Határhelyzetek és női terek. Garázsszalonok mint liminális, pszeudo-terápiás terek

Abstract

Background and Aims: This study examines the spatial use and communicative practices of beauty salons established in former garages and storage rooms located on the ground floors of panel housing estates (so-called garage salons). Its aim is to explore how these liminal spaces, situated at the intersection of private and public spheres, function as informal, pseudo-therapeutic female spaces that extend beyond their primary role as sites of beauty services.
Methods: The research is based on an urban anthropological approach, employing unstructured and semi-structured interviews as well as participant observation conducted in beauty salons operating in residential garage spaces.
Results: The analysis demonstrates that the spatial characteristics of garage salons facilitate the emergence of intimacy and the deepening of trust between service providers and clients.
Communication within these salons regularly extends beyond service-related interactions, and practices of bodily care are complemented by pseudo-therapeutic functions. Through the transformative practices of beauty service providers, spaces originally structured and regulated by power are „tamed” and domesticated, acquiring new economic and social functions.
Discussion: Garage salons function not only as economic units but also as important sites for the sharing of female experiences and for the reinterpretation of housing estate spaces. As liminal environments, they play a significant role in sustaining everyday female connections and informal forms of care.