Faculty
Social Sciences
Supervisor Name
Dr. Sean Waite
Keywords
Lesbian, Gay, Gay Neighborhoods, Lesbian Neighborhoods, Gay Geography, Neighborhoods, Homosexuality
Description
Gay neighbourhoods, defined by their high concentration of gay men and unique culture, have seemingly become a staple in major cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Their notion of a ‘safe space’ has allowed gay men to socialize and find partners, initiate successful political movements and the protection of gender and sexuality rights, and be their authentic selves (Ghaziani, 2015). Geographers and sexuality scholars have been researching the implications of physical space and the importance of occupying neighbourhoods for gay men, as their gentrification and consumerist culture has drawn significant attention (Bell & Binnie, 2004). However, scholars have overlooked that while gay men have been creating neighbourhoods, so too have lesbians, with their formation and sense of community impacted by heteronormative and patriarchal boundaries.
Throughout creating a systematic review on gay neighbourhoods, I noticed a lack of attention to valuable discourses about where lesbians occupy, why they occupy certain neighbourhoods and institutions, and how the transformation of the gay neighbourhood impacts the future of lesbian neighbourhoods. Moreover, those articles included in the review are rooted in feminist scholarship and extend the discussion beyond what is relevant to the initial study, which is why I have created this short review to discuss the history of lesbian neighbourhoods, their slow disappearance, and urge researchers to consider why lesbians patterns of occupying are changing.
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Sean Waite, for welcoming me to work on this project together.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Document Type
Paper
Lesbian Neighbourhoods: The Disappearance and Displacement
Gay neighbourhoods, defined by their high concentration of gay men and unique culture, have seemingly become a staple in major cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Their notion of a ‘safe space’ has allowed gay men to socialize and find partners, initiate successful political movements and the protection of gender and sexuality rights, and be their authentic selves (Ghaziani, 2015). Geographers and sexuality scholars have been researching the implications of physical space and the importance of occupying neighbourhoods for gay men, as their gentrification and consumerist culture has drawn significant attention (Bell & Binnie, 2004). However, scholars have overlooked that while gay men have been creating neighbourhoods, so too have lesbians, with their formation and sense of community impacted by heteronormative and patriarchal boundaries.
Throughout creating a systematic review on gay neighbourhoods, I noticed a lack of attention to valuable discourses about where lesbians occupy, why they occupy certain neighbourhoods and institutions, and how the transformation of the gay neighbourhood impacts the future of lesbian neighbourhoods. Moreover, those articles included in the review are rooted in feminist scholarship and extend the discussion beyond what is relevant to the initial study, which is why I have created this short review to discuss the history of lesbian neighbourhoods, their slow disappearance, and urge researchers to consider why lesbians patterns of occupying are changing.