The book Queer Nightlife by Kemi Adeyemi, Kareem Khubchandani, and Ramón H. Rivera-Servera details the intersectionality within queer nightlife and how race, gender, and class play large parts in the mainstream queer nightlife culture. The book also goes further into detail on the impacts of gentrification and commercialization on queer nightlife and how the environments have been immensely transformed over the years.
In terms of intersectionality, there are numerous signs of exclusion and discrimination within different groups and subsections of people in the queer community. There are many instances of Black and Latinx exclusion within queer bars and clubs, specifically those that are in gentrified areas and are majority-White. However, since the early 20th Century, there have always been specific spots and areas, such as parts of Detroit and Chicago, that have had nightlives and clubs catered specifically to these racial minority groups. Overall, there has always been a general trend, which still persists today, of the catering of White-owned queer and other LGBTQ+ venues towards White, cisgender men.
This ties not only into the topic of intersectionality, but also further into gentrification and its impacts on the queer nightlife scene. These same White-owned venues, which often are located in gentrified or just historically-White neighborhoods and cities, do not face the same issues as minority-catered queer and LGBTQ+ clubs and venues, which have to suffer from underfunding, over policing, and just a general set of extra strictness and unnecessary and unfair treatment. Specifically with over policing, which happens in a different way in gentrified neighborhoods, most often heavily targets Black and Latinx queer participants in the nightlife scene. Additionally, through the process of gentrification, the overall price and cost of participating in nightlife has skyrocketed. This, generally, has impacts mostly on queer people of minority races, and not nearly as much for White people.
The issue of overpricing and a general transition in the culture surrounding queer nightlife is also a large result of commercialization and social media. Both of these factors have caused traditional LGBTQ+ clubs and venues to shift towards appealing to a more wealthy and “modern” audience. This not only causes hikes in the cost of participating in nightlife, but also takes away from some of the traditional and historical places of comfort and enjoyment for queer and LGBTQ+ partygoers and clubgoers.
Overall, I feel that the issues brought up within the text reflect a larger issue of gentrification and society’s feeling of need to cater to a White, wealthy population. I feel that this process makes things such as nightlife less enjoyable for the middle and lower class, and for minorities across the country.
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