Date of Award
Spring 5-2015
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Program
Urban Studies
Department
School of Urban and Regional Studies
Major Professor
Anna Brand
Second Advisor
Lauren Lastrapes
Third Advisor
Steve Striffler
Abstract
This thesis builds on previous work on the relationship between queer identities and urban space. Drawing from an analysis of two recurring New Orleans-based queer women’s events, I examine how lesbians and queer women not only use but also actively produce social spaces of their own through participation in events organized specifically for lesbians and queer women. Using qualitative methods, I examine the ephemeral and transient quality of lesbian and queer women’s social spaces in post-Katrina New Orleans and the processes through which such spaces come into being. I argue that lesbian and queer women’s production of ephemeral social spaces provides an opportunity to ground informal social networks in urban spatial locations, to sustain internal visibility, and to create embodied impressions of a cohesive community by emphasizing the role of the body, not geographic borders, for reimagining social territories in urban landscapes. Within this context, attention is given to the class-based and racial projects that affect the trajectory of contemporary queer urban space formation and queer women’s experiences therein.
Recommended Citation
Hermannsdóttir, Vigdís María, "Here I Am And Here I’m Not: Queer Women’s Use Of Temporary Urban Spaces In Post-Katrina New Orleans" (2015). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 2021.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2021
Included in
Gender and Sexuality Commons, Human Geography Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons, Women's Studies Commons
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.