Urban Political Podcast · Ross Beveridge, Markus Kip, Mais Jafari, Nitin Bathla, Julio Paulos, Nicolas Goez, Talja Blokland

79 - Not in my Gayborhood!

·34 min·1 clip

This episode of the Urban Political podcast features host Léa Bonvin interviewing Theodore Green, a sociology professor and author of the new book "Not in My Gayborhood." Green's research investigates the paradoxical state of gay neighborhoods like Washington D.C.'s Dupont Circle, which are said to be disappearing yet remain culturally vital. He introduces the core concepts of "vicarious citizenship" and "place reactivation" to explain this phenomenon. Green conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork in D.C. starting in 2010, observing how LGBTQ communities engage with spaces they don't necessarily live in. The discussion centers on Dupont Circle, an iconic gayborhood Green frequented as a student in the late 1990s. He argues that academic focus on residential patterns overlooks how people maintain deep, non-residential attachments to these areas. Green describes "vicarious citizens" as individuals who claim belonging and advocate for a neighborhood despite not living there, such as through political meetings or social media activism. A key example of "place reactivation" occurred after the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, when people gathered at Dupont Circle for vigils, effectively "turning on" the space's queer culture. The conversation also delves into racial tensions, highlighting how gay neighborhoods often privilege white patrons and desires. Green shares specific observations, like a bar in D.C. described as practicing "gay apartheid" through segregated floors. He recounts how queer people of color employ "place ruptures," like dancing unexpectedly in a quiet bar, to challenge the dominant white gay gaze. The interview references the MetroPCS store in Shaw that played go-go music, sparking a movement that led to the mayor declaring it Washington's official music. Green connects his concepts to broader urban issues, such as debates over Confederate statues or the rights of unhoused populations to occupy city centers. A particularly insightful moment explores Green's methodological choice to write about his own experience of discrimination in a bar using the third-person "he" before revealing it was himself. He explains this technique was meant to universalize a common experience for gay men of color. The author emphasizes that organizing over a decade of fieldwork meant looking for patterns, like the recurring community gravitation back to Dupont Circle during times of both joy and tragedy. Green concludes by celebrating public festivals and street parties as vital, joyful acts of urban citizenship and placemaking. The tone is academic yet accessible and conversational, focused on unpacking sociological concepts through vivid ethnographic stories. The style is deeply personal, as Green reflects on his own history with Dupont Circle and experiences as a researcher of color in white-dominated spaces. This episode would greatly interest urban studies scholars, LGBTQ activists, and anyone curious about neighborhood change, belonging, and cultural preservation. Listeners seeking a purely historical narrative or a light entertainment podcast might find the theoretical discussion too dense.

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