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Importance of Urban Spaces

Researchers have identified the emergence of gay and lesbian communities during several progressive time periods across the world including: the Renaissance, Enlightenment, and modern Westernization. Depending on geographic location, some of these communities experienced more opposition to their existence than others; nonetheless, they began to permeate society both socially and politically.

European Cities Past and Present

City spaces in Early Modern Europe were host to a wealth of gay activity; however, these scenes remained semi-secretive for a long period of time. Dating back to the 1500s, city conditions such as apprenticeship labor relations and living arrangements, abundant student and artist activity, and hegemonic norms surrounding female societal status were typical in Venice and Florence, Italy. Under these circumstances, many open minded young people were attracted to these city settings. Consequently, an abundance of same-sex interactions began to take place. Many of the connections formed then often led to the occurrence of casual romantic and sexual relationships, the prevalence of which increased quite rapidly over time until a point at which they became a subculture and community of their own.

Since the 1700s, Paris has been known as a gay capital. Literature and ballroom culture gradually made their way onto the scene and became integrated despite transgressive societal views. Perhaps the most well-known of these are the balls of Magic-City. Amsterdam and London have also been recognized as leading locations for LGBT community establishment. By the 1950s, these urban spaces were booming with gay venues such as bars and public saunas where community members could come together. Paris and London were particularly attracting to the lesbian population as platforms for not only socialization, but education as well. A few other urban occasions that are important to the LGBT community include Carnival in Rio de Jeneiro, Brazil, Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia, as well as the various other pride parades hosted in bigger cities around the world.

Urban Spaces in America

In the same way in which LGBTs used the city backdrop to join together socially, they were able to join forces politically as well. This new sense of collectivity provided somewhat of a safety net for individuals when voicing their demands for equal rights. In the United States specifically, several key political events have taken place in urban contexts. Some of these include, but are not limited to:

Independence Hall, Philadelphia - gay and lesbian protest movement in 1965

• Activists led by Barbara Gittings started some of the first picket lines here. These protests continued on and off until 1969.

The Stonewall Inn, New York City - birthplace of the modern gay rights movement in 1969

• For the first time, a group of gay men and drag queens fought back against police during a raid on this small bar in Greenwich Village. The place is now a national historic landmark.

Castro Street, San Francisco - mecca for LGBTQ folks since the 1970s

• Almost of equal importance as Christopher Street (site of Stonewall Riot) when it comes to historic landmarks, this urban spot was an oasis of hopefulness. Home to the first openly gay elected official Harvey Milk and the legendary Castro Theater, this cityscape remains iconic to the LGBT community.

Cambridge City Hall, Massachusetts - site of the first same-sex marriage in U.S. history in 2004

• In the years following this event, attempts by religious groups in the area to ban it have been stifled and many more states have joined the Commonwealth.

During and following these events, LGBT community subculture began to grow and stabilize into a nationwide phenomenon. Gay bars became more and more popular in large cities. For gays particularly, increasing numbers of cruising areas, public bath houses, and YMCAs in these urban spaces continued to welcome them to experience a more liberated way of living. For lesbians, this led to the formation of literary societies, private social clubs, and same-sex housing. The core of this community-building took place in New York City and San Francisco, but cities like St. Louis, Lafayette Park in WA, and Chicago quickly followed suit.

Why the city?

What exactly is it that makes urban spaces so favorable to the LGBT community? Cities afford a host of prime conditions that allow for better individual development as well as collective movement that are not otherwise available in rural spaces. First and foremost, urban landscapes offer LGBTs better prospects to meet other LGBTs and form networks and relationships. One ideal platform within this framework was the free labor market of many capitalistic societies which enticed people to break away from their often damaging traditional nuclear families in order to pursue employment in bigger cities. Making the move to these spaces afforded them new liberty in the realms of sexuality, identity, and also kinship. Some researchers describe this as a phase of resistance against the confining expectations of normativity. Urban LGBTs demonstrated this push back through various outlets including their style of dress, the way they talked and carried themselves, and how they chose to build community. From a social science perspective, the relationship between the city and LGBT community is not a one-way street. LGBTs give back as much, if not more, in terms of economic contributions (i.e. “pink money”), activism and politics too.