It is easy to declare that the lifestyle enclaves are new and that the Internet and virtual workplaces have changed everything. Before doing so, perhaps we should consider ways in which things haven’t really changed. The lifestyle enclaves of the 21st Century might simply be variants on the ghettoes of an earlier time (and the current time in some societies). It is all about shared perspectives, interests, histories and even language (with technical terms and shorthand terms and abbreviations being bandied about inside the enclaves). There is one big difference. The lifestyle enclaves are freely chosen by their inhabitants, whereas the ethnic ghettoes are usually not a matter of personal choice. It is a matter of survival or at least protection in a broader community that enforces discriminatory practices against the new immigrants.
For many women it is not just a matter of economics. It is also a matter of socio-economic Line. On one side of the Line are those in the majority who rule the Gold and have the luxury of joining a lifestyle enclave. On the other side of the Line are those in the minority who are required to follow the Golden Rule. This Rule includes the requirement that these “other people” stay in their separate ghetto and “behave themselves” (conforming to norms of the dominant community). Gold can be used to pay for discriminatory public polices (formal and informal) and for the authority to enforce these policies.
Virtually all people live in communities. For many of us, this community is established among those people with whom we work—rather than among those people who live near us. Communities of work are to be found among many women in the world – both past and present. Their life has been filled with the demands of work, and they often have never known anything different in their life. Their community and ultimately their entire world is defined by and prescribed by Work.
Communities Without Privilege or Inclusion
It is important to note that communities in close proximity often are built on contradictions. Communities provide the opportunity both for inclusion and for exclusion. There are those women who live inside a community and those who live outside a community (either by choice or by exclusion). Those living inside a community because of dormitory residency or societal discrimination often find support and care—though life in this community usually comes at the expense of exclusion from a larger community in which they live. Those living outside a community other than a family that they are serving typically find that the broader community in which they reside is not very welcoming.
