Queer Sites: Gay Urban Histories Since 1600

A history of gay space in seven of the world's major cities from the early modern period to the present. Describing gay space as an area with a significant gay/lesbian population, this collection of essays focuses on the changing nature of queer experience in London, Amsterdam, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco, Paris, Lisbon and Moscow. The contributors, leading scholars in gay history, span a rich variety of disciplines and make extensive use of source material to examine the transition from the sexual furtiveness of centuries when male homosexual behavior was criminal, to the open affirmation of gay identities in the 1990s. This book reveals the differences between the American model of gay male life and that of cities in other societies. By concentrating on the importance of the city and varied meeting places such as parks, river walks, bathing places, the street, bars and even churches, the book explores the extent to which gay space existed, the degree of social collectiveness felt by those who used this space and their individual histories.