Feeling the spirit in the dark : expanding notions of the sacred in the African-American gay community

E. Johnson

Essay about how African-American gays have attempted to reconcile the spirit and the flesh by moving from "place to space." Drawing heavily upon Michel de Certeau's formulation of place and space, Vivian M. Patraka argues that "place refers to a prescripted performance of interpretation, while space produces sites for multiple performances of interpretation, which situate/produce the spectator as historical subject". In their attempt to be closer to God and to express their sexuality, black gay men transgressively unite body and soul by moving from the pre-scripted "place" of the black church into the ambiguous "space" of the gay night club. Thus, the notion of feeling the spirit in the dark engenders a celebration of the black gay body as weIl as a communion with the Holy Spirit. Precisely because the blackgay and Christian body are highlighted in performance, the veil of darkness dividing body from soul in the "place" of the black church is lifted in the darkened "space" of the gay night club.