Critically Analyse How Changing Ideas of Gender and Sexuality Have Affected Social Geographies Today

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However, during World War One in Britain, mostly all able bodied men were conscripted to fight, leaving the women behind to fill in the jobs that they could no longer do. During the war, Winston Churchill stated “without the work of women it would have been impossible to win the war” (Morrow). Due to this new found independence of women during the war, many found it hard to go back to their traditional roles post-war, and eventually, with lots of campaigning, gained universal suffrage in 1928.

In Social Geography, Sexuality is not just a person’s sexual desire, instead it is classed in the same social way as other areas such as gender and race, and is explored in the same way (Pain, 2001). Opinions on Sexuality have changed greatly in recent times, with homosexuality itself being illegal in Great Britain up until as recently as 1967, with The Sexual Offences Act of 1967 decriminalising private adult male activities (Weeks, 2011). However, in many countries homosexuality is still illegal. It tends to be that homosexuality is illegal in many developing countries, and countries where religion still plays a major role in society, such as the Middle East. (Erasing 67 Crimes) In these countries, people are often punished, and sentenced to death for their ‘crimes’. Some – mainly Lesbian Feminists - have begun to argue that there is a ‘gay gene’, meaning that being homosexual is not a choice, as others have argued. (Sarah L Holloway)

The idea of ‘space’ is just as important homosexuals as it is for heterosexuals. Valentine has explored the different treatments of homosexuals and heterosexuals in public spaces. This is shown in the way that a ‘straight’ couple would be able to hold hands and show affection to each other without incident, while a ‘gay’ couple could do so, but possibly subject themselves to verbal, and sometimes physical abuse (Valentine, 2001). Thankfully these occurrences are becoming less common in countries where homosexuality is legal, with reported crimes in America dropping 32% since last year. This may be attributed to the fact USA has become one of the most recent countries to legalise same-sex marriage. In the past, in order to be free in their sexuality, many homosexuals have banded together in communities. One of the most famous of these communities in Britain is Manchester’s Gay Village, which in recent times, has become open to all and is seen as an extremely popular place to go in Manchester if you want to experience good nightlife.