Abstract
In this chapter I present some findings of my master’s thesis titled: Queer Geography of Czechia: heteronormativity of space, conducted in 2011.1 It sought to uncover the spatiality of heteronormativity in Czechia from the perspective of the non-heterosexual population. Building on Foucault’s and Butler’s theories illuminating the heteronormativity of space I conducted an extensive internet survey drawing on mixed sampling methods with the final number of N=1589 nonheterosexual respondents.
While being aware of the limits of the research method I tried to experimentally measure the heteronormativity of nineteen different ‘model’ spaces. Respondents were given a number of photographs and asked to guess their relative degree of ‘sexual comfort’ in these spaces.
They were also asked to guess the degree of ‘sexual comfort’ of a ‘regular heterosexual’ in these spaces. A reference photograph of a forest was used to verify the sensitivity of measurement.
According to the results, the most heteronormative spaces were pool areas and rural village areas. Interestingly, substantial differences in heteronormativity were found in otherwise similar spaces according to the time of day and the presence of the rainbow flag.
Moreover, negative heteronormativity was uncovered in so called queer spaces such as gay clubs or cafés. Therefore, it seems that sexual dissidents expect the heterosexuals to restrain themselves in queer spaces the same way the most of sexual dissidents do in a majority of heteronormative spaces.
Outcomes of this research can benefit the understanding of spatiality of heteronormativity in geography and other social sciences. It can also contribute to the scarce pools of research in this area in Central Eastern Europe.