Male spaces: Sites and types of socialisation in postwar Nea Ionia

The sites and types of male socialisation in postwar Nea Ionia differ from the ones associated with women. Men are absent from neighbourhood photos; or, more accurately, there are no photos at our disposal that depict exclusively male groups in the neighbourhood. Both married and single men socialized primarily in coffee shops as well as in taverns and other small restaurants serving ouzo (‘ouzeri’), which would often be full of men, especially on pay day. For younger men, fοοsball venues and cinemas were also popular places for socialization especially during the 1960s. Finally, watching football was the most popular form of entertainment for most men across all ages and professional groups.

Women were not absent from entertainment venues, like taverns or music halls. Photographic evidence attests to their presence in such social spaces, but they are always accompanied by men. However, the material available to us suggests that the coffee shops and, to a lesser extent, the ouzo taverns were spaces that were probably inaccessible to women. In Nea Ionia and all other working class neighbourhoods in the city, these were the places where workers and craftsmen (carpenters, furniture makers, blacksmiths, plumbers, electricians, etc.) would gather after the end of the working day to have a drink before heading home, an everyday habit which had probably become ingrained into tradition and labour culture through the ages. These were also the spaces where men would commonly meet in the evenings to make deals and do business. Clients could meet the craftsmen they were looking for and workers learned about employment opportunities. Coffee shops and ouzo taverns in working class neighbourhoods were not only spaces for socialization, but also hubs of economic activity.