The Dictionary of Human Geography

Comp. by: VPugazhenthi Stage : Revises1 ChapterID: 9781405132879_4_S Date:1/4/
09 Time:15:23:36 Filepath:H:/00_Blackwell/00_3B2/Gregory-9781405132879/appln/3B2/
revises/9781405132879_4_S.3d

of lesbian and gay men, and latterly, on queer

geographies (Bell and Valentine, 1995). This

was facilitated by the development ofpost-

modern thought within human geography

that promoted a sensitivity to difference.

As a result of the impact of this research, the

study of sexuality and geography is often

assumed to be synonymous with the study of

lesbians, gay men and bisexual and transgen-

dered people, yet there is a growing interest in

geographies of heterosexualities, and sexuality

is also important in geographical writing using

psychoanalytic theory. The complex theor-

etical links between sexuality andgender,

most notably in feminist theory, mean that

the two are commonly discussed in tandem.

Work on geographies of sexualities has been

most prolific within the sub-disciplinary areas

ofurban,socialandcultural geography,

but it is also gradually spilling out into other

parts of the discipline, includingeconomic

geography,political geographyandmed-

ical geography, in the form of research on

the pink economy, sexual citizenship and HIV/

AIDS, respectively (e.g. Bell and Binnie,

2000). The main strands of writing on sexual-

ity and geography can be summarized as

follows:

(1) Geographies of lesbian, gay and bisexual

lives. Lesbians and gay men lead distinct

lifestyles – defined to a lesser or greater

extent by their sexuality and others’ re-

actions to it – which have a variety of

spatial expressions, creating distinct so-

cial and culturallandscapes in some

contemporary cities. A number of studies

have mapped gay commercial and resi-

dent districts. Knopp’s (1992) work on

gentrificationby gay men particularly

contributed to analysing the role of

sexuality within the spatial dynamics

ofcapitalism. Studies of lesbian space

have suggested that women also create

spatially concentratedcommunitiesbut

that these have a quasi-underground

character, although having a high level

of visibility among lesbians themselves

(Podmore, 2001).

‘Gay space’ – including gay commer-

cial and residential districts (such as the

Castro District in San Francisco) as well

as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender

(LGBT) parades, have been identified as

important sites of political claims-mak-

ing (Johnston, 2001). Yet the very suc-

cess of these LGBT claims has led to the

incorporation of these previously mar-

ginalized groups through the imaging,

branding and commodification of gay

space as a cosmopolitan spectacle for a

heterosexual market (Bell and Binnie,

2004).

While much of the work on geograph-

ies of lesbian and gay lives is located in

the urban, there is an upsurge of interest

in the structural limitations experienced

by those living in rural areas, and the

attempts of sexual dissidents to establish

utopianrural communities.

(2) The heterosexuality of everyday space.

Studies have highlighted the fact that

everyday spaces are commonly taken for

granted as heterosexual, and have ex-

plored the processes through which

spaces are produced in this way; and

the disciplinary practices that regulate

‘public’ performance of sexualities

(e.g. Valentine, 1993).

(3) Geographies of HIV/AIDS. Mapping the

transmission of the HIV virus has been at

the heart of medical geographers’ at-

tempts to trace its origins and establish

global typologies. This work has been

criticized by sexual dissidents as irrele-

vant and politically dangerous. Brown

(1995) has played a key role in re-

focusing geographical research on HIV/

AIDS on to understanding sexual rela-

tions and issues ofhealth and health-

carepromotion.

(4) Queer geographies. These represent a

reaction against the early work about

the geographies of lesbians and gay

men, which adopted an uncritical, all-

embracing conceptualization of lesbian

and gay identity. Drawing heavily on

social theoryfrom outside the discip-

line, queer geographies have attempted

to scrutinize the desirability ofidentity

politics and to challenge notions of fixed

identities, in particular by employing the

concept of performativity. Attempts

have also been made to utilize the insights

ofqueer theoryto think about the pro-

duction ofspace(Bell, Binnie, Cream

and Valentine, 1994) and to explore the

importance ofmobilityin queer quests

for identity (Knopp, 2004). There is

now an emerging body of work addr-

essing queer identities from a post-

colonial perspective – for example,

focusing on queerdiasporiccommunity

formation – and in the context ofglob-

alization and tourism (e.g. Hawley,

2001; Binnie, 2004). Here, geographers

Gregory / The Dictionary of Human Geography 9781405132879_4_S Final Proof page 680 1.4.2009 3:23pm

SEXUALITY