Essay Example on Home as a relationship between dwellers and their dwelling places

Dovey 1985 p 33 defines home as an emotionally based and meaningful relationship between dwellers and their dwelling places However Rodeschini et al 2011 suggest that home is a contested concept and the meanings of home are continually attributed by people who live in it The meanings of home also draw upon the epistemological and theoretical choices that we use to analyse this concept This annotated bibliography will explore the different meanings of home from the views of different authors by firstly looking at home as an order identity and a nest After that home as a space with or without privacy will be focused on Then home as a patriarchal and reproductive space will be examined from the feminist perspective Moreover the meaning of home for gay men and lesbians will be explored by looking at the non normative homes Lastly home as a site of resistance for black people will be discussed Dovey suggests home is the centre of our spatial world warmth and security He also views home as a territory with symbolic and physical boundaries that gives dwellers control and privacy within home These concepts are further explained with regards to home as order and home as identity by Dovey In addition he argues that the home environment is shaped by the experiences of the past and the familiarity and home can be emotional because it takes its identity from the people who live in it 

For instance as an act that contains the essence of femininity such as care and love cooking is mostly carried out by women at home Bowlby et al Moreover Domosh 1998 argues that the conventional notion of home being a place of reproduction only need to be also reconsidered She suggests that some economic activities such as sewing and quilting are carrying out by many women in their home and the masculinist concept of home as a private reproductive space should be challenged Although the meanings of home have been widely addressed by the feminist approach Bowlby et al point out that the notion of home should be also considered through the perspective of same sex household and so can the duality of gender be challenged Valentine et al 2003 explored the meanings of home for gay and lesbian young people after coming out and suggest that the home could be either a place in which they face violence and insults or a place where self confidence and self esteem can build up within depending on the reactions of their parents Valentine et al summarise it as Families can both hurt and heal p 496 In addition Valentine et al argue that young gay men and lesbians often choose to conceal their sexuality when living in the family home because home is considered as a place of heteronormative socialisation which agrees with the conceptualisation of home above provided by Bowlby et al However Gorman Murray 2007 argues instead of a place of concealment home can be used by gay man and lesbians to reinforce their sexual identities relationships and communities home Australian Geographer 38 2 pp 195 213 

From Bowlby et al s perspective home is regarded as a place where women were oppressed and exploited so the outcome of it is always negative However as a black woman hooks 1990 has a completely different thinking of the meanings of home and the role of women within home She argues that by making homes black women are constructing a space where black people could feel safe where they can affirm their black identity and where they can restore their lost dignity in a public racist world The comparative review of texts produced by Valentine 2001 and Blunt and Dowling 2006 provide a comprehensive summary of the concept of meanings of home Blunt and Dowling also explain how the meanings of home have been explored by Marxists and Humanists In conclusion the meaning of home is a contested concept and it is constantly attributed by the personal experiences of the dwellers which could intersect with sex age and race It could be either positive or negative depending on the epistemological and theoretical choices that we use to analyse it It is important to understand the sophisticated meanings of home when carrying out empirical research on current housing crisis and research on urban planning Unpacking the meanings of home is also useful to understanding people s everyday life