Mind Maps and Invisible Boundaries of Women Living in Izmir Atıfbey Neighborhood in Urban Life

Patriarchy is a system in which the rules of men are determined with care, and women adopt the rules set for them in order to take part in life, and they are forced to think, act and even feel in accordance with them. As part of this, women are generally defined within specific areas of the patriarchal network. This article’s primary questions are how women manage to live their lives within the patriarchal spatial system, what gender-based solutions of femininity are possible, and what the timing factor is that establishes the legitimacy of the space reserved for women. In this context, the study is based on Michel Foucault’s evaluations of the panopticon, as well as the perspectives of Jean Baudrillard and Pierre Bourdeiu, who developed their evaluations of the panopticon and patriarchy. With this approach, the study aims to investigate the impact of patriarchal panopticon representations on women who leave their homes for any reason in their daily lives, to discuss the ongoing power and discipline mechanisms, and to reveal the strategies that women devise to overcome these perceptions. A qualitative field study was conducted in Atıfbey Neighborhood, Gaziemir District, Izmir, to discuss the experiences of 32 women living there. According to this study, different social actors form the first of the patriarchal panopticon representations; these actors control and control women’s behavior and even their emotions in accordance with gender roles within the framework of the city and neighborhood that make up their living spaces. The persistence of masculine domination in the city is the second panopticon example. The spatial and timing patterns of daily life may reflect the various gender-based experiences that women have in the city. The most important thing, however, is that women forge their own routes and, when necessary, find new ones beyond the confines of invisible boundaries. These are strategies that enable women to overcome the invisible boundaries imposed on them, while also keeping them out of the home.