Private and Public Spheres in Sociology

Private and Public Spheres in Sociology Within sociology, public and private spheres are thought of as two distinct realms in which people operate on a daily basis. The basic distinction between them is that the public sphere is the realm of politics where strangers come together to engage in the free exchange of ideas, and is open to everyone, whereas the private sphere is a smaller, typically enclosed realm (like a home) that is only open to those who have permission to enter it. Origins of the Concept The concept of distinct public and private spheres can be traced back to the ancient Greeks, who defined the public as the political realm where the direction of society and its rules and laws were debated and decided upon, and the private as the realm of the family and economic relations. However, how we define the distinction within sociology has changed over time. Within sociology how we define the private and public spheres is largely due to the work of the German sociologist Jà ¼rgen Habermas. A student of critical theory and the Frankfurt School, he published a book in 1962,  The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, that is considered the key text on the matter. Public Sphere According to Habermas, the public sphere, as a place where the free exchange of ideas and debate happens, is the cornerstone of democracy. It is, he wrote, made up of private people gathered together as a public and articulating the needs of society with the state. From this public sphere grows a public authority that dictates the values, ideals, and goals of a given society. The will of the people is expressed within it and emerges out of it. As such, a public sphere must have no regard for the  status  of the participants, be focused on common concerns, and be inclusiveall can participate. In his book, Habermas argues that the public sphere actually took shape within the private sphere, as the practice of discussing literature, philosophy, and politics among family and guests became a common practice. These practices then left the private sphere and effectively created a public sphere when men started engaging in them outside of the home. In 18th Century Europe, the spread of coffeehouses across the continent and Britain created a place where the Western public sphere first took shape in modern time. There, men engaged in discussions of politics and markets, and much of what we know today as laws of property, trade, and the ideals of democracy were crafted in those spaces. Private Sphere On the flip side, the private sphere is the realm of family and home life that is, in theory, free of the influence of government and other social institutions. In this realm, ones responsibility is to oneself and the other members of ones household, and work and exchange can take place within the home in a way that is separate from the economy of the greater society. However, the boundary between the public and private sphere is not fixed but is flexible and permeable, and is always fluctuating and evolving. Its important to note that women were almost uniformly excluded from participating in the public sphere when it first emerged, and so the private sphere, the home, was considered the womans realm. This is why, historically, women had to fight for the right to vote in order to participate in politics, and why gender stereotypes about women belonging in the home linger today. Historically within the U.S. people of color and others perceived as different or deviant have been excluded from participating in the public sphere too. Though progress in terms of inclusion has been made over time, we see the lingering effects of historical exclusion in the over-representation of white men in the U.S. congress. Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.