In this episode, we are discussing Theodore Greene’s latest book, Not in my Gayborhood! Gay neighborhoods and the rise of the vicarious citizen, published by Columbia University Press in July 2024. This bookis a lively and generous study of gay neighborhoods in Washington DC, highlighting the evolving dynamics of LGBTQ spaces in urban settings. Drawing on empirical fieldwork as well as Ghaziani’s concept of “cultural archipelagos”, Not in My Gayborhood! reveals the plurality and fluidity of LGBTQ spaces, illustrating a complex network of attachments and loyalties that link gay Washingtonians to both iconic gayborhoods and their residential communities.
In the book, Greene introduces the concept of the “vicarious citizen,” showcasing how queer Washingtonians actively protect and develop spaces where they may not even reside. The book then explores how vicarious citizens assert their claims-whether they are normative, pushing back against the erasure of LGBTQ symbols by heterosexual communities; radical, challenging the dominant white gay gaze; or political, advocating for the enhancement of gayborhoods through activism and advocacy.
Not in My Gayborhood! offers a new and maybe more hopeful take on the future of gayborhoods, and reshape our understanding of urban citizenship and belonging.
Purchase the book here:
Guest:
Theo Greene
Theo Greene is the Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology of Bowdoin College at Brunswick (Maine), United States.
His research, writing, and teaching interests lie at the intersections of gender, sexuality, urbanism, and culture. His research broadly uses sexual communities to understand how urban redevelopment shapes and reconfigures how individuals conceptualize, identify with, and participate in local communities.
His current book project, entitled Not in MY Gayborhood: Gay Neighborhoods and the Rise of the Vicarious Citizen, currently in production with Columbia University Press, explores the persistence of iconic gay neighborhoods in Washington, DC, through acts of ephemeral placemaking by nonresidential community actors (vicarious citizens). His ongoing research draws on queer placemaking in cities to challenge the notions of placemaking as stable.
Host:
Leah Bonvin
Leah Bonvin holds an MA in Critical Urbanisms from the University of Basel, Switzerland. Her research focuses on vernacular landscapes and questions of heritage in post-socialist contexts. Her article ‘Reimagining Garage Complexes’ Futures in the Former GDR will be published in Volkskunde in Sachsen. Jahrbuch für Kulturanthropologie later this year.