Gender, Place, and Information Technology

Abstract

The individual sense of gendered identity and location are embedded within information technology (IT) usage (Meyrowitz, 1985). Exploring gender in relation to place and IT assists to reveal the impact that cultural knowledge has upon IT usage. This article illustrates the intertwined complex of issues that associate gender and place with IT by examining the currently dominant approaches to research conducted around this topic. The article begins with a presentation of the founding concepts regarding location and the construction of the gendered self, and then discusses investigations of gender, place and IT usage that utilize geographical and bounded constructs and, alternatively the concept of socially occupied space.