IRIGARAYAN FLUIDITY AS A PERSPECTIVE IN READING THE SPATIALITY OF INDONESIAN URBAN LIMINAL

• Main Author: Suryadini, Widya
• Format: Dissertations
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Arsitektur
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/40046
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Urban space is a cultural manifestation of various ideas from its inhabitants. Spatiality, as a dialectical dialogue between people and the space they inhabit, creates a configuration of space in its physical material sense, as well as the concept on how space is socially constructed. Spatiality as a form of geocriticism is an abstraction of the complicated interaction that take place in space. Since spatiality was developed by gendered subjects, spatiality became gendered in return. From feminist’s point of view, space thus became a crucial apparatus in gender construction. To read gender construction in space required gender-sensitive perspective. One particular perspective come to the fore, that is Irigarayan fluidity. It is a philosophical concept originating from the feminine philosophy of Luce Irigaray, a prominent french feminist thinker. Her main project was to criticize the exclusion of women from history of philosophy, psychoanalytic theory and structural linguistic, which lead to her effort of challenging the traditional conceptions of gender, self, and body. Irigarayan fluidity is a concept that refers to: (1) a different kind of fluid and flexible logic of the feminine that oppose the structured and rigid binary of the masculine; (2) the continual becoming of a female (and male) subject who explore differences and newness; (3) a different kind of language that is poetic, questioning, playful, elusive, with an extensive use of imagery, in order to keep fluid thinking and boundaries; and (4) the creative performance of other studies beyond Irigaray or beyond sexual differences. In this research, fluidity has a direct consequences for architecture, urban spaces, and urban experience. Within a spatial context, fluidity encompasses private spaces to social spaces in which fluid exchange is possible. Fluidity also refers to the ambiguous nature of a particular spatial configuration called liminal spaces. It is a kind of space used as threshold, or served as a transitional passage between alternative states or social roles, that follow the concept of liminality as developed by van Gennep and then Turner in anthropology. As threshold, liminal spaces hold an unlimited possibilities. It is an intersection, as well as a center. It is where the next step is about to begin, as well as a no-where. This research aims to perform a philosophical-theoretical exploration on the concept of fluidity within the context of Indonesia’s contemporary urban liminal spaces. The objectives of the research are as follows: (1) to examine the possibility of using Irigarayan fluidity as a perspective in reading the spatiality of contemporary urban spaces, using various issues in Indonesia liminal spaces as illustrations; (2) to perform a critical review on the concept of Irigarayan fluidity as a perspective in reading the spatiality of Indonesian urban liminal spaces. The exploration employs critical hermeneutics as a method to interpret the concept of fluidity within the context of urban liminal spaces. The analysis uses illustrative method in which relevant cases are selected to illustrate the concept under scrutiny. The discussion revolves around themes as follows: (1) the flexible interiority of liminal spaces; (2) the porosity of demarcation: gate, wall, and fences; (3) difference and tolerance: the issue of third bodies; (4) absent spaces: informality in space and spatiality; (5) transformative experience in a journey. The last part of this dissertation engages a critical reflection on the concept of Irigarayan fluidity within spatial settings, specifically in the context of Indonesian urban liminal spaces. It discusses the contribution, prospects, strengths, as well as limitations of the concept when utilized as a perpective of hermeneutical interpretation toward urban spaces in a specific context as in Indonesian urban settings. At the end of this part, an After Thought serves as a concluding remark.