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Gay in a ‘government town’: the settlement and regulation of gay-identified men in Ottawa, Canada

Gay in a ‘government town’: the settlement and regulation of gay-identified men in Ottawa, Canada
Gay in a ‘government town’: the settlement and regulation of gay-identified men in Ottawa, Canada
This case study examines Ottawa, Canada, a ‘government town’, as both a destination for mobile gay men and a place where their conduct historically has been regulated by the government and military institutions located there. By placing the findings of 24 in-depth qualitative interviews with self-identified gay men in a Foucauldian governmentality framework, I argue that the government town is a powerful attractor for gay men in terms of economic opportunity and official prescriptions of nondiscrimination and acceptance, but is also a site where gay men and gay communities are regulated into certain modes of conduct. In particular, this article finds that Ottawa, as both a historic center of antigay activity and a more recent center of an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) rights-seeking agenda in Canada, encourages practices that are based on discretion, gender normalization, and maintenance of the status quo. The article argues that these practices – with some notable exceptions – have led to a fragmented gay community characterized by economic and professional stratification, out-of-town consumption of gay culture, and a lack of recognizable social, political, and geographic focal points for gay men. It also posits that the mechanisms through which governmentality is leveraged are particularly central to the experiences of sexual minorities in places like Ottawa, where government institutions are especially dense or thick.
sexuality, governmentality, migration, gay, Canada
0966-369X
291-312
Lewis, Nathaniel M.
f0218afb-51ea-4141-a1e9-d031d8b98645
Lewis, Nathaniel M.
f0218afb-51ea-4141-a1e9-d031d8b98645

Lewis, Nathaniel M. (2012) Gay in a ‘government town’: the settlement and regulation of gay-identified men in Ottawa, Canada. Gender, Place & Culture, 19 (3), 291-312. (doi:10.1080/0966369X.2011.624590).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This case study examines Ottawa, Canada, a ‘government town’, as both a destination for mobile gay men and a place where their conduct historically has been regulated by the government and military institutions located there. By placing the findings of 24 in-depth qualitative interviews with self-identified gay men in a Foucauldian governmentality framework, I argue that the government town is a powerful attractor for gay men in terms of economic opportunity and official prescriptions of nondiscrimination and acceptance, but is also a site where gay men and gay communities are regulated into certain modes of conduct. In particular, this article finds that Ottawa, as both a historic center of antigay activity and a more recent center of an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) rights-seeking agenda in Canada, encourages practices that are based on discretion, gender normalization, and maintenance of the status quo. The article argues that these practices – with some notable exceptions – have led to a fragmented gay community characterized by economic and professional stratification, out-of-town consumption of gay culture, and a lack of recognizable social, political, and geographic focal points for gay men. It also posits that the mechanisms through which governmentality is leveraged are particularly central to the experiences of sexual minorities in places like Ottawa, where government institutions are especially dense or thick.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 18 September 2011
Published date: 2012
Keywords: sexuality, governmentality, migration, gay, Canada
Organisations: Population, Health & Wellbeing (PHeW)

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 377666
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/377666
ISSN: 0966-369X
PURE UUID: 5eecd517-409a-4c27-966a-11f25160637c

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Date deposited: 08 Jun 2015 13:28
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 20:07

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Author: Nathaniel M. Lewis

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