Description
This open access book examines the significance of gay neighborhoods (or `gayborhoods') from critical periods of formation during the gay liberation and freedom movements of the 1960s and 1970s, to proven durability through the HIV/AIDS pandemic during the 1980s and 1990s, to a mature plateau since 2000. The book provides a framework for contemplating the future form and function of gay neighborhoods. Social and cultural shifts within gay neighborhoods are used as a framework for understanding the decades-long struggle for LGBTQ+ rights and equality. Resulting from gentrification, weakening social stigma, and enhanced rights for LGBTQ+ people, gay neighborhoods have recently become "less gay," following a 50-year period of resilience. Meanwhile, other neighborhoods are becoming "more gay," due to changing preferences of LGBTQ+ individuals and a propensity for LGBTQ+ families to form community in areas away from established gayborhoods. The current `plateau' in the evolution of gay neighborhoods is characterized by generational differences-between Baby Boom pioneers and Millennials who favour broad inclusivity-signaling various possible trajectories for the future `afterlife' of these important LGBTQ+ urban spaces. The complicating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic provides a point of comparison for lessons learned from gay neighborhoods and the LGBTQ+ community that bravely endured the onset of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. This book will be of interest to students and scholars in various disciplines-including sociology, social work, anthropology, gender and sexuality, LGTBQ+ and queer studies, as well as urban geography, architecture, and city planning-and to policymakers and advocates concerned with LGBTQ+ rights and social justice.
Binding: Hardback
Binding: Hardback