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Define the meaning of heteronormative space, and explain why geographers have argued that the relationships between sexuality and space have created distinctive outcomes for gay men and women.

Homosexuality has long been excluded from geographical enquiry, especially in relation to place and space. This is true to say for many other identities such as race and the homeless. However in more recent times topics such as homosexuality become more relevant to all aspects of study, hence why geographers have began to study the relationships between sexuality and space more in depth, creating distinctive outcomes for gay men and women. This ever expanding body of work on sexuality has demonstrated that space can no longer be ignored, and is as a matter of fact central to the politics of sexuality.
Heteronormativity is a cultural bias in relation to concurring with opposite-sex relationships in a sexual manor and opposing same sex relationships in a sexual manor. Ultimately hetronormative space is our everyday places where we spend time, be it on campus, at home, in work or out in a bar or restaurant. However, this does not mean that anyone in this space is homophobic; it is just what society has created. While saying this, gay spaces and communities do exist particularly in big cities such as London, Sydney, San Francisco and New York, but for the most part, gay and lesbian men and women experience the heterosexuality of their environments every day, particularly in smaller cities and towns. David Bell (1995) explains how “Despite the attention paid to visible gay communities like San Francisco the reality is that most gay men and lesbians live and work not in these gay spaces but in the ‘straight’ world where they face prejudice, discrimination and queerbashing” (Bell, 1995). These gay men and women living in a so called ‘straight’ world may be easily identified and subject to the treatment in an ill manor. These are some of the distinctive outcomes for gay men and women in relation to sexuality and space.

Bell, D., Valentine, G., (1995). Mapping Desire: Geographies of Sexualities. Routledge, London.