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‘copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)A WALK WITH TWO WOMEN:
GENDER, VISION AND
BELONGING IN MILAN, ITALY
Cristina Moretti
1s es the destination, than finding out who you tre walking with
an interview withthe author, April 2008)CRISTINA MORETTI
immigrants and South Italians. The following incident from my field notes
is a telling example:
‘man telly me how she has moved to Milan from Pustia
vse she was eighteen yeas od (It ‘born ia
bverhears our conversation. She
Spee not bor here! (November 26,
amigration from Southern Italy was one of a series of changes which
ansformed Milan in the past 60 years (Gee Foot, 2001). In the 1950s Milan
Grperienced a “miracle”: a boom of economic and industrial growth which
‘was supposed to usher Ttaly into full modernity. Ami
Immigrants from the South as well as from nearby regions
peripheries of the city. Yet the
Industries were closing, leaving huge abandoned areas in
the city, At the same time, another wave of immigrants,
North Africa, then also from Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America,
started to arrive in Milan, making urban spaces both more diverse and more
contested.
"As Milan de-industrialized and switched to a tertiary economy, design
‘became two of the most important industries in Milan. As Foot
“Armani, Prada and Versace replaced Falck, Breda and Pi
{once the biggest industries] as the economic bosses of the city” (Foot, 2001,
fe sheer economic power of the fashion industry and its
cal scene (see Foot, 2001) resulted in Milan becoming “
contributed to a change in employment structure. More and more people in
Milan today are casual, “atypical” workers who do not have proper work
‘contracts. This inckides many young people employed p:
immigrants in the service industry, and also many workers
jndustry, This is one of the aspects feeding Milan's emergent
ihe the printed media and almost all of the people I met kept recounting,
housing is very expensive and hard to find, the middle classes are running
out of savings, and more and more people, especially elderly women, are
becoming impoverished.
“This chapter results from six months of fieldwork in Milan in 2004/2005,
uring which I asked women! of different ages, classes, and nationalities fo
Salk ibe through “their” city and to help me produce a visual representation
A Walk With Two Women: Gender, Vision and Belonging in Milan, laly 55
itineraries. | was interested explc 4
in exploring how fiferent women
partiipatein publi pace, and how they go about cling a presence nthe
inelades the way they ws, approprne, and joerey though
Spc Low, 0 thea hy ae a ge hon (ero
; Dines, 2002), and the landscapes they create and participate in
cna
® berween the iaerases wee surprising and ium
My guides eect» diferent point of vew not only on ely ates and place
and on who uses them, but also on the stories linked to places (se ‘Guano,
isl, the very practice of looking and being seen mas part of women's
Parpton it pahic space sad could ve fo Megat =
efi yA a Gh el Bt
Sey yi ny i nk mater of what
be sem aad by whom, fad of wich ages ofthe cy pet to cota
tly ernie As ot toy can eter he edo vito in the
sane ne, wap of sing can refoce gener, a, and rar eats
(Guano, ids; Dias, 002 Rotenberg, 200,
are particularly relevant,
encounters. Like in other Htalian tows
hss end git ich te
in oner to sex people and show one (abed
aay 2004). Although the traditional sirusco ‘not as popular today as
Wd ob 4.50 seas ashi vs inerminng” inn, 21
p. 346) with others is still a central part of many people's promenadi
practices in the central streets and plazas of the city. id
Empecilly for women the “‘smucio” has been an important wa
partcipate In public space. This, however, has ofen worked to sucngthen
sna ef enya nomen sun ext ooo o
egemonic canons of beauty, heterosexual attractiveness, and femininity36 (CRISTINA MORETTL
‘These are well described in the following quote by the novelist and historian
Castellaneta:
rnpleel feminine ambition to be admired, For thet
this can not only be noticed
in the stroets of the centr, promenades splay] ia store window,
‘ut also in the subway where fo mest gi ‘makeup of a woman cere
resed caresly. And 30 1 noticed housewives shopping ina supermarket
Seer na C.) frery expensive and elegant fur coat! (Castelanets, 1997, p. 38)
While the siruscio is usually linked to particular places and times, such as
the central streets or plazas of th the weekend, and the evenings,
ly connected to wider aesthetic
Castellaneta’s words also show
practices in daily life. Needless
Mieals at time play with them, and at times actively resist them. To make
natters more complicated, practices and comments on the struscio can also
‘become an avenue for some women to reflect on mt
and on Milanese identity.
