A while ago, I did a little experiment. I noticed that, as I walked through crowded city streets or tube stations, I was constantly darting around male pedestrians, nimbly side-stepping to avoid collisions. I decided, for a month, to try to counteract this learned behaviour.

I pressed forward without dodging or skirting around men. But men weren’t used to moving out of a woman’s way, and I ended up having numerous collisions – more than 2 a day – which were met with abuse or complete amazement, more often than apology.

This week I’ve been reading experimental social psychology articles which measure and quantify what it’s like to be a female pedestrian. It won’t come as any surprise to urban female walkers, but this is what the research shows.

Women spend more time ‘scanning’ pavements for obstacles than men; they’re more obedient to ‘rules’ (eg. less likely to cross lines); & less likely to cross at red lights. Males walk faster, with more power & their course is less likely to be ‘perturbed’ by pedestrians/traffic.

Male walkers have to wait at crossings for traffic to stop for much shorter times than women. Male pedestrians engage in far more risk-taking behaviour (incl using mobile phones while walking) & are TWICE as likely to die in collision with vehicles than women.

But even more interesting (to me) is the data on ‘interpersonal distances’ between male & female walkers. Males are given a much wider berth (by men & women) than females; and male groups take up much more space on pavements than mixed or female groups.

Male groups’ boundaries are much less likely to be permeated than those of female groups. Men are more likely to ‘crowd’ women at, for eg, ATMs and the edge of crossings; and women exit from such invasions of personal space faster than men.

In 1975, some researchers concluded that ‘social power is the ability to move others, spatially or otherwise’; and that these sex-based differences in pedestrian behaviour clearly mapped a vast differential of social power. In short, men stamp their power onto public space.

Women know all this, that walking thru a city involves constant negotiation to avoid conflict with men. That we’re constantly making ourselves smaller, less obtrusive, less confrontational, more invisible. Men: can you imagine what it’s like to live like this?

Men: can you imagine what it's like to live your life – even something as mundane as walking down the street – in fear and capitulation and with such lack of confidence?

So next time you’re crowding a woman at an ATM, or expecting her to swerve out of your way, or walking straight through a small group of women…be aware that your behaviour is part of a pattern of power and domination. It’s not the biggest deal in the whole world, sure.

But it sends a message to women that public space is owned by men. It makes our experiences of living in the world a lot more stressful & scary. It makes the experience of walking for women – which is what I’m interested in – a lot less about pleasure & a lot more about fear.END

You can follow @drrachelhewitt.

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