Synopses & Reviews
Queer Cities, Queer Cultures examines the articulation of particular subcultures and forms of expression with the broader stories we tell about postwar Europe and particular watershed moments through a series of urban case studies. It considers queer life in selected cities in relation to the advent and end of Cold War polarization, and considers the degree to which the iconic events of 1945, 1968, and 1989 influenced the social and sexual climate of the ensuing decades. It raises questions about the form and structure of the 1960s sexual revolution, and forces us to think about how we define sexual liberalization and where, how and on whose terms it occurs. The book also explores the role of America in shaping particular forms of subculture; the significance of changes in legal codes; modes of queer consumption and displays of community; the difficult fit of queer (as opposed to gay and lesbian) politics in liberal democracies; the challenge of AIDS; and the arrival of the internet.
By locating narratives of queer history within a variety of distinct cities, comparing and contrasting these locations, Queer Cities, Queer Cultures makes a significant contribution to our understanding or urban history, European history, and the history of gender and sexuality. It will be valuable reading for all students and scholars in these and other related disciplines.
Synopsis
Queer Cities, Queer Cultures examines the formation and make-up of urban subcultures and situates them against the stories we typically tell about Europe and its watershed moments in the post 1945 period. The book considers the degree to which the iconic events of 1945, 1968 and 1989 influenced the social and sexual climate of the ensuing decades, raising questions about the form and structure of the 1960s sexual revolution, and forcing us to think about how we define sexual liberalization - and where, how and on whose terms it occurs.
An international team of authors explores the role of America in shaping particular forms of subculture; the significance of changes in legal codes; differing modes of queer consumption and displays of community; the difficult fit of queer (as opposed to gay and lesbian) politics in liberal democracies; the importance of mobility and immigration in modulating queer urban life; the challenge of AIDS; and the arrival of the internet.
By exploring the queer histories of cities from Istanbul to Helsinki and Moscow to Madrid, Queer Cities, Queer Cultures makes a significant contribution to our understanding of urban history, European history and the history of gender and sexuality.
About the Author
Matt Cook is Senior Lecturer in History and Gender Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, UK, and co-director of the Raphael Samuel History Centre.
Jennifer V. Evans is Associate Professor of History at Carleton University, Canada.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Matt Cook (Birkbeck, University of London, UK) & Jennifer Evans (Carleton University, Canada)Pasts1. The Queer Margins of Spanish Cities, 1939-2010
Richard Cleminson (University of Leeds, UK), Rosa Maria Medina Doménech (University of Granada, Spain) & Isabel Vélez (independent scholar)2. Capital Stories: Local Lives in Queer London
Matt Cook3. The Queer Road to Frisind: Copenhagen 1945-2012
Peter Edelberg (University of Copenhagen, Denmark)4. Harmless Kisses and Infinite Loops: Making Space for Queer Place in 21st Century Berlin
Jennifer Evans5. From Stalinist Pariahs to Subjects of 'Managed Democracy': Queers in Moscow 1945 to the Present
Dan Healey (University of Oxford, UK)6. Queer Amsterdam 1945-2010
Gert Hekma (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)7. Ljubljana: The Tales from the Queer Margins of the City
Roman Kuhar (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia)8. Mapping/ Unmapping: The Making of Queer Athens
Dimitris Papanikolaou (Oxford University, UK)9. Istanbul: Queer Desires between Muslim Tradition and Global Pop
Ralph Poole (Salzburg University, Austria)10. Queering Budapest
Judit Takács (Hungarian Academy of Sciences)11. Two Cities of Helsinki? One Liberally Gay and One Practically Queer?
Antu Sorainen (Academy of Finland)12. Paris: 'Resting on its Laurels'?
Florence Tamagne (University of Lille, France)Closing Reflections13. 'Gays Who Cannot Properly be Gay'. Queer Muslims in the Neoliberal European City
Fatima El-Tayeb (University of California, San Diego)14. Seeing Like a Queer City
Tom Boellstorff (University of California, Irvine)