"Queering" Straightness: Heterosexual Experiences of Homonormative Spaces in Seattle

Abstract

This thesis represents a contribution to some of the current discussions carried out within queer geography. More specifically, the research explored how heterosexual men and women experience homonormative spaces in one of United States major cities, Seattle. Scholars have been discussing the geographies of heterosexuality for a relatively long time, considering both geography of sexualities and feminist geography (Bondi, 1990; Bell and Valentine, 1995; McDowell, 1999; Browne et al, 2009); and have more recently been exploring possible ways to "queer" our understanding of homo/straight spatial boundaries (Visser, 2008; Matejoskova, 2009; Browne and Bakshi, 2011; Caudwell and Browne, 2011); yet the voices and experiences of heterosexual subjects have been under-researched. The vast majority of the pieces that focus on how the boundaries between heterormative and homonormative spaces are instable and fluid, in fact, have constructed their analysis around interviews with gay and lesbian subjects, with only a few articles including also the voices heterosexual women (see, for instance, Moran et al, 2003; Skeggs, 1999 and Binnie and Skeggs 2004) and men (see, for instance, Holt and Griffin, 2003).