‘They look at you like an insect that wants to be squashed’: An ethnographic account of the racialized sexual spaces of Manchester’s Gay Village

Abstract

This article explores the interactive relationship between sexuality, 'race' and space. By drawing on ethnographic research with bisexual and lesbian women, it looks at the lived experiences of the intersections of sexuality and 'race' in a particular sexualized space, namely Manchester's Gay Village. The article argues that this 'primarily' sexualized nighttime leisure space is simultaneously racialized through the ways in which it is structured around whiteness, which is perpetuated through a somatic norm that operates in different ways. It explores perceptions of the Gay Village as a 'racially neutral' space, exclusionary practices such as door policies, practices of looking and touching, and expressions of sexual desire, all of which racialize bodies and spaces. Examining ways in which 'race' and sexuality work together to constitute space and how sexualized space that is inherently racialized constitutes racial-sexual subjectivities, the article demonstrates the significance of the spatial dimension of everyday intersectional experience and therefore calls for researchers to pay more attention to 'space' as a concept when researching intersectionalities.

Feeling Race: Theorizing the Racial Economy of Emotions

“…In fact, the subfield of emotional geography examines the interplay between emotions and space, as race is reproduced not only ideologically but through “spatial practices and processes” (Hankins, Cochran, and Derickson 2012:381). Held (2017), for example, discusses overt racializing strategies in gay spaces such as “door policies” and more subtle ones such as “the look” and “the touch.” A participant in her study describes “the look” as follows:Joanne: Ehm, one of the things what’s difficult and different about racism which is, like, really hard to explain for some people . .…”

“…So when you go into that sort of environment, if you are on your own and you say to another white person, “blah-blah, I don’t like that person, that person doesn’t like me, they are racist,” they’re, like, “No, don’t be silly.” But if you are with another Black person, they will know instantly because they all had that feeling before. (Held 2017:546)…”

“Anywhere but here": Querying spatial stigma as a social determinant of health among youth of color accessing LGBTQ services in Chicago's Boystown

“…Boystown’s reputation as a hub for LGBTQ socialization and services should mean that it is a space where people from the “LGBTQ community” are not stigmatized. However, several scholars have documented the exclusion of people of color within gay enclaves in Chicago (Ghaziani, 2014; Orne, 2017) as well as Manhattan (Andersson, 2015; Irazábal & Huerta, 2016), South Beach (Kanai & Kenttamaa-Squires, 2015), San Francisco (Reck, 2009), and outside the U.S. (Giwa & Greensmith, 2012; Held, 2016). These analyses suggest that, ironically, gay enclaves – spaces created in response to sexual minority stigma and discrimination – are now new sites for socio-spatial stigmatization of low-income, LGBTQ people of color.…”

Refugeeness, Sexuality, and Gender: Spatialized Lived Experiences of Intersectionality by Queer Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Paris

“…Furthermore, such an experience of non-belonging arising from refugeeness adds up to the racialized othering process queer asylum seekers and refugees may face in spaces of queer sociability, increasing even more the sense of isolation and their disillusionment. Various works have documented the racializing practices and forms of exclusion of racialized people occurring in LGBT labeled places, such as bars or clubs, or more generally in gay neighborhoods (Kawale, 2003;Held, 2017;Trawalé and Poiret, 2017). Both experiences of rejection or sexual fetishization encountered by some respondents highlight this reality.…”