... Castells (1983) who set out to map the gay community and its institutions (e.g gay bars) in the area of the Castro, San Francisco, USA. The reason for the early work on this issue has been focussed on the experiences of gay men rather than lesbians may be because the formation of these communities has been the most visible. Castells argues that the predominance of men forming distinctive neighbourhoods rather than women is because of a profound gender difference. He suggests that, rather than occupy a particular place with spatial boundaries, lesbians are more likely to form social networks. Geographers Adler and Brenner, who attempted to replicate Castells method of research, specifically focussing on a lesbian neighbourhood in an unnamed city US, have questioned Castells argument by suggesting that the absence of lesbian neighbourhoods is due to their limited resources and lack of capital rather than lack of interest. They ...

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