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--- chauncey_gay_new_york [2026/04/17 15:04] – [Chapter 12 - The Exclusion of Homosexuality from the Public Sphere in the 1930s] smilton
+++ chauncey_gay_new_york [2026/04/17 15:34] (current) – added my three changes rcarper
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 Chauncey discusses how New York became known as the "capital" of the American homosexual world, particularly for new migrants to the area. These migrants were both native-born American citizens from rural areas as well as immigrants from Europe. Most of these migrants were young, unmarried men, many of whom were able to find both work and a place in the homosexual world in the city. Gay male enclaves formed in areas like the Bowery, Greenwich Village, Times Square, and Harlem, which were attractive areas because they provided furnished housing for single men. (Noah Rutkowski)
+Chauncey argues against the popular sociological opinion that the anonymity of New York City was the primary reason it became a center of homosexual behavior. Chauncey claims that focusing on this supposed anonymity makes it seem like the gay men there were isolated from one another, which wasn't true, and instead argues that the complex world of the city allowed gay men to construct "multiple public identities", which let them behave in different ways with different people/groups. (Ezra C.)
 ===== Chapter 7 - "Privacy Could Only Be Had in Public": Forging a Gay World in the Streets =====
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 Chauncey situates the practice of gay sex and socialization in "public" places within the broader context of working class New York. Many men lived in crowded tenements or with their families; these "private" places were not private, so they had to find privacy within the public sphere if they wanted to have sex. This was true for both straight and gay men, but the practices often took on a cultural significance for gay men as a part of their connection to the gay world. An example of this is the "tearooms" in various subway stations. The areas were certainly used for sex, but they also were a place to socialize and meet people. Parks were places for cruising, but gay men also met up in parks to hang out with other queer people. This mixed use of "public" spaces certainly mirrors that of straight people at the time, but it was used covertly to strengthen queer identity and community. (Cameron Spivy)
+Parks were an example of a place that gay men would go to solicit sex as well as social interaction with other gay men, but it was also a place that heterosexual men would go to do the same, usually with prostitutes. These parks were known to be a hotbed of illicit activity, leading them to be heavily patrolled by police. Despite this, they remained a space for frequent sexual and social behavior, because despite the patrols and arrests, police found them much more challenging to regulate. (Ezra C.)
+When it came to what men arrested for homosexual or effeminate behavior were actually charged with, it didn't tend to be actual sodomy. This is because that felony charge would require the men to actually be caught in the act of gay sex. Instead, most of the men were charged with disorderly conduct, which was a misdemeanor that was much easier to prove and didn't require the men to be tried in a trial with jury. (Ezra C.)
 ===== Chapter 8 - The Social World of the Baths =====
-In New York, bathhouses acted as a pseudo-private space for men to have sex, socialize, find jobs, and drop the double life act they were forced to keep up in society. This was a space where it was expected that everybody who attended was gay, making it a safer evironment for these men. It was also a space where the buisness wouldn't raise any red flags by being exclusively gay because of the nature of exclusivity within private buisnesses before the 1960's. They were a very common place where men could enjoy the pleasure of other men, but also sometimes find themselves and learn about their sexuality in the process. Unfortunately, these public spaves went out of fasion with the introduction of indoor plumbing and, as these buisnesses went out of fasion, it made them more conspicuous to the police and to the public. -Caroline Cochran
+In New York, bathhouses acted as a pseudo-private space for men to have sex, socialize, find jobs, and drop the double life act they were forced to keep up in society. This was a space where it was expected that everybody who attended was gay, making it a safer evironment for these men. It was also a space where the business wouldn't raise any red flags by being exclusively gay because of the nature of exclusivity within private businesses before the 1960's. They were a very common place where men could enjoy the pleasure of other men, but also sometimes find themselves and learn about their sexuality in the process. Unfortunately, these public spaces went out of fashion with the introduction of indoor plumbing and, as these businesses went out of fashion, it made them more conspicuous to the police and to the public. -Caroline Cochran
+The bathhouses in New York, had two different types of clientele, one mixed with both straight and gay men, and the second being strictly gay clients. Having a private bathhouse led to more homosexual behaviors and different areas being used for sexual interactions; i.e., steam rooms, cubicles, or dressing rooms. After WWII the police started to target more gay bathhouses and trying to catch gay men actively having or starting to have sex. (Sage Milton)
 ===== Chapter 9 - Building Gay Neighborhood Enclaves - The Village and Harlem =====
 Gay men and lesbians alike are forming a strong community in neighborhoods where they can have more freedom and visibility in harden and places like greenwich village. They made visible subcultures even though they were facing widespread discrimination from others. (Tea Aliu)
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 Bohemian lifestyles created an intersection of nonconformity and homosexuality where bohemian men and gay men were being labeled as queer even if that term wasn't necessarily accurate. Anything nontraditional was basically labeled or stereotyped as being homosexual and people faced tensions even in more progressive communities. (Tea Aliu)
-the prohibition and tourism made the village more visible helping the community become larger and strengthen itself but it also brought in a lot of outside attention which could have possible endangered these groups. (Tea Aliu)
+The prohibition and tourism made the village more visible helping the community become larger and strengthen itself but it also brought in a lot of outside attention which could have possible endangered these groups. (Tea Aliu)
 ====== Part III: The Politics of Gay Culture ======