Imagining Cities, Living the Other: Between the Gay Urban Idyll and Rural Lesbian Lives

Abstract

By focusing on often neglected lesbian geographies, this paper deconstructs the urban/rural divide which has pervaded discussions of (sexual) geographies. In particular, the paper addresses the intersections between imaginings of urban idylls (what could be termed the urban gay) and how these places 'beyond' can, in part, (in)form everyday lives in small towns (what could be termed the lesbian rural). In doing this, the paper furthers lesbian geographies by examining how fantasises and imaginings of cities become important to 22 lesbians women who live in a small town in the South West of England. The problematic assumptions of visible sexual expressions and 'gay' territories as central defining features of lives outside heterosexuality are contested. The paper examines the messy interstices, movements and interactions between towns and cities in the UK, through lesbian negotiations and understandings of everyday life.

‘Gay Enclaves Face Prospect of Being PassÉ': How Assimilation Affects the Spatial Expressions of Sexuality in the United States

“…Once we acknowledge that ‘queer geographies' (Browne, ; Podmore, ) transcend binaries by virtue of their diverse expressions––and that they exist in urban and non‐urban settings alike (Bell and Valentine, ; Fellows, ; Kirkey and Forsyth, ; Halberstam, ; Browne, ; Gray, ; Herring, )––then we can situate the questions that motivate this article into broader debates on the politics of post‐gay life, identity and community. The rhetoric and reality of the post‐gay era resonates most with those gays and lesbians ‘whose sexual behavior conforms to traditional gender norms, who link sex to intimacy, love, monogamy, and preferably marriage, and who restrict sex to private acts that exhibit romantic or caring capacity' (Seidman, : 189).…”

“…A rich literature is emerging on non-urban queer spaces and location patterns (Lynch, 1992;Newton, 1993;Brekhus, 2003;Browne, 2008;Gray, 2009;Herring, 2010;Kennedy, 2010;Tongson, 2011).…”

Theory Making from the Middle: Researching LGBTQ Communities in Small Cities

“…Researchers have long documented inequalities and fractures within gay and lesbian communities along lines of gender, race, class, and, notably, region. Researchers have examined LGBTQ communities of color in large cities (Hunter ; Moore ), gender variations between gay and lesbian LGBTQ community members (Browne ; Hayslett and Kane ), and differences in the experiences of transgender and cisgender community members (Abelson ; Doan ; Scheim et al. ).…”

‘Unlike Vancouver … here there’s nothing’: imagined geographies of idealized health care for LGBTQ women

“…As such, queer spatialities often collapse the distinction between material and metaphorical space (Knopp and Brown 2003; see also Talburt and Matus 2014). Geographies of sexualities also interrogate the heterosexual/non-heterosexual binary, which 'allows heterosexuality to go unmarked and unremarked upon -to be thought of as normal' (Brown, Browne, andLim 2007, 8 cited in Oswin 2013). To this end, Oswin (2013, 113) argues that we need continued and deeper interrogation and critique of spatialized heteronormativity 'as a normalizing regime' that seeks to maintain '"proper" sexual citizens.…”

“…While early geographies of sexualities mapped urban gay spaces as 'sites of political power, freedom and sexual expression' (Browne 2008, 26), more recent work has sought to dispel the myth of the 'urban utopia' (Bell 2001;Browne 2008). Such work counters the image of rural places as ultimately repressive, and explores the connections, movements, and interactions between rural and urban imaginaries.…”