‘Because of the complexity of vision as a social practice, different ways of
seeing the city by different women can be a useful starting point to trace
Some of the ways in which gender intersects with class, race, and nationality
status in shaping women's connections to city spaces. In this chapter I will
focus on one of my guides who I will call Maria Anacleta, a middle-aged
Filipino woman who left most of her family behind in the Pailippines when
she migrated to work in Italy. During our tours, Maria Anacleta asked me
to take pictures of her in particular places, and looked for passers-by (0 take
snapshots of both of us in front of monuments and in cal st part
Of this chapter I discuss her itinerary and its photographic traces
to her life in Milan. In the second part of my writing I will then juxtapose
Maria Anacleta’s itinerary to the tour of another one of my guides, who
I will call Francesca ~ a middle class Milanese-born woman.
ight, these two iti
point ‘the presence of Filipino people in town and the places which
Shable her to connect with them, Francesca talked about style, fashion
fetaling, and artistic heritage. This very difference, however, can be
deceiving, because it resonates with wider discourses in town about
fmmigrants being in, and using public spaces in ways that are essentially
different from how Italians use them. In this context, as Guano points out,
fn attention to aesthetic, beauty, and art can become a “privileged
janguage” (Guano, 2003, p. 365) between people who see themselves as
belonging to the city. While identifying landscape and a way of seeing as
A Walk With Two Women: Gender, Vision and Belonging in Milan, Italy 37
specifically Milanese, it also creates “viewpoints” for ‘other’ people “
Th. )ibey em ctnene and posibyeonsnt to thérae and ds
specific qualities” (Guano, 2003, p. 359) \dscape.
For Francesca, seeing and enjoying urban “beauty” serves to clim
privileged connection to the city and a sense of being truly “Milanese.” Her
itinerary echoes hegemonic discourses linking Milanese culture, art, hist
and style with Milanese authenticity. Mara Anoka’ ineary contadis
Some of these imaginares, by eluding clear-cut articulations of identities
in urban space. This suggests that different ways ofseing and being in the i
by different women have to be put in relation to one another, because they all
participate in negotiating who can be part of which spaces in the city and how.
MARIA ANACLETA
Maria Anacleta described her life in Milan as foll
lows (Maria Anacleta
dictated the text in English, and the words in italics refer to Italian terms she
Tihaven’t been.”
Filipino people are the largest immigrant
yrant presence in the city (Comune di
Milano, 2004), and they represent the most important aa of Asian
immigration arriving in Italy today (Cologna, 2003, p. 45). Although family
reunions and the percentage of children and youth are rapidly increasing,7 CRISTINA MORETTI
most of the Filipino nationals in Milan are still temporary, older migrants,
and predominantly female (ibid)
1ors have emphasized that gender is a very important factor
ipino migrations at both ends of their journeys. Zontini (2004)
‘and Cologna point out that women in the Philippines are the ones who
support the family, both emotionally and materially. They are “the real
{fe of the community” (Cologna, 2003, p. 45). ting and
fending remittance home is considered an extension of the care for elderly
parents, children, and other family members. Women who do not have
Children often send remittance for nephews and nieces (Zontini, 2004)
Maria Anacleta, for example, has been saving money not only for her
grandchildren.
ly ‘of jobs in personal services (household work and
caretaking) and the fact that women are still seen as the ones who should
naturally’ perform reproductive work (cf. Anderson, 1999, p. 78ff) are
further factors encouraging female immigration. In Milan, Filipino women
are mostly employed as domestic workers, nannies, and as caretakers of
elderly people. Zontini describes this as the “international transfer of care-
taking’ whereby the demanding and socially devalued caring tasks are
passed on to poorer and more vulnerable women” (Zontini, 2004, p. 1133,
{quoting Parreiias, 2001). This both results ina racialization of care, and fails
to challenge patriarchal relations in the receiving countries Parrefias, 2001).
Filipino women in fact are taking on the caretaking duties of Italian
‘middle and upper class women, who are pressed for time and energy by their
double/triple shifts. The latter are often in paid employment while
aan almost sole responsibility for childcare and for housework. Ir
then, in ltaly and Southern E citizens” are central in
economic and reproductive unit
lerly people is a particular case in
ging, many Mil
(Anderson, 1999.
population in Northern
fes caring for both their children and their aging parents.
‘As this development has not sparked any “comparable extension in public
service or state financial support” (Anderson, 1999, pp. 120-121), many
Tialian middle and upper class women choose to employ a migrant woman
to fill in the gap (see also Merrill, 2006). Maria Anacleta describes:
with a swimming pool T cared
TNeinero cook inthe kitchen. Tent with her when she went somewhere
A Walk With Two Women: Gender, Vision and Belonging in Milan, Italy 9
On Sunday,
ff, I wont to the par
9 hat
arco [park] and saw many Fifpino people. I is
ina ere
night long, 0 feel fee gain.” ‘
an elderty penton id not particulary encourage her learing Tallon,
making other, different employment hard to attain (see also Paltrinieri,
2001). Because of the age of the employer, moreover, it is per force a
temporary and uncertain poston, As Matia Anaceta describes, when the
senior in care passes away, the caretaker finds herself suddenly without
home and without income and has avery limited inet ind «new ob and
anew plac (osay. In Milan, where there ia chronic shortage of afordabe
+ also means that the women have to leave their
‘transnational mothers” (Zontini, 2004) for long« CRISTINA MORETTI
important way to stay in touch,
hard to arrange. As Maria
periods fine Phone cll and ewes are
iy nce it to the Pippnes re
eer ers par fom the cox of travel many women ind ithard 10
re eras ey need to have papers i order (0 Be
we Pipa stm hasbeen cited by both the
an eeaone a being one of te worst organized
ing papers hard to obtain and encouraging illegal immigration
media and by activis
rope mak
EaePe gs Lpgtande & Nalto, 2002) The dial in acaiting a
be seen ‘as one more way in which Italian society encourages a none
eS of domest yorkers. Because the
organized, low-paid, and fiexible pool he
granting of work permits depends in large part on the employer, i€ makes
fhigrant women even more dependent on the families where they work an
with whom they often Live.
Maria Anacleta’s itinerari
the city and the resulting photographs
of the resources
irs we walked together and the pictures
v nd strengthen many connections at
themselves were indeed a way to forge and strengt
‘once: to Milan, to the Philippines, and to other Filipino people in the city.
s, Maria Anacleta showed me some of the sites she uses in
her everyday life, such as one of the Filipino churches (Photograph (P.) 5), an
During our tours
A Walk With Two Women: Gender, Vision and Belonging
tional cling center P. 2, the McDonald's af
ino newspaper are Sold, a bani calering othe Flip Commit, and
treet exhibition in one of the most popular promenades
in front of the cathedral which is usually considered the symbol
ost of the visual itinerary of our walks consists of
fan elegant and smiling Maria Anacleta, confident
and at ease in front of monuments, buildings, and plazas.
‘Maria Anacleta sent many of these pictures home to her family to show
them the city she lives in, where she calls them from, and who some of her
friends are. Pictures are one of the many ways for Filipino women to
maintain “transnational families” (Zontini, 2004, p. 1117; see also Parretias,
2001; Wolbert, 2001). Zontini describes this as “kin work,” the myriad
everyday practices carried out by Fi migraats which are crucial in
‘graphs are often amt
a connection to Milan wh
The photograph
here [to the main cathedral plaza].” These very
a burden for a new immigrant, as they
can create high expectations from his/her family members in the home
country. Pictures in the city's ‘status places’ veil the difficult conditions most
immigrants encounter, and the social inequalities that characterize life in
Milan. According to my interlocutor above, for example, many new
immigrants remain shocked from the living conditions they find themselves
in: “One always expect to find houses ... perhaps very beautiful (...) with a
room for each person, (.
‘and one finds oneself in @ one-room apartment
ike turns sleeping” (sce also
Granata, Novak, & Polizzi, 2003, pp. 135-136).
‘Maria Anacleta’s photographs are also the beginning of a map of the
Filipino presence in the city. Public spaces like the central plazas and somee CRISTINA MORETTI
parks, affordable cafés ike McDonald's, and some Catholic churches are
Fmportant community spaces, especially since Milan offers few other sites
people ean socialize (Gee Cologna, 2003). These pictures
for Maria Anacleta, going around the city is also a way to
Jneet and connect with other Filipino people, who, as she explains in the text
above, are a tremendous resource for het and other new immigrants
{ser also Cologna, 2003). Filipino women often provide support for each
Sither ranging from friendship, to small loans, storage of personal belonging.
§ place to stay, and help with childcare. One of the most important forms of
axistance is helping other women to attain employment. Indeed, Maria
‘Anacleta found most of her jobs through the help of friends. Her itinerary in
the city, then, is also an on-going, everyday practice of activating and
maintaining connections crucial to her survival
‘ould like to point out how the very activity of
also added new dimensions to familiar walking
outings, Equipped with a friend/anthropologist and a camera, Maria
feta could also transform a walk in the city into an activity associated
ith leisure and status. Maria Anacleta pointed out repeatedly that “we are
‘and just like “those people who have money.” The very
king pictures in the city enabled Maria Anacieta (and me)
to play a different role in the city for a day, and to inhabit urban space
diiferently — making it easier, for example, to pose in front of police
Gficers on their horses, as in one of the pictures we took. Marta, another one
Gf my guides, a young woman from Peru who combines care of an elderly
Italian couple with other jobs, similarly told me that walking in the ity and
‘isting particular sites heips her distract her mind from her everyéay life, as it
isa complete change from a routine of heavy and long work hours
Marta’s and Maria Anacleta’s comments cause me to wonder: Is there
‘a way to be’ tourist, Milanese, or migrant woman in Milan? And where
do these practices and imaginaries come from? In other words, how are
‘vomen’s identities constructed through their itineraries in the city, and
through their practices of recognizing, using, seinterpreting, or rejecting
certain ways of seeing
FRANCESCA
Francesca, a white, middle-class, Milanese born woman, also guided me
through the central streets and plazas of Milan, showing me parts of her
daily itineraries. These often follow a particular routine, which brings her
A Walk With Two Women: Gender, Vision and Belonging in Milan, Italy 6
through the major promenadi tr
ding routes, to the oldest depument stor in
rcs an at sits. As Francs expla fovea and
dof al the churches of the centee I know
(Oh the things I have seen!” The followin,
them a (Ob te The following images are a visual
Francesca shared her love of the historic center with me by guiding me
through what she called
promenading routes (P.
‘monuments, and histori b
heart of the ci is included the central
churches from different periods (P. 3)
for Francesca urbanCRISTINA MORETTI
6
historic shops (ncloding a silver accessories boutique (P. 4) and a
aascr cand marveled at stores displaying stylish designer and fashion
aetna (ach as 2 ceranie mosaic tle store (P. 7) and several boutiques)
seg (he seamless connection between beautiful churches, hentage
witiean and shiny window displays (P. 6°) was one of the most striking
rast Frances’ tnerary and reflected a landscape fashioned by style
1e centre of town, one forgets poverty,
everything is beautiful
“q certain type of people” who add to the ambiance. The
their tastes associate themselves with certain consumption sp:
shops in contrast to more affordable ones
of merchandise fr certain typeof people,
{Ee people who go to certain stores. are part ofthe atmosphere of an aa)
.ca, in the center of town, the products displayed in the
shops, the (potential) customers inside the stores, and the passers-by looking
‘at the windows (just like Francesca and me in our itineraries) are
participants in the same aesthetic,
perspective, the landscape of a street 0
buildings, and its traffic of bodies and im
just as the latter participates in the visual feel of the public spaces w
contours (see also De Lucchi & Villani, 2004; Merlo, 2001).
clearly sees herself, at least to a certain extent, as part of this
ove what is beaut iso gives me the joy of
e clean, the orderly,
According to Fran«
[the hottest and newest fashion},
Francesca’s comments points out how women's engagement with
consumption as both subjects and objects of beauty, as audiences and
performers, can play an important part in mediating women’s access (0
lirban spaces (see Del Negro, 2004). Fashion is a particularly interesting case
in point. Shopping areas, store windows, and huge ubiquitous advertising
which literally place
women with ideas,
“feminine spaces’ where wor
safely and legitimately be in the city (see Bondi & Domosh, 1998; Bl
1996; Domosh, 1996; Glennie & Thrift, 1996). This of course
A Walk With Two Women: Gender, Vision and Belonging in Milan, Haly 65
necessarily been empowering for women. The very w: ft,
ow making some women Francesca — fit more easily than others
into certain landscapes. a
of beauty, which, encompa oe art, aad palin cock tore to
tesco covers bon nay ie
oc lecay eens anno eaeeeed
define things historical, precios, and authentically Milanese, Pececoa
insite that all
promenade mn the
Bien ante Gomes, dark couary and income plas
Francs ns pry proud ot hr aii to rach Sore and
iste Stes behind the closed doors of buldings and churches. Fr het fo
iow how fo ass tests a el
uty is part of living inthe ay, tobe
know how to use its resources om —a—
‘What interests me most here the: yo
show the very activity o Seng and walkin
tzu ter beers pagent wins an
‘ay of uegoiating one's Meni. Por is the repeat, daly practice
searching, looking at, and “ ry of syle ad history”
that hee Francesca con
walking and looking make each 0
each other pose, Her ally promenadi
sing std sengsng contin lndapes confirms Tacrc.a¢
ketal evr, at the ane ine that he nowlegebl
movement thou in the poston tose and
2003),
was France's fequent use of the
now only spoken bya few people, during our66
cleanly a woman she
‘otes, December 15,
san,” she ells me, ierespecti
they are typical of Milan, the umenone.”
y's households, is today
‘The Milanese dialect, once widely used in
often associated with authenticity and with
fuet Francesca can speak it positions her as am authoritative speaker. of
things Milanese. In turn, the act of naming and characterizing something:
inNpieally Milanese strengthens the sense of specificity of er act of
‘walking through and recognizing the cit: it is not just any tour of Milan,
itis @ tale of a Milanese in the city.
combination of narrative and visiot
viewer/speaker privileges one of many Po:
fof Guano, Francesca’s tour “valorized (
people in particular places’ (...) thus striving to generate ‘consensuse¥ 7
raw placts as wel as the identity and entitlements of those who inhabited
them” (Guano, 2003, p. 358, quoting Lefebvre, 1991),
stain relationships between
as many Ital
‘have much time to go around the city
‘museums, Francesca’s
yn that immigrants do
to make ends meet and thus might not
nor money to pay for tickets to enter expositions at
comments also reflect a commonly held assur
not really participate in city life, and
obsession with cultural difference.”
interviewed
different houses, parsuing different
jncluding art, fashion, and culture. A young S
fact that one of the hardest things about living
Fnorance of many people regarding immigrants and their countries of
‘2igjn, as well as regarding cultures and religions different from their own,
‘Rosia Anacleta’s pictures infront of churches and monuments, as well as
my encounters and conversati
dicted Francesca’sjlocal ideas
Speauty” or not knowledgeable enough to “see
told me she liked Italian statues because they reminded ber o
fustory in school. Marta wanted to see the Scala theatre and too!
work lo take me to visit Leonardo da Vinci's :
at not least, 1 did not realize how I myself took for granted the hegemonic
A Walk With Two Women: Gender, Vision and Belonging in Milan, Italy or
and in citing proverbs in Milanese dialect to interpret his own 9 eas
an immigrant to the city. —— oo
CONCLUSIONS
a Analea’s and Francesa’ terres sh
itineraries sow son ofthe contous
cnn and cei aft br cy was sd he pele way ia
ifeet wore tet to urban leas Ta fares though
tatters in the cy, it alyays does ‘so in cla and racespe
(see Preston & \dag, 2005; Guano, 2003; Razack, 2000). eae ways
Gender roles and dilemmas in Fi talian society, global and
es and an ob-going raciaization of care, shape the
no women, the iste they face, and the resources
seek to hatness. In turn, these affect how Flin
women might take part in urban k ane
scapes and how they might be seen
out the particular mix
Milan, Because many of
: ss) employer, they oflen use
a veh ev thi and te ae no ‘place of ther own there
s makes them both invisible as legate residents and highly visible
here the interctions of
particular) absence”
within them. Granata et
in the urban terrain (Gordon, 19:
iscourses and practices centere
Dison and aesthetic are
ther way in which particular gender identi mastructed in and
rough city spaces, Fashion as a consumption and leisure act
embodied practice, and as a visual culture participates in mediati
access to public space (Del Negro, 2004). At the same time,
ate the coneptal dvsionbetwom women's
foolish” consumers tempted by “the vanities of
1e vanities of dress’
2000, pp. 54, 22) in contrast to men’s skillful presence in urban spaces as
sgemonic association between gender,
advantages women from full pol
, 2004) also obscures that shoppi6 CRISTINA MORETTI
an important pat of women's reproductive labor' Glennie & Thrift, 1996)
ae yell as a source of sociability between women.
creased fashion in urban locales also constitutes gender in intimate and
Feiss with class and race. For one, itis generally easier for white
vrevking clas women fo use fashion to pass as mi
expensive clothing and accessories can choose to use then
‘Mest importantly, as Francesca suggests, the very combination of one's ways
MMgtesemg, where and when one promenades, and a practiced sense of
Shritlement to certain spaces reflect and are shaped by one's social position.
“The shifting, daily interplays between gender and othes
‘and the ways these inform and ase shaped by women’ rel
spaces — thus also gendering the city ~ inscribe both
SPanections between the itineraries T presented above. It is important to
Somember, for example, that the immigration of female domestic workers
Trarticpates in the very constitution and negotiation of ideals of femininity
pod gender roles of middle and upper class women, which include being
Successful workers/professionals, charming and affectionate companions,
ffctive housekeepers, watchful mothers, and caring daughters. As Anderson
(1999) argues, it is the work of migrant women that enables middle/appet
ass Italian women to juggle these unsustainable situations and contradictory
identities. Talian women in fact time through the employment of a
Yomestic worker, for “maintaining themselves as “proper wives’ and proper
smothers” (Anderson, 1998, p. 119) without confronting male family members
‘about the division of labor in the house (see also Parrefia
"Another interesting connection between women like
Francesca is the way in which discourses and pr
tradition, Milanese-ness, and urban renewal affect
choices and chances concerning housing. As part of he
neighborhood, saw hers
area. She told me that wl
especially to Milan,
even in abandoned
how for Francesca, a cert
. 2 certain way of seeing
es het move to this neighborhood and makes
and/or irrelevant. Francesca in fact
and being in the city
“other's” housing,
the oldest and most ‘
complex ways with local and
in the city and how. Maria Anacle——EE~ °° °° —
10 CRISTINA MORETTI
vision, public space, and the negotiations of identities, including gender,
race, and class. Many fashion-abiding “Milanese
“an introverted ci
that they never go to the center, even if they actually do. Several of them
explained that they do not go there and they do not engage in struscio
because, especially on the weekends, the center is full of zarri (people from
the hinterland who can be recognized as such because of their way of
dressing) and extracomuanitari (migrants arriving from outside the European,
Union), Rather than indicating that the struscio has disappeared, those
comments might point out that, for some women, the struscio might no
Jonger be a “Milanese” thing to do ~ or, conversely, that nor engaging in it
might be 2
ones above may express an imaginary that only
{interested in beauty and fashion yet cosmopolitan enough to nor pal
jn the struscio. This serves to uphold a conceptual and I division
between more and less legitimate residents in the city (see also Dines, 2002).
The struscio isa particularly apt venue for discourses on multiculturalism
‘and identities because it is a relational, reflexive, and performative practice
is a form of looking which requires another gaze, and which
Tinks social actors to the seeing body of others (see Pinney, 2002). Because
the simacio links people with a particular context and crowd, it becomes
very important with whom and where it happens. It
Context to note that Castellaneta (1997) traces the begis
decline of the struscio in Milan to the
center
ing of the relative
ince of lower class people to the
lan, originally the space of the clite and the upper classes
‘Similarly, the struscio is a good metaphor for the workings of gender in and
through urban spaces because it highlights how the complex practices of
being, walking, and seeing are a part of the daily constitution of gender and
help talk about and reinscribe differences between women.
Last but not least, just like stories about who participates in the struscio
‘and who does not, the itineraries of Maria Anacleta and Francesca suggest
that tales of immigration and of aesthetics are both integral parts of who can
participate and how in public space, because these discourses shape the
public spaces in which the two women could meet and interact, the ways in
Phich their itineraries could cross. Paradoxically, in fact, Maria Anacleta
land Francesca are not likely to meet in the center even if they use very
Similar streets and plazas. Indeed, the discrimination and avoidance
practiced by many Italian residents in Milan contradicts the ideal of public
A Walk With Two Women: Gender, Vision and Belonging in Milan, Italy 1
space as a place where “one always risks en¢
diferent” (Caldira, 000, p. 301) that i
uncertainty and openness
tering’ those who are
ways in which immigrant women are shapit
ping, claiming, and cor
urban spaces and are demanding j :
Milan, morcover tis nt oa
tecsore hat
‘re important pat of
(young working cla woman)
Mian And anther youn, mile clase Wotan econ
“the Earth Scen From the Sky
tries by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. Mar
ing and photographing this image of the Philippines.
particularly interesn CRISTINA MORETTI
pio
Granata tal 2003) dsc, hse cores av ben ln 0 she
cas ty hs toch amistad et yeas pose er
2 Stage Amore, and lier costes have been working
sD toni alert te cy. acordng to Granta cay the we of
the eity. While the Filipino community
really claim them as their own, as they
eas carter etl a
ser et oa a a
early bets mitt os namie si
rece tee
Se ot tas ob ot Hong
Fe a
meng ie eM on tds ee as
ee ee
SE oa me mde
vehi eee sn ty ey nk ee
ee
“a Sree ice
een a ie =
eset wing ct emma
apie ie eee r
" i nace, to be friends:
add my onal to mest with thee women in publi sass
wi seat Bat bas easy dependent on my enalen ta Sonteisary
“Mates and on ny stn a wouter fo bth rat aye
‘Ave'woman bon aad rtd in Mian by Mi
‘Mane enugh tnt she sold alk sbou hme. A
ay eng vay fom the cy nnde me to potent
SAME what sMilmese nee Foe Mana Anat, my 0
A Walk With Two Women: Gender, Vision and Belonging in Mian, Italy B
‘and my having a divided family myself made me into an ally aiff a friend. The fact
that Tam not simply nor really “7 tmade it easier for‘her to talk to me.
‘AL the same time, as an Italian friend, Talso represented one more connection to the
city for hee.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A special thank you to Maria Anacleta and Francesca who shared their
insights on the city with me, to Dara Culhane without whom this research
‘ould not have been possible, and to my family who helped me
in this process. I would also like to thank the following persons for their
Contributions to the research and/or their comments on this chapter:
Don Felice, Marta, Carola Ferrari, Mohamed Ba, the youths from Centro
Schuster, Terre di Mezzo, Malik, Paola, Nicholas Blomley, Stacy Pigg,
Andrea Moretti, Rima Noureddine, Noah Quastel, Judith DeSena, Ray
Huutchit id the reviewers of Gender in an Urban World. | am grateful
‘ciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for the
doctoral grant which supported this research,
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