Negotiating and Managing Multiple Sexual Identities: Lesbian Time-Space Strategies

The existing geography of homosexuality has largely concentrated on the nature of gay residential communities, in particular how the open expression of gay sexual identities affects the character of space at a local level. However the negativity and inferiority attributed to being gay forces many people to conceal their sexual identity at different times and in specific places. This paper therefore explores the way lesbians try to avoid hostility and discrimination by negotiating heterosexual or asexual identities. However the multiple nature of these fictional identities means that they have the potential to conflict. Consideration is therefore also given to the strategies lesbians use to avoid such contradictions.