A penetrated space: At the threshold of propriety, sexual practice and the public

• In Event: Improper Place: A Criminological Investigation of the Problematics of Space

Abstract

This paper explores the construction of public space, how it acquires its meaning (the various inclusions or exclusions this may entail) and how this interacts with the unexpected interruption. Using public performances and displays of non-normative, or ‘kinky’ sexualised practice as a case study, I examine what happens when heteronormative public spaces and these practices collide. I draw on formal and informal instances of ‘space invasion’ in this paper to advance contemporary criminological discussions about considerations of public spaces and of non-normative sexual practice. The analysis sheds light on the structures, affects, and politics which compose how public spaces are formally and informally policed, and offers new ways to think about what public space is for, and criminologically, how it might be thought through and acted within/out. Whilst the focus of this paper may be on kinky sexual practice this paper also has implications for social and spatial justice more broadly.

Author

• Alexandra Fanghanel, University of Greenwich