Two primary themes were used to organize and discuss the data gathered from the interviews using thematic analysis. In my thesis, I examine the reflections of transgender sex workers' resistance in asserting their right to the city and the strategies formulated in spatial practice. I contend that spatial practices resistant to change contribute to the redefinition and appropriation of spaces. The strategies evident in all facets of transgender sex workers' lives, from their daily routines to their social interactions, are reflected in the intimate relationships they cultivate within their communities, the acceptance they receive from their neighborhoods, the security measures they adopt by engaging with clients via online platforms in their professional lives, and the sense of belonging they experience in their environments through their movements within those spaces. In this context, my thesis underscores that these encounters and tactics evolve into struggles concerning the right to the city and can facilitate empowerment through the assertion of a claim.

Subject Keywords

transgender sex workers, access to rights, urban space, the right to the city

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/112681

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis