Gendered Mobilities

Book excerpt: Being socially and geographically mobile is generally seen as one of the central aspects of women's wellbeing. Alongside health, education and political participation, mobility is indispensable in order for women to reach goals such as agency and freedom. Building on new philosophical underpinnings of 'mobility', whereby society is seen to be framed by the convergence of various mobilities, this volume focuses on the intersection of mobility, social justice and gender. The authors reflect on five highly interdependent mobilities that form and reform social life: ∗ The origin, divisions and implication of physical travel for work, leisure, family life, migration and escape. ∗ Physical movement of goods and their gendered impacts. ∗ The gendered content of imagined travel through televisual images. ∗ Virtual travel via the Internet. ∗ Communicative travel through person-to-person messages via letters, telephone, fax and mobile phone. This volume covers an entire range of social, cultural, religious, economic, ethnic and political factors and processes.