Celebrating LGBTQIA+ spaces
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The history of the LGBTQIA+ community is woven into the notion of space and location. Like many other minority groups whose existence has been criminalized, knowing safe places to meet like-minded folks was key to nurture bonds and create a sense of belonging. But what counts as a gay, lesbian, or queer space?
Jen Jack Gieseking, an urban cultural geographer, feminist, and queer theorist, explains that while we often associate the LGBTQ community with spaces like neighborhoods, bars, and cities, “mapping” and understanding queer location is much more nuanced. “For example, let’s say you and your friends met at the pizza place after you went to the dyke bar every Friday — it was queer at that moment,” Jen Jack says. “Recording that line on a map implies an ‘official’ history that many people do not feel a part of in their everyday lives.” That’s why his project, Lesbian & Queer NYC Places, also incorporates areas that are mentioned in pamphlets or interviews.
The LGBTQ community has a long history of oppression and of hiding in the shadows, which, perhaps explains why defining queer spaces can be as challenging as defining queerness itself. Many venues and events were kept secret for the sake of safety. However, there were times when aspects of LGBTQ culture became “popular” enough to be tolerated and these community spaces became hot spots for nightlife entertainment.
For example, drag balls began as early as 1869 in Harlem, and quickly became safe sites for gay men to meet up. In the 1920s, these drag balls entered the “mainstream” nightlife of New York City and many people outside the community attended. But after World War II, everything changed. The attitude toward LGBTQ culture shifted. Police often raided bars and clubs that catered to gay, lesbian, and trans patrons. These unofficial safe havens became the stage for tipping points in LGBTQ history, like the Stonewall riots in New York City or the Compton’s cafeteria riot in San Francisco.
With the criminalization of homosexuality came the need for secrecy. Public spaces became secret meet-up spots. From parks to bars and private homes, the LGBTQ community continued to expand, radicalize, and organize.
Today, while LGBTQ culture is more represented in media and, in some cases, its members are able to live more openly, the number of venues has dwindled. Some argue that the need for these spaces has changed as the community has become more mainstream.
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, it is important to recognize the role location and space played and continue to play in the official and unofficial history of the LGBTQ community. Mapping projects are crucial to recording the places where history was made/unmade — two examples are OUTgoing, which documents 150 years of LGBTQ nightlife in NYC, and Kaucyila Brooke’s LGBTQ history exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California, which highlights the loss of some iconic lesbian venues in the Bay Area and Los Angeles. Other projects are key to the evolution and growth of the LGBTQ community — “Queering the Map,” explores the idea that queer spaces are becoming more “abstract and less tied to concrete geographical locations,” echoing Jen Jack’s approach to queer mapping.
What does your LGBTQ+ space look like to you? Is it a bar? Is it your first Pride? Is it the grassy area on your college campus where you organized a queer meet-up? Share your story on Twitter using #LocationIsPersonal.
We recognize that the focus of this newsletter was only on one part of the world and that — despite improvements — violence against LGBTQIA+ folks continues here in the US and abroad, and in some spaces is still considered a crime. This is one of the many reasons why building safe environments is critical to our community. Here are a few organizations that fight to create space and protect our community:
Do you want to highlight other LGBTQIA+ organizations? Share them using #LocationIsPersonal.
What we’re checking out
- Queer California: Untold Stories at the Oakland Museum of California, open until August 11, 2019
- “In Search of The Eagle: From San Francisco to Vienna, an informal family of gay bars has flourished “, The Thrust
- Self, Made at the Exploratorium in San Francisco where you can spot a Mapbox map by Reveal, open until September 2, 2019
- “Men Are From Chelsea, Women Are From Park Slope”, The Pudding
- “Queer Today, Gone Tomorrow: the Fight to Save LGBT Nightlife”, The Guardian
- This map from Rainbow Europe explores the policy landscape for the LGBTQ community in Europe. You can even download the data.
- “Lenn Keller: Keeping the Bay Area’s Black Lesbian History Alive”, KQED
- “The Mobile Museum Schooling the World on Trans History”, AnOther Magazine
Who we’re following
- Jen Jack Gieseking, urban cultural geographer, feminist and queer theorist, and environmental psychologist. Assistant Professor of Geography at the University of Kentucky.
- Chris E. Vargas, Executive Director of Museum of Trans Hirstory & Art.
- Ken Schwencke, journalist and programmer. News apps at ProPublica.
- Greggor Mattson, Northeast Ohio sociologist researching gay bars, inequalities, sex work, & gentrification. Author of a book, curator of Who Needs Gay Bars.
- Eleanor Lutz, PhD candidate at the Department of Biology at the University of Washington studying mosquito behavior. Science designer and data enthusiast whose latest map of the solar system is INCREDIBLE.
What we’re building
- Introducing: Mapbox Data
- Custom map style generator and Monochrome styles
- New draft styles and streamlined editing for Mapbox Studio
- Global boundary data for offline maps
- New workflow to locate, annotate, and publish itineraries
- Map Pride Routes with Mapbox
Developers Spotlight
Brandi Haskins is one of our Support Engineers. She spends her days working on issues across different products, platforms and programming languages. When she’s not at work, Brandi loves yoga, drag shows, and playing at the park with her daughter.
T Adiseshan is a Platform engineer at Mapbox and also one of the Intersections ERG leads. Outside of Mapbox, T spends their time gardening, powerlifting, and organizing with Bay Area activist communities.
Alex Ulsh is the General Manager of Atlas, our on-premises location platform. She guides product development, helping her team build a secure and reliable offline platform for our customers. Outside of Mapbox, Alex loves live music — she went to 24 concerts and 3 comedy shows in 2018 alone!
Events
- Kotlin DC User Group Meetup at Mapbox, DC | July 2
- Transform how disaster risk is communicated — build with Mapbox for the VizRisk Challenge | Deadline July 15
Jobs
- Senior Software Engineer, Atlas
- Platform Engineer
- Senior Software Engineer, Search
- Communications Manager
- Brand Marketing Manager
- Web Developer
- Email Marketing Manager
Location is Personal: Issue 6, June 2019 was originally published in Points of interest on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.