CFP: Geographies of Sexuality: Bodies, Spatial Encounters, and Emotions

4th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Emotional Geographies

University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands, July 1-3, 2013

 

Session:

Geographies of Sexuality: Bodies, Spatial Encounters, and Emotions

 

Convenors:

Martin Zebracki & Valerie De Craene

Cultural Geography Group, Wageningen University, the Netherlands

& Divison of Geography, KU Leuven, Belgium

 

Session abstract:

From the 1990s, geographers have been engaging more and more with sexuality and space. Seeing sexuality as an essential, fluid foundation of society and human behaviour, geographers have been critically questioning the socio-spatial configurations of, most importantly, sexual citizenship, queerness, sex work, public sex, sex tourism, sexual violence, eroticism and pornography, residence of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT), and sexual antagonism by LGBT who are conceived of as sexual dissidents by heteronormative belief systems (cf. Browne 2007; Oswin 2008; Hubbard 2011). Apart from analyses stressing the complexities and fluidities of geographies of sexualities, this session explicitly invites scholars from across all disciplines to critically reflect on the encounters between sexed bodies, sexed space and sexed emotions. An emotional/affective approach is, in line with Davidson (2005), particularly pivotal to be or get critical in understanding how social relations within the emerging context of sexuality are spatially performed from the level of the individual body and body-between-body to group levels and overall society.

As for sexuality, emotions are also related to the conceptual level. Sex and sexualities are closely linked with norms and values, with virtue and/or vice, and therefore create a diversity of feelings (cf. Fincher and Jacobs 1998). Particularly when it comes to non-heteronormative sexualities, emotions such as guilt, shame and the fear of negative evaluation seem to have a dialectic relationship with production/reproduction of and oppression by norms and in this way influence one’s behaviour and use of space, leading to including/excluding discourses, conformism, feelings of acceptance/oppression, etc.

Therefore, we welcome conceptual and/or empirical contributions that seriously zero in on emotions within geographies of sexuality.

 

If you are interested in participating in this session, please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words to Martin Zebracki (martin.zebracki@gmail.com) AND Valerie De Craene (valerie.decraene@ees.kuleuven.be) by January 12, 2013. Please feel free to ask Valerie or Martin any questions related to this intended session.

 

Conference website

 

References

Browne, K. (2007), (Re)making the other: heterosexualising everyday space. Environment and planning A 39(4): 996–1014.

Davidson, J., Bondi, L. and Smith, M. (eds.) (2005) Emotional Geographies. London: Ashgate.

Fincher, R. and Jacobs, J. (1998) Cities of Difference. New York: The Guilford Press.

Hubbard, P. (2011) Cities and Sexualities. London: Routledge.

Oswin, N. (2008) Critical geographies and the uses of sexuality: deconstructing queer space. Progress in Human Geography 32(1): 89–103.