Sexuality and Space

Sexuality and space is a sub-field within human geography. Geographers, especially cultural geographers, have been concerned with the relationship between space and human sexuality. This area of Geography has been controversial due to a concern with a wide range of sexual identities. What may be described as 'Gay Geography' was presented to a wider audience when an article was published in the Geographical Magazine in 1990 by Larry Knopp. Since this publication could be found on the shelves of many school libraries it was removed by some librarians as unsuitable for children.

Although sexuality remains a topic that hardly gets a mention in school geography, it has become an accepted part of many university geography departments and is often taught as part of a course on Cultural Geography. Arguably, the most influential book-publication to position sexuality as an accepted part of geography was Mapping Desire, an edited collection by David Bell and Gill Valentine . Bell and Valentine provide a critical review of the history of geographical works on sexuality and set an agenda for further research. They are especially critical of the earliest sexual geographies written during the 1970s and 1980s in the UK and North America. In contrast to the ‘dots on maps’ approach of the 1970s and 1980s, Mapping Desire represents an attempt to map the geographies of homosexuality, transsexuality, bisexuality, sadomasochism and butch-femme lesbian identities.

Bell, D. & Valentine G. (eds) (1995) Mapping desire: geographies of sexualities. London: Routledge.

Knopp, L. (1990) Social consequences of homosexuality. Geographical Magazine, May 20-25.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu