Sexuality and the City Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sexuality and the City - Term Paper Example This suggests that individuals are limited by the strictures – in most cultures, homosexuality is deemed as illegal and is punishable by the law. Therefore, this essay will attempt to use some theories such as the queer theory and the urban theory in order to explain the relation between sexuality and the city. On that note, it is significant to observe that the battle for sexuality rights have been waged since the early 70s. For example, lesbians and gays made a fundamental achievement in the formation of Gay Liberation and Women’s Liberation movements. This led to complete transformation of the sexual landscape in the whole country. Similarly, during that period, gay men and women openly came out to affirm their same-sex eroticism (D’Emilio 123). Alternatively, the appeal concerning sodomy laws also triumphed in more than half the states of America. Furthermore, it led to a limited lifting of stigmatization of gay men and lesbians from federal jobs and civil ri ghts protection. Additionally, with the abolition of homosexuality as a mental illness from the psychiatric standards, the Democratic Party included gay rights in their manifesto platforms. Furthermore, there was the expansion of the gay male subculture, especially in big cities, where they were notable. Lesbian feminists strived to establish alternative cultures and institutions that tried to empower persons of the same sex. In addition, they wanted to create a vision of liberatory nature in a conventional society and set a vision for the coming times. However, with the coming of the 80s, the future seemed to turn bleak for the most hyperactive lesbians and gay men (Knoop 140). In other words, the era almost watered down their efforts that begun during the 60s when they had strategies and goals. It is also critical to observe that the same-sex movement was born out of homosexual desires felt in isolation and without the knowledge of the sufferers. This was mostly in the cities arou nd the 60s when the same-sex movement defined history and become a mythology. Furthermore, during the 60s it was clear to describe what the lesbians and the gay felt because there were neither resources nor acceptance to help them understand their situation. Another arising concept entails issues pertaining to urban theory. This is whereby the generation of wealth in the city is facilitated by the available economic priorities. Urban theory encompasses a collection of social theories that may include neo-classical, modern and classical ones. Therefore, in the context of the social theory, there are driving social forces that drive the economic and political empowerment of the city residents. This is where the issues of sexuality fall because people yearn for sexual freedom and autonomy (Bell and Valentine 153). Alternatively, urban theorists also agree that the freedoms that influence urban planning and development should include everyone irrespective of their uniqueness. It is beca use of these emerging disparities that the queer theory was born in order to counter the pressures of the city stigmatization. Queer theory began in the early 90s as a critical theory of post-structuralism format, and it entails reading of queer texts. This theory takes credit from the early works of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, Judith Butler and Lauren Berlant. On the same line, it is