Been reading a bit into gay theory (not urban affairs related) but came across a reference to this book:

 

A Passion to Preseve, Gay Men as Keepers of Culture

 

...here is the publishers site:  link

 

Depsite the general nature of the title it seems to be about urban/architectural preservation, sort of AKA historic presevation.  Which is odd since it brought to mind those elaborate "Dayton urban history" threads I used to post...which in an offhand way was sort of "virtual historic presevation"...recreating the city via old pix, maps, and info from the city directories. 

 

Here is an excerpt from the link:

 

"The extraordinary and pioneering involvement of gay men in historic preservation is something of which I've long been at least vaguely aware. Though I paid little attention to it at the time, many of the men I interviewed for Farm Boys engaged in some sort of culture-keeping: they lived in restored older houses, often furnished and decorated with antiques, many of them family heirlooms; they compiled information and objects related to family heritage and local history. I didn't ask them specifically about these interests; they were simply evident in one way or another.

 

"Only since completing Farm Boys have I considered gays-in-preservation a phenomenon worthy of exploration. To the limited extent that I gave it even a passing thought in earlier years, I suppose I saw the apparently disproportionate presence of gay men in historic preservation as the stuff of stereotype. And so I failed to take it seriously. If outside of our sex lives we gays are just like straights, then it must be only a stereotypical illusion that gay men are inordinately drawn to being house restorers and antiquarians - or interior designers, florists, hair stylists, fashion designers, and so forth. Now it's clear to me that gay men really are extraordinarily attracted to these kinds of work. Rather than dismissing these realities as the stuff of stereotype, I see them as the stuff of archetype, significant truths worthy of exploration. Gay men are a prominent and highly talented presence in many female-dominated fields that revolve around creating, restoring, and preserving beauty, order, and continuity. It's a phenomenon that seems to grow out of an essential gay difference."

 

 

Thoughts?

I've often wondered about this, and I like how he writes about it as archetype and not stereotype. The hypothesis is this: "Gay men are a prominent and highly talented presence in many female-dominated fields that revolve around creating, restoring, and preserving beauty, order, and continuity." The question for me then is: why do gay men desire beauty (self-evident?!), order, and continuity? My initial thoughts are that gay men might be drawn to the past because the reproduction of gay culture does not happen through the traditional channels like family, faith and school, but rather through friendships that often come in adulthood; and second, that perhaps gay men are attracted to older homes and neighborhoods because of an affinity for discarded and un-cared-for things? Perhaps they see themselves in those beautiful old homes? And, will this change as gay men become more accepted in nermal society?

I've often wondered about this, and I like how he writes about it as archetype and not stereotype. The hypothesis is this: "Gay men are a prominent and highly talented presence in many female-dominated fields that revolve around creating, restoring, and preserving beauty, order, and continuity." The question for me then is: why do gay men desire beauty (self-evident?!), order, and continuity? My initial thoughts are that gay men might be drawn to the past because the reproduction of gay culture does not happen through the traditional channels like family, faith and school, but rather through friendships that often come in adulthood; and second, that perhaps gay men are attracted to older homes and neighborhoods because of an affinity for discarded and un-cared-for things? Perhaps they see themselves in those beautiful old homes? And, will this change as gay men become more accepted in nermal society?

 

I think it is a lot of these things acting as individual agents or as simultaneous influences.  I also believe, even moreso in the past, that most gay people and couples were more likely to be risk takers in neighborhoods where the housing stock had become run-down as they were typically childless, and were indifferent to the quality of the local school district.

Clearly, in the past Gay people were less concerned about schools but with so many gay couples with children, I believe schools are now more a consideration than they were say 20 years ago.

 

The fact is that it takes a certain "moxie" and attitude, to move into a run down neighborhood and turn it around, stand up to drug dealers, and gangs.  Also restoration takes a great deal of time and patience, raisinga family takes a lot of time. My experience has been, on a more national level, that the urban pioneers who made a great difference in key cities were gay and were effectively able to network and market and 'gain control' over the area to shape it.

 

Over the years, I can't tell you how many times some drug dealer, gang banger, or general lowlife, who after using every derogatory comment they could scream say "you people think you own this neighborhood don't you?" My reply has always been "Don't own it all...yet...give us a few more months". The facts are once there are rules, no more cars on blocks, you can't deal drugs on the streetcorner without me calling 911, the people that drug down a neighborhood in the first place tend to leave for areas where their bad behavior is not challenged .

 

Its also fascinating to watch neighborhood turnaround happen. The gay community comes in and restores, the neighborhood becomes 'acceptable', married straight families move in and those who made it all happen, take their money and are off to the next great frontier to do it all over again.

 

Why? Because once the neighborhood has turned around there is often a lack of diversity and the topic is more about getting the kids to soccer practice than dealing with turnaround of  neighborhood. Once the neighborhood looks like a homogenous suburbia or 'stepford' . The neighborhood is not only not challenging, but boring to those who turned it around.

 

But you can't 'paint preservationist' with such a broad stroke. A lot of very highly skilled restoration trades people are straight, married and lots of kids. At the same time you can't deny that the gay community goes to neighborhoods few would venture too (at least initially).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't see much connection between urban preservation gays and hairstylists. I guess they share a common thread of aesthetics, but the main thing operating for the preservationists is lacking children at a stage in life where money is not a problem. Cutting hair is wholly unrelated.

 

Actually, as I think about it, if you aren't devoting a lot of time to taking care of children, you might have an unfulfilled desire to contribute to lives or society somehow. So I guess hairstyling is on the very personal level, and preservation is on the community level. This is probably something the author goes into; I didn't read the link yet.

I read the description and some reviews of the book, and I'm still curious as to why Fellows thinks this is the case, but I guess I'll have to read the book to find out...which I will. He talks about how many gay men are attracted to antiques and antiquarian pursuits as part of the gay (white American?) aesthetic, which is spot on for me. I can't afford the good stuff yet, but it's in my blood - my mom to my maternal great grandmother were all avid antique collectors, and the thought of living in a post WWII neighborhood **horrifies me**.