"The sex of the architecture 'Other' spaces and the 'Others' ”

Review of The sex of the architecture

“Other” spaces and the “Others”

Mary McLeod’s criticism of Michel Foucault and his architect-followers are harsh in this essay. I agreed her coherent argument that Foucault’s concept of the “other” is limited even though I respect Foucault’s attitude against power. However, I would like to criticize that McLeod’s idea as well as Foucault. I think her point is slanted and limited too.

Despite Foucault’s idea of heterotopia that is supposedly against power and to celebrate differences, McLeod pointed out that Foucault’s discussion of “other” spaces exclude women and children. From McLeod’s view Foucault seems to disregard not only women but also colonized society without conscious. I agreed the McLeod’s point of view that contemporary European and American architects and theorists, such as poststructuralist and deconstructivist, who have unconscious biases of Foucault, are blind to the other of the white western male culture. I think the fact of architecture conference could be one of the evidence. McLeod support Lefebvre and the followers feminists due to understanding daily life that is considered both of the what is include and exclude. McLeod also suggests to not exclude someone who doesn’t have architectural sophistication too.

However, in my opinion, McLeod also excluded something without conscious as well as Foucault. For instance, MacLeod’s discussion covers only people but not include animals or nature. MacLeod criticized Foucault and deconstructivist as a blind of non western male culture, but I can criticized MacLeod as a blind of non human world. 

In my opinion, even though the researcher or theorist pay attention on the way to categorize, they might exclude something without conscious.  I think any study of otherness is a little problematic. I think that the salient point is that awareness of the risks of the exclusion when we distinguish something from others.

McLeod, Mary. “”Other” Spaces and “Others””.  The sex of the architecture. ed.Agrest, Diana and Conway, Patricia and Weisman, Leslie. K. New York?: Harry N. Adrams, Inc., Publishers,1996: PP15-28.