Productive bodies, performative spaces : everyday life in Christopher Park

D. Conlon

Christopher Park at Sheridan Square, a small public park geographically located at the heart of the bohemian Greenwich Village neighborhood, is often presented as the nexus of New York_s gay scene with the historical significance of the area for the gay rights movement in America frequently cited. In a multi-method case study of Christopher Park I draw on Henri Lefebvre_s theory on the production of space and Judith Butler_s theory of performativity in order to excavate the intersections between space and identity. Bringing these theories together to analyze a specific place highlights the relationships amongst queer theory, identity and material public spaces. Findings indicate that a polemic production process characterizes Christopher Park. It is perceived as a space where queer identities are accepted, yet, material manifestations of queer identity are constrained by factors such as time, park users, placement of monuments, as well as political and economic forces. Physical space and social actions echo one another in a manner indicative of their mutual constitution and highlight the factors that shape identity and matter/reality.