Queering Belfast: Some thoughts on the sexing of space

Dr. Rob Kitchin and Dr. Karen Lysaght
Additional contact information
Dr. Rob Kitchin and Dr. Karen Lysaght: National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM)

No 19, NIRSA Working Paper Series from National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA), NUI Maynooth, Ireland.

Abstract: In this paper we use data from interviews and focus groups with gay men, lesbians and bisexuals living in Belfast to provide a queer reading of the city. Drawing on the work of queer theory, we argue, contrary to much of the literature on sexuality and space, that space is neither purely encoded as ‘heterosexual’ or ‘gay’. Instead we posit that all space is queered, that the sexing of space is always partial and contested, always in a process of becoming; that heterosexist spatiality, for example, is profoundly unstable, continuously engaged in the process of reproducing itself. Reconceptualising socio-spatial relations in this way, we contend, allows for a more nuanced and differentiated, geographical reading of sexual dissidence, one that acknowledges the fluidity and complexity of individuals’ self-identifications with regard to sexual-orientation and their diverse spatialities, as evidenced in our interviews.

Pages: 27 pages
Date: 2002-12
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.nuim.ie/nirsa/publications/WPS19.pdf (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 404 Not Found (http://www.nuim.ie/nirsa/publications/WPS19.pdf [301 Moved Permanently]--> https://www.nuim.ie/nirsa/publications/WPS19.pdf [302 Moved Temporarily]--> https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/nirsa/publications/WPS19.pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nir:nirwps:wps19

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in NIRSA Working Paper Series from National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis (NIRSA), NUI Maynooth, Ireland. NIRSA, NUI Maynooth, Maynooth, Co. Kildare. Ireland. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Mary O'Brien ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).