CYBERSPACE : A GENDERED SPACE?

Abstract

Cyberspace, the new frontier where the possibilities for furthering one's interests are endless. Whatever one's age, ethnic group or gender, cyberspace offers the opportunity to be connected to the world at large, the freedom to talk to people from around the globe, the luxury of having information at one's fingertips. Without having to come into physical contact with other users, without facing the prospect of personal injury and violence, without needing to overcome the barriers of distance and geographical barriers-users of this new technology have equal opportunities to utilise this technology to their best advantage ... or do they? This thesis examines the extent to which social processes impinge on the ability of individuals to optimally make use of cyberspace and its resources. More specifically it investigates this issue from the standpoint of a gender analysis of space. Coming from the premise that the spatial analysis of gender issues in the real world is a helpful and viable way to conduct such a study, this thesis enquires into the experiences and attitudes of men and women in Singapore in conventional geographical space and cyberspace, arguing that gender roles and relations restrict women in their negotiation of the electronic landscape in a similar manner to that occurring in the real world. This leads to a gendering of cyberspace where men enjoy greater freedom to move around and better control over cyberspace relative to their female counterparts. To achieve its aims, this thesis investigates variables that affect men and women's access to cyberspace itself, like their proficiency with computers and their confidence levels regarding using this type of technology, as well as those that affect their access to spaces within the Internet. Issues of sexual harassment, verbal intimidation and the types of precautions undertaken by the respective genders which serve to restrict their movements in cyberspace come under scrutiny. By and large it was found that men and women's experiences in this seemingly neutral space differed due to their gender, with men enjoying a greater freedom to traverse the spaces in this landscape, relatively free from the types of problems that women face, and without having to take the kinds of precautions that women are compelled to do so. In the final analysis, cyberspace turned out to be a gendered space, where opportunities are not equal for men and women.