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Analyses of activism have inspired geographers for many years, but most of this work has focused on relatively short time-frames, events and struggles. This paper suggests that there is much to be gained from a greater engagement with issues of time and time—spaces. It outlines and applies the contrasting conceptions of chrono/ chora and kairo/ topos notions of time—space as potentially useful ways to interrogate geographies of activism. The paper focuses on two specific forms of activism—an Australian women's 'Heritage Project' and a New Zealand 'Fishbowl' evaluation of a community development programme— to show how politics is contingent on diverse temporal as well as spatial conditions. It reveals the complex navigations that are made as these politics are negotiated via both mutual learning processes and the forging of new activist—state relations. It is concluded that these 'timely partnerships' have involved moving beyond adversarial conceptions of 'state' and 'activist', but at the risk of reconstituting activism as 'social capital'.

AbstractThis article examines the relationship between the sexuality and understandings of nature. Employing a case of 'romance' in 'outback' Australia, we dissolve the boundaries between 'nature' and 'society' to show some of the varied ways in which the construction and performance of heterosexuality is shaped by (and is integral to) dominant ways of knowing nature. In practical terms, we draw on a reality TV series in which single men in 'outback' Australia ('bush bachelors') advertise for potential partners ('sheilas') from the UK. The series charts the development of the relationships as they are played out in remote parts of Western Australia. In this article we critically read the series and draw out three key themes characterising the relationality of nature and heterosexuality. Initially, we look at how nature frames the expectation and reality of sexual relationships in the 'outback', particularly in terms of its power and hostility. We then explore the centrality of nature to constructions of 'outback' masculinity and the way such constructions dominate the heterosexual relationships that develop between the couples. Finally, we show how a further dynamic of the nature/sexuality relationship involves the expectation of a particular kind of femininity as appropriate to the physical, social and cultural nature of the 'outback'.

English
The mid-1990s saw Australian farm women benefit from affirmative government policies at both state and federal levels. Numerous avenues developed for the increased recognition and participation of women in rural industries and policy circles. This article traces the subsequent decade, noting the political and gender relations that have seen the policy climate cool. It analyses the discursive shift in policy from affirmative action to mainstreaming and diversity, and critiques the effects on farm women of this shift. The article concludes by speculating on the future paths and positions farm women might take.

This volume traces the complexity of social geography in both its historical and present contexts, whilst challenging readers to reflect critically on the tensions that run through social geographic thought. Organized to provide a new set of conceptual lenses through which social geographies can be discussedPresents an original intervention into the debates about social geographyHighlights the importance of social geography within the broader field of geography Vincent J. Del Casino Jr.is Professor and Chair of Geography at California State University, Long Beach. He has published extensively on social geography, the geographies of health, geographic methodologies, critical cartography, and representational politics. His recent books include Social Geography: A Critical Introduction(Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) and Mapping Tourism(2003).Mary E. Thomasis Assistant Professor of Geography and Women's Studies at Ohio State University. Her research examines racial segregation among US youth populations and the perpetuation of racism, sexism, and white hegemony in the practices of young women. Her book on teen girls, racial segregation, and urban education in Los Angeles, California is forthcoming. Paul Clokeis Professor of Human Geography at the University of Exeter. He has published widely on the social and cultural geographies of rural areas, and is Founder Editor of the Journal of Rural Studies. His recent books include Swept Up Lives? Re-envisioning the Homeless City(with Jon May and Sarah Johnsen, Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) and Globalizing Responsibility: The Political Rationalities of Ethical Consumption(with Clive Barnett, Nick Clarke, and Alice Malpass, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011).Ruth Panelliis former Reader in Human Geography at University College London and is now participating in community work and research in rural New Zealand. She has published writings on responses to individual and collective experiences of difference and her books include Social Geographies: From Difference to Action(2004) and Global Perspectives on Rural Childhood and Youth(ed. with Samantha Punch and Elsbeth Robson, 2007).

Recent international accounts of gender and governance have highlighted complexities surrounding the political mobilization of women on the one hand, and the reconfiguration of the state on the other. The trajectories taken by women's movements have intersected and interacted with a rapidly changing political opportunity structure and with increasingly unfavourable shifts in dominant discourses. In the past, Australia has been heralded as a woman-friendly state, complete with femocrats overseeing gendered policy analysis of mainstream programmes as well as a broad range of women's service. Recent discursive shifts, however, combined with the changing architecture of the state and a women's movement largely in abeyance, have resulted in the 'fall of the femocrat' and increasing marginalization of feminist agendas. As observed elsewhere, such shifts position women in ways that only selectively recognize them and their capacities and needs. We extend such critiques by mapping over time the engagement with the state of a particular group of rural women. This case study enables us to identify both the heterogeneity of contemporary governance, and the complex, multi-level responses to farm women's agitation for greater industry recognition.

Recent international accounts of gender and governance have highlighted complexities surrounding the political mobilization of women on the one hand, and the reconfiguration of the state on the other. The trajectories taken by women's movements have intersected and interacted with a rapidly changing political opportunity structure and with increasingly unfavourable shifts in dominant discourses. In the past, Australia has been heralded as a woman-friendly state, complete with femocrats overseeing gendered policy analysis of mainstream programmes as well as a broad range of women's service. Recent discursive shifts, however, combined with the changing architecture of the state and a women's movement largely in abeyance, have resulted in the 'fall of the femocrat' and increasing marginalization of feminist agendas. As observed elsewhere, such shifts position women in ways that only selectively recognize them and their capacities and needs. We extend such critiques by mapping over time the engagement with the state of a particular group of rural women. This case study enables us to identify both the heterogeneity of contemporary governance, and the complex, multi-level responses to farm women's agitation for greater industry recognition.

This article provides a case study of the Victorian Women on Farms Gatherings (WOFG) to redress the lack of attention political historians have paid to farm women. Using materials collected by Museum Victoria, we trace the reasons for farm women's activism during the latter part of the twentieth century, and document the activities and outcomes of the Gatherings held annually since 1990. Our study demonstrates that farm women see politics as multi‐faceted and heterogeneous. In short, there are no clear binaries between the political and non‐political. This demonstrates the need to avoid masculinist and conventional definitions of politics, which obscure the political activities of women. Politics should not be conceptualised in a manner which associates women as a group with informal and non‐traditional political activity. This simply reinscribes the types of binaries that have encouraged the omission of women from political history.