Final Project Ideas: Mapping Queer Spaces and Legality

For my final project, I’m considering focusing on the Damron Guide and exploring how the visibility and number of LGBTQ (primarily gay male) establishments changed over time in relation to the legality of homosexuality across different U.S. states. Specifically, I want to examine whether there was an increase or decrease in listings for states where homosexuality remained illegal compared to those where it had been decriminalized.

To do this, I plan to use Dr. Amanda Regan and Dr. Eric Gonzaba’s data from Mapping the Gay Guides alongside state-level legality data to track changes between 1960 and 1990. I intend to reach out to Dr. Regan to see if she’s able to share the dataset from their project; if not, I may attempt to reconstruct parts of it myself.

In addition, I’m interested in incorporating data on lesbian bars and queer women’s spaces from the same period to create a more inclusive picture of LGBTQ geographies. ArcGIS has an interesting interactive feature on lesbian bars in the U.S., and the NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project includes a list of lesbian bars active between 1960 and 1990. I’m still figuring out the best way to integrate this material, but I’m considering combining a broad national overview of gay and lesbian spaces with a more focused case study of New York City. The NYC Historic Sites Project’s interactive map could be an especially useful tool for this.

My working hypothesis is that the number of listings in the Damron Guide may have been higher in states where homosexuality was still criminalized, as gay men sought out safe, coded spaces to socialize and connect. If I can find sufficient information on lesbian establishments, I’d like to test whether similar patterns existed for women, even though sodomy laws did not directly apply to them. However, cross-dressing laws and other policing practices might have shaped those spaces in comparable ways.

If time permits, I may also examine crime and arrest rates related to homosexuality in the cities where these establishments were concentrated, comparing data before and after decriminalization to see if broader social or legal patterns emerge.

Overall, my project will aim to combine spatial history, legal change, and queer community formation to better understand how geography and law intertwined in shaping mid- to late-twentieth-century LGBTQ life in the United States.


Sources:

Sites – NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project

Mapping the Gay Guides | Mapping the Gay Guides

Bureau of Justice - National Archive of Criminal Justice Data


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