Home and heterosexuality in Aotearoa New Zealand: The spaces and practices of DIY and home renovation

Abstract

The ways in which domestic spaces function as sites of sexual subjectivity and relationship formation for heterosexual couples is an understudied area in geography. One way to address this gap in knowledge is to focus attention on the varied ways in which heterosexual couples use the practices and spaces of do-it-yourself (DIY) and home renovation to construct, materialise and sometimes disrupt their subjectivities and relationships. Taking into consideration the significance of home ownership in New Zealand, I argue that the practices of DIY and home renovations are an everyday event that can occur both within the dwelling and beyond. A focus on heterosexuality, home, DIY and home renovation encourages a more nuanced reading of the mutually constitutive relationship between bodies and spaces.