Giving way. Situational Logic and Categorization in the St. Petersburg Metro

Abstract

Drawing on an ethnographic fieldwork, this article examines the meanings attached to polite behaviors in Saint Petersburg subway. Participant observation, as well as interviews, focusing on daily experiences of subway – in particular those related to offering one’s seat to another person – reveal gender-differentiated socialization. The same practice can have different justifications depending on the age and gender of the actors involved. However, the connotations of gender or age hierarchy can be contested. Offering one’s seat to be gallant to women or to show respect to elderly people is not always acceptable because the practice implies differences of status. That is why actors use precautionary tactics that make the interaction acceptable.