Mapping Desire: Geographies of Sexualities

by David J. Bell

This is the first book to explore sexualities from a geographical perspective. The nature of place and notions of space are of increasing centrality to cultural and social theory. Mapping Desire presents the rich and diverse world of contemporary sexuality, exploring how the heterosexual body has been appropriated and resisted on the individual, community and city scales. The geographies presented here range across Europe, America, Australasia, Africa, the Pacific and the imaginary, cutting across city and country and analysing the positions of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and heterosexuals. The contributors ring different interests and approaches to bear on theoretical and empirical material from a wide range of sources. The book is divided into four sections: cartographies/identities; sexualised spaces: global/local; sexualised spaces: local/global; sites of resistance. Each section is separately introduced. Beyond the bibliography, an annotated guide to further reading is also provided to help the reader map their own way through the literature.

Genres: Cities, Gender, Academic

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Diego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Casi todos los artículos se centran en casos de norteamérica/europa y se limitan a homosexuales y lesbianas. La mayoría de las ideas siguen siendo relevantes, aunque hoy en día hay mucha más diversidad en las investigaciones de la geografía de la sexualidad.

[Erdem Tasdelen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do I feel this book is terribly dated, when it's only 1995 that it was first published? It is an interesting read to explore how spaces are formed by sexualities and vice versa, but the way it focuses on specific spaces and historical events is mostly difficult to make use of today.
The introduction quotes a pamphlet circulating NYC circa 1990 and summarizes everything that makes me cringe about queer politics: "Being queer means leading a different sort of life. It's not about the mainstream, profit margins, patriotism, patriarchy or being assimilated. It's not about being executive directors, privilege and elitism. It's about being on the margins, ..." Really? REALLY?
Particularly interesting were the chapters by Lynda Johnston & Gill Valentine where they tackle the notion of "home" and how it fails to function as a site of hearth and heart for the young lesbian, by Tim Davis where he utilizes Foucault's panopticon with regard to heterosexism in the everyday public life, and by David Bell where he works with Giddens' ideas on episodic sexuality as a liberatory form of sexual intimacy escaping heteronormative models.

[Miriam Gomez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really really interesting book about urban planning, socialization and lgbtq identities.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to geographies of sexualities. This edited volume spans various geographic/spatial scales from the body to the local to the global and various sites of resistance. The emphasis is mainly on Europe and North America. It's one of the earlier works in geography (1994) but still holds its relevance.

[J C Mitchinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative collection of chapters. Useful for those interested in sexualities and human geography.