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The Vanishing: Looking for Friendships in Traditional Neighbouring

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The Public Life of Friendship

Part of the book series: Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life ((PSFL))

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Abstract

This chapter argues that, because of the way the debates have been framed, it is hard to see the contribution friendship makes to community, neighbour relations and the public sphere, particularly in the case of women. Much of the research has involved working-class communities, with a predominant focus on men to the exclusion of connections between women. And yet, women have always joined with other women, as friends and neighbours, and also by organizing politically to change some aspect of society. By confining women to isolation and invisibility within the private domestic sphere, much of the debate around community and neighbourhood has failed to recognize the public significance of what women do within their neighbourhood networks. The chapter concludes with a call to rethink community.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    First established in the UK in 1975, a locality was designated as a Housing Action Area by a local authority (usually in large urban areas such as London, Birmingham, etc.), based on poor living conditions and substandard housing. Government resources were provided to address disadvantage by improving the housing in these areas.

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  1. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Jennifer Wilkinson

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  1. Jennifer Wilkinson
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Correspondence to Jennifer Wilkinson .

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Wilkinson, J. (2019). The Vanishing: Looking for Friendships in Traditional Neighbouring. In: The Public Life of Friendship . Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Family and Intimate Life. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03161-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03161-9_7

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-03160-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-03161-9

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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