Alone Among Others: The Positive Solitude of Women in Public Spaces Through the Lens of the Ethics of Care
A feminist inquiry into the positive solitude of women in urban public spaces, through the lens of the ethics of care
Existing research on the solitude of women in cities primarily addresses perceived risks, such as street harassment, which often causes women to feel insecure when they are alone in public spaces. Thus, the positive loneliness experienced by women in urban areas remains an underexplored area of research. This lack of positive representations of feminine solitude limits our understanding of public spaces as environments that can foster women’s autonomy and well-being. Indeed, initially perceived negatively due to its association with social isolation, solitude remains a dimension rarely considered in the design of public spaces.
For women, their experience of solitude is part of a gendered division between the public and private spheres, which has historically confined women to the domestic sphere and contributed to the marginalization of their solitary presence in public spaces. As a result, social norms have long regarded women alone in the city as deviant or abnormal figures. By mobilizing the feminist theory of the ethics of care, this thesis adopts a perspective that considers positive feminine solitude as a form of self-care experienced in urban settings.
It is based on 10 semi-structured interviews with women who regularly spend time alone in public spaces in Montreal. These interviews reveal that their positive solitude is experienced mainly in urban parks, which are perceived as spaces that offer both a sense of control over the environment and a form of co-presence made possible by the presence of others. The findings of this research invite us to reimagine the city through a more inclusive, safe and empathetic lens, where care and well-being emerge from green spaces and the quality of urban design, and where women can access a solitude that is chosen and positive.
Keywords: positive solitude; feminine solitude; women; public space; parks; ethics of care.
