Sexuality in Heterotopia: time, space and love between women in the historic house

Abstract

The presentation of historic houses in Britain generally reflects dominant ideas about the national past, and mobilises familiar narratives about aristocracy, class, lineage and family in order to forge a sense of stability and national identity. While the representation of women, ethnic and national identities and sexuality has been widely contested and debated in museum studies over recent years, these themes remain under-explored in the literature on historic houses as heritage, despite their huge importance for public history and its relationship to academic history, public policy and visitor demands. Does the heritage industry construct normatively gendered and heterosexualised space in presenting the historic house to the visitor? This essay will use two case studies of historic houses associated with women who led unconventional lives, Shibden Hall, near Halifax and Sissinghust in Kent, to push forward debate and analysis. It will question whether there is a unified or necessarily conservative approach to sexuality in the heritage industry and tease out some interesting complexities around sexed and gendered space.