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Kissing is not a universal right: Sexuality, law and the scales of citizenship

Hubbard, Philip (2013) Kissing is not a universal right: Sexuality, law and the scales of citizenship. Geoforum, 49 . pp. 224-232. ISSN 0016-7185. (doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2012.08.002) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:36620)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2012.08.002

Abstract

Equalities legislation has provided the basis for lesbian and gay-identified individuals to create new spaces of sexual inclusion in the UK. However, national rights to sexual orientation equality do not always translate into equal rights to sexual expression at the local scale. The paper demonstrates this by focusing on an instance where a display of homosexual intimacy - a same-sex kiss - was legitimately removed from a licensed premise despite the existence of legislation outlawing homophobic discrimination. This seeming contradiction demonstrates the limits of a perspective that regards citizenship as something negotiated solely at the scale of the nation-state, with those charged with maintaining public order at the local scale often appearing indifferent to nationally-secured rights. The paper accordingly warns against essentialist notions of the state, concluding that the interplay of a heterogeneous set of actors operating on different jurisdictional scales ultimately determines the limits of sexual citizenship. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2012.08.002
Uncontrolled keywords: Legal geography, LGBT, Licensing, Sexual citizenship, The body, citizenship, gender identity, geographical research, legal rights, legislation, sexuality, social inclusion, state role, United Kingdom
Subjects: H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Depositing User: Mita Mondal
Date Deposited: 20 Nov 2013 09:50 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:13 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/36620 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Hubbard, Philip.

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