Cosmopolitan Knowledge and the Production and Consumption of Sexualized Space: Manchester's Gay Village

Abstract

According to i ek (1997) the logic of late capitalism offers opportunities for the incorporation of previously marginalised groups, whilst simultaneously dividing them at the same time. These possibilities for incorporation create divisions on the basis of gender, race, sexuality and class. Here, we examine how the capitalist desire for opening new markets for leisure consumption with new forms of branding, alongside the desire for the territorialisation of space by campaigning gay and lesbian groups, has led to the formation of a 'gay space' marketed as a cosmopolitan spectacle, in which the central issue becomes a matter of access and knowledge: who can use, consume and be consumed in gay space? We also ask what is the radical political impetus of sexual politics when commodified as cosmopolitan and incorporated spatially? The paper grounds the examination of the politics of cosmopolitanism within a specific locality drawing upon research undertaken on the contested use of space within Manchester's gay village. The paper is organised into four sections. The first examines competing definitions of cosmopolitanism, exploring how sexuality and class are framed as conceptual limits. The second describes how Manchester's gay village is imagined and branded as cosmopolitan. The third considers the navigation and negotiation of difference within this space. The final section evaluates the exclusions from cosmopolitan space and pursues the significance of this for arguments about incorporation in late capitalism.

Rua declinada no masculino: sexualidades, mercado imobiliário e masculinidades no Centro de São Paulo (Brasil)

“…Jon Binnie & Beverley Skeggs (2004), sociólogos ingleses, mostram como uma região da cidade de Manchester, localizada no centro e conhecida historicamente por ser espaço de moradia e presença da classe trabalhadora, aos poucos passou a ter novas características. Na década de 2000, com terrenos mais baratos, alguns bares e restaurantes direcionados a públicos homossexuais masculinos alocados genericamente na categoria "gay" se instalaram 5 O que estou chamando de região da República é um conjunto de ruas e praças ao lado da Praça da República, localizada a cerca de dois quilômetros da Rua Frei Caneca e mais próxima do marco zero da cidade.…”

Todo empieza con «E»: Exclusión, etnicidad y formación de élites en el mundo actual de las discotecas inglesas

“…Active in these scenes since their inception, Jamac (his DJ moniker) was born in Moss Side to Jamaican parents and is a music technology lecturer by day. cargo de grupos como los Happy Mondays y Stone Roses) y la regeneración dinámica de su barrio gay en la zona de Canal Street, que se convirtió en un popular y diversificado lugar de ocio 39,40 . Desde las primeras fiestas sin autorización en almacenes, campos y antros del noroeste de Inglaterra 4 , hasta la mítica discoteca rave Hacienda, propiedad del dueño rave Hacienda, propiedad del dueño rave del sello discográfico Factory, Tony Wilson, y del famoso grupo indie New Order, Manchester estuvo en la vanguardia indie New Order, Manchester estuvo en la vanguardia indie de la revolución de la MDE, inmortalizada en la película 24 Hours Party People e .…”

“…Such concerns perhaps raise questions as to the validity of media discourses that continue to laud Manchester's cultural prowess, wherein: and Stone Roses) and the dynamic regeneration of its Gay Village around the Canal Street area, which proved to be a popular crossover leisure destination. 39,40 From some of the earliest unlicensed raves in warehouses, fields and caves around the north west of England, 4 to the iconic rave club, the Haçienda, owned by Factory record label owner Tony Wilson and internationally renowned indie band New Order, Manchester was at the forefront of the EDM revolution immortalised in the film '24 Hour Party People'. e Moreover, this proved to be a nexus of cultural and economic activity that played a key role in the repackaging and regeneration of Manchester and many of Britain's other de-industrialised cities; part of what became known as an urban renaissance.…”

Imagining Cities, Living the Other: Between the Gay Urban Idyll and Rural Lesbian Lives

“…Rural practices can in diverse ways be liberatory [6,43]. Investigations of ruralities have moved sexual practices away from categories of identities that rely on 'urban' manifestations of gay sexualities, such as gay ghettos, or even the necessity of defining within the category 'gay' or 'homosexual' [44,45] and with the advent of 'queer' questioned the boundaries, privileges and normativities of such categories [18,30,46]. The re-claiming of a rural idyll within what is assumed to be oppressive countryside has been the task for some authors [2,6,43,47].…”

“…In moving beyond the focus on commodification and gay territories as signifiers of 'mappable' identities, lesbian geographies may not centralise facilities and sexual opportunities as markers of existence [16,45], although recent research has foregrounded female appropriation of bathhouses [55,61,62]. The territorial visibilities that these facilities, and sexual opportunities, afford gay men may not be available to (and may not be sought by) women [63].…”