For as long as I can remember I have been aware of the existence of gay bars, clubs, and neighborhoods; it was not until this past weekend, however, that I realized just how expansive the designation of “gay space” truly is. For Spring Break this year I was fortunate enough to spend part of my time on the beach in Miami. For those of you who have never been, South Beach is a very long (and crowded) stretch of sand and deciding where to lay your towel make take a little time and a lot of walking. Luckily though. I did not brave the beach alone but instead was guided by my friend who is a native of the area. One day while we were deciding where to lie out my friend pointed to a section of the beach that was enclosed by rainbow flags and informed that it was the “gay section”. Although I have never really given much thought to gay hangouts, there was something about this strip of “gay” sand that made me feel the designating, labeling and dividing of public space had gone too far. After all, this beach was a public beach so who was it that got to say which sexualities belonged where? There is no “straight section” of the beach formally marked by flags, so why does this “gay section” exist? While I’m sure an entire paper can be (and has been) written on just this question, my thoughts did not end here.
Instead, next I began to wonder who is it that benefitted from this creation of “gay space”? Of course, right away I viewed this space as another way for heterosexual culture to assert its dominance as the “normal” culture while marginalizing all other gender representations and sexualities. By deeming half a mile of sand for homosexuals it becomes clear that the rest of the beach is for heterosexuals. This not only grants the “normal” sexuality the majority of the space but also turns public space into one that must be divided and separated between different sexualities rather than shared. However, I believe there is more to this space than it’s reinforcing of hetero-normative public space. I believe that the siphoning of this “gay space” in some ways benefits homosexuals as well. As history shows, the creation of gay spaces has amounted for different reasons: one, the controlling of public space after WWII made it impossible for people who went against hetero-normative sexuality and gender displays to be free publically; and two, statistically homosexuals are the minority and designated spaces for homosexuals in the past (and probably still in the present) made it easier for people to find communities of other homosexuals to engage with. In this way, “gay space” within “public space” may be both beneficial and preferred by homosexual culture, as well. So if this space can be helpful to both cultures in some ways is it acceptable?
While it can be argued that the designation of “gay space” within “public space” has its upsides, ultimately I think it is undeniable that the labeling of any public space for certain sexualities, ethnicities, genders or classes completely undermines the idea of public space. Therefore, whether the rainbow flagged “gay section” of the beach was enjoyed by homosexuals as well as heterosexuals or ignored by all, it is time the flags come down and public space become just that: public.
THINKING SEX 