Activity 6 Sexualized/Gendered/Queer spaces

Activity 6

Sexualized/Gendered/Queer spaces

Rosedelle A Chery

This nation is built on the backs of working class families. It is the working class that stimulates our economy and drives this nation. However, the resources that working parents need in order to raise a family and establish a healthy home life, sometimes is lacking in neighborhoods. Parents who work a nine to five or even late shifts have hard times finding places and things that will accommodate their schedules. In my neighborhood, which is mostly middle class, there are about three doctor’s offices, one of which closes at 12pm, which is not helpful for most people. One of the other two closes at 6 and the other closes at 7. I think the last two can be considered evening clinics because they do stay open unusually late for a doctor’s office. There were no daycares in within a 10 block radius of my house, well any that I could find, however I know that going down towards the end of rockaway, in Far Rockaway, there are daycares centers that do open till late. These daycares are a great resource for working parents that have to work late. There are a lot of housing projects and private residential buildings in my neighborhood, and I know that there are daycares with those complexes to accommodate parents with in the buildings. I'm sure some are open to people who don't live in the buildings.

There are definitely gendered spaces in my neighborhood; most obvious are the female and male clothing stores. Rainbow is a female clothing store in my neighborhood that is definitely a "female" space. 99.9 percent of the customers are female because they sale female things. Mellow Magic is a male clothing store with a very male feel. They sell the newest sneakers in men sizes, they have pictures of half dressed women, and play hardcore rap music. It is a more welcome place for women who like hardcore music and who really like sneakers. The less obvious places would be the radio shack, some of the corner stores, and the many Irish bars. I have never been to the bars since I’m under age, but as I walk pass them, the majority of the people in there are men and they are always playing sports on the T.V. The nail and hair salons are what I consider to be “female” spaces. Though they are both open to both sexes, their preferred cliental are women. Even at a unisex salon, all the ads and pictures posted were of women and women’s hair styles. At a regular guys’ barbershop, there would be more things to attract men, like men hair styles.

In these changing times, I think that gay people are being more open about their sexuality and there relationships. In Manhattan, a lot of gay people are open and can claim almost anywhere for themselves. This includes trains, buses, parks and etc. The west village and Soho are definitely gay places, meaning that gay people are open and live the way they want. Those are places in the city where if you see gay people kissing or holding hands, it’s normal and you aren’t shocked. I think they choose these places because of the diversity and because big cites are usually more tolerant places than small towns or neighborhood. Chauncey writes on page 225 that “the gay presence in the streets was thus masked, in part, by the bustle of street life in working-class neighborhoods.” Being that Manhattan is one of the busiest cites in there world, people are more occupied with there own life than other people’s. When I googled “gay map of New York” what came up shocked me. There were lists upon lists of gay bars, saunas, hotels and all types of places that are gay people. I didn’t realize that were so many places for gay people to go. This is not so in my neighborhood. You may see gay people and transgender people but is no where in Rockaway, as far as I could find, that they have claimed for themselves. I think one of the main reasons for this is that Rockaway is a very religious place, which churches on every block. However, night time at the board walk is where many couples go to engage in private acts in public, gay or straight. People go there to make out, drink alcohol, smoke, and even go skinny dipping in the beach. Old and young people go to take walks or exercise, and to spend private time with the people they love. I must admit that on warm summer night, the boardwalk is very romantic and a great place to be.