Queerness and Space The Significance of Queer Nightclubs
Queerness and Space: The Significance of Queer Nightclubs
In this paper, I will argue how many queer people cannot abandon nightclubs as a queer space when acts of physical and institutional violence (like the Pulse shooting and the HIV/AIDS epidemic) threaten the social, emotional, and physical health of the queer community. These sources of queer nightlife are vital to the survival of many queer people because they offer an escape from societal prejudices and cultural expectations, allowing for free expression of one’s identity.
By comparing the motivations and experiences of French gay men during the HIV epidemic in 120 BPM to the experiences of queer Latinx youth shown through Juana María Rodríguez’s “Gesture in Mambo Time”, I will explore how queer clubs can be more than just a source of social entertainment. Using Richard Kim’s “Please Don’t Stop the Music” as a supplemental anecdote, I will show nightclubs can also allow queer people the freedom to express themselves as a queer person within their community, regardless of what boundaries society or culture may place upon them.
Gay clubs served as a space where the members of ACT UP Paris could exist beyond the categories of positive or negative and connect on a deeper level than their collective activism– they could just come together and dance, shifting their focus from the harsh reality of the epidemic to a space full of desire for a future where their government does not ignore their cries and where queer people do not worry about whether they or their loved ones will die from HIV/AIDS.
These “sanctuaries against aggression” brought the queer community into a space where they could celebrate their community’s resilience, honor the lives of the victims of the epidemic, and remember that they are fighting for their community’s right to exist freely (Kim). Though the queer community seemingly feel victim to the epidemic, it still thrived within the confines of flashing lights and dance music.
Pulse violated the sanctity of nightclubs for Latinx queer people – these spaces, meant for a community largely forgotten by their straight and white counterparts, should not need to fear the violence that they seemingly cannot escape.
However, predominantly queer nightclubs offer a space for queer Latinx people to explore a way of dancing and interacting with others free from the confinements of traditional gender norms. Juana María Rodríguez describes how “it was in this space that [she] first saw men gliding across the floor holding each other in dance’s embrace, both artfully enacting the precise rules of partnered dance and boldly defying the social conventions that likewise define their articulation within Latino culture” (Rodríguez)
Although it may seem dangerous or unsafe for Latinx queer people to return to nightclubs after the tragedy at Pulse, many Latinx queer people returned to these spaces to connect to their queer and Latinx aspects of their community. Like the experiences of Nathan and the other activists in 120 BPM, queer Latinx nightclubs offered and will continue to offer Latinx queer people a space to connect with their community free from cultural or societal expectations.
Both the predominately white gay men in 120 BPM and the queer Latinx people affected by Pulse utilize nightclubs to “dance and breathe in the possibilities of a queer life”, free from expectations (whether they stem from society or from traditional cultural aspects) (Rodríguez). These spaces solidify the strength of the queer community and although they can never be immune to systemic and physical violence, many queer people will never abandon them because their important role in the survival and flourishing of the queer community.
References 1. 120 BPM. Le Films de Pierre, 2017. 2. Richard Kim. “Please Don't Stop the Music. ” The Nation, June 15, 2016. https: //www. thenation. com/article/please-dont-stop-the-music/. 3. Juana María Rodríguez. “Gesture in Mambo Time. ” In Sexual Futures, Queer Gestures, and Other Latina Longings, 104. New York University Press, 2014.
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