「她」的家─ 單身女人的成家行動與家空間體驗

Abstract

本研究試圖以單身女人的成家行動與家空間體驗，指出女性自成一家的意涵。台灣以往的研究未能有效處理女性從離家到成家的實踐行動。在某個程度上，這篇論文填補了學術研究上對於「女性成家」議題之闕漏。 家一向被視為充滿意義、讓人感覺放鬆及依戀的地方，這樣的敘述往往漠視了家庭中成員之間不對等關係的存在，更忽略了女性在父權家庭制度中的真實生活。本研究發現，單身女人在父母家缺乏空間與自我控制權、面對婆媳/姑嫂關係感受到束手無策，均促成單身女人離家行動的開展。她們離開父母家時所面臨的阻力與助力，不但反映「女兒」性別位置的僵固，也深化了異性戀婚姻家庭作為親子與性別權力編組的場域。自主性離家的女人必須經過策略性的挑戰與爭取才得以離家。然而，走出父權家庭，女人卻面臨了失根或紮根的冒險情境。單身女人要在城市中尋找一個獨居處所，必要先克服經濟與安全的客觀條件，擁有對環境的控制感與自主權，然而要真正自成一家乃需要掙脫傳統的性別框架，才能在一個沒有「男主人」的環境安居下來。 從她們的空間經驗也發現，獨居家空間提供了女人弱化「女性特質」的機會。在泯除性別標籤的家，她們首度成為空間的「擁有者」與「規劃者」。獨居之家成為掙脫性別框架的所在，使得單身女人脫離「本質化」、「肉身化」的女人角色，真正擁有「在家」感受。

The aim of this paper is to explore the meaning of ‘her’ home among single women through home formation and their lived experiences. Previous research on home formation in Taiwan did not pay much attention to single women. This research fills the gap by showing the housing situations and experiences before as well as after their departure from parental home. In general, the concept of home is associated with a meaningful and relaxed place that a person feels attached to. This kind of description neglects the unequal power relationship among family members, and ignores the true lives of women in the patriarchal family. In this paper, the absence of control in self and space dimensions, or the helplessness when facing conflicts between Mother and Sisters-in law or self and Sisters-in law is the key reason for single women to leave parental home. The resistance and assistance they encountered while departure from home not only reflect the rigid position of ‘daughter’, but also reinforce traditional marital family with patriarchal and gender power. Self-determined home-leaving action needs to challenge patriarchal structure with strategies. However, while leaving parental home, single women will take a risk to fall into homeless. In order to find a house for living alone, they must rely on economic resources and additional insurance to lead self-oriented life. However, if they want to form their own home, they must get rid of traditional gender framework, and inhabit without ‘men’. An opportunity to weaken feminity is also found in domestic space among single women who live alone. In the home without solid gender label, single women become the owner and the planner for their first time. In this circumstance, they will never be an essentialized or physicalized women and truly feel ‘at home’.