Being Gay, Being Straight: An Anthropological Critique of Manchester's Gay Village
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This thesis is an ethnographic study of an area in Manchester known as the
'Gay Village'. It explores the history and changes in the meaning of this term
for the people who live and work in the Village, as well as for those who visit
it for leisure. The Village was originally created by gay activists who
emphasised being gay as the basis for having a separate gay community.
However, since being incorporated into Manchester City Council's culture-led
regeneration strategy the area now attracts large numbers of heterosexual
male and female users. For many heterosexual Village users being gay
attaches as much to 'things' that they feel able to engage with in the making of
themselves, as much as what it attaches to persons through the way they
define their sexuality. Within the Village previous assumptions about the
authenticity of the categories 'gay' and 'straight' have been subjected to much
debate. The aim of the thesis is therefore to subject current understandings of
contemporary gay and straight sexuality to critical analysis and to explore
how ideas about sexual identity may be changing in Britain in the first decade
of the 21St century.
Authors
Darbyshire, Kevin JohnCollections
- Theses [4223]