Space, agency, and the transfiguring of lesbian/queer desire.
In this study, the author uses ethnographic and interview data from Pussy Palace, a lesbian/queer bathhouse in Toronto, Canada, to examine the ways in which the bathhouse space impacted participants' sexuality, behaviors, and notions of self. The Toronto Women's Bathhouse Committee (TWBC), an explicitly feminist and queer organization, is responsible for putting on Pussy Palace events and in creating an atmosphere that is simultaneously sexual and safe. Findings indicate elements of both spatial praxis and sexual agency, wherein individuals expressed being able to "take risks," "find their sexuality," and "discover who they are" in a safe space, where nonnormative bodies and sexualities are to be celebrated. Although participants expressed feeling "liberated," many also described feeling anxious, awkward, and insecure. Within a sexual space where bodies are exposed and highly salient, these anxieties worked to inhibit and curtail bodily expression. The author concludes by discussing the significance of spaces like Pussy Palace for lesbian/queer individuals when it comes to sexual expression and the need for further research when it comes to examining lesbian/queer sexualities and public sexual cultures.
Hammers
Corie
C
Department of Criminal Justice, Social and Political Science, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, Georgia, USA. hammerco@mail.armstrong.edu
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D010550:Personal Space; D012649:Self Concept