I Seminar of the Geography and Gender Group for the 2024-2025 Academic Year

Next Friday, November 8, the first seminar of the Geography and Gender Group for the 2024-2025 academic year will take place. The seminar will feature Cristina Rodríguez Reche, Postdoctoral Researcher Margarita Salas at UAB, and Gonzalo Carmona, PhD student in the Geography Program.

Cristina Rodríguez Reche, Postdoctoral Researcher Margarita Salas at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (INMIX UAB-GRITIM UPF)

“The impact of everyday morphophobia in Barcelona: Emotional experiences and resistance strategies among women who are daughters of immigrants and women in mixed couples”

In Spain, hostility and rejection towards the population of Maghrebi origin, particularly the Moroccan community, represent one of the main expressions of racism in the country. This process of racialization is conveyed through visible and stereotypical markers that perpetuate a colonial and essentialist category, as seen in the ongoing image of the "Moor." Through an approach to everyday racism, this contribution explores to what extent racist interactions, which generally occur in public spaces, influence two specific dimensions of the daily lives of racialized women: emotions and survival strategies. Based on 26 in-depth interviews with women who are daughters of immigrants and women in mixed couples, the research shows how emotions derived from these everyday encounters with racism significantly shape reactions and strategies to these experiences; from reactivity to ignoring, normalization, or even the use of humor. This work aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the link between racialized emotions and the agency against everyday racism.

Keywords: everyday racism, morphophobia, interactions, women, visibility, emotions.

Gonzalo Carmona, PhD student in the Geography Program (UAB)

“Proud Cities: Local Planning and Management with a Sexualities Perspective”

LGTBIQ+ people have a unique urban memory that brings with it a different way of life and city-making. Issues such as representation, presence in public and private spaces, and interrelationships are aspects that should be considered by the actors responsible for planning (Doan, 2015).

Barcelona has been a pioneer, both in Spain and at the European level, in municipal work and participation processes with a focus on sexualities (Coll-Planas and Cruells, 2013). Urban actions and planning policies in the city encompass areas ranging from health, education, sports, culture, tourism, mobility, and security, among many others. However, LGTBIQ+phobia remains the second most reported cause of discrimination, after racism and xenophobia. The main objective of this research is to analyze the correlation between the perception of greater access to the city for LGTBIQ+ people and the integration of their needs into urban management and territorial planning processes. On this first occasion, the goal is to present the research objectives, justification, and methodological proposal.

The organized activity is linked to the PhD in Geography.