Here I am, sitting and typing at the last couple of hours left to turn in my blog. Ugh! *shaking head in disappointment* Enough about this rant...
While there are so many topics that I would enjoy talking about in further detail. One that rises above the rest is a cultural study of Drag Queens, and there purpose in gay community. Also including, as a umbrella-boys-town. And what it represents. What's its purpose in the gay community, and city of Chicago? Since I don't really identify with the gay community(personal synopsis). And, what I do know about the gay community, is a negative opinion. It will become informative to seek reasons, and other personal accounts of what the community means to them.
Since Drag Queens have quite a prominence in Boys-Town. I think that there role is apparent within the gay community. And I am debating about interviewing a couple friends of mine that are drag queens, along with a couple community involved individuals that I know. So, the resources I have are a bit endless.
I will saturate myself in the community: This includes going to bars-note-taking and observing the environment, and the social interactions. Even my own personal interactions that I'll have with others. Friends and acquaintances. All of which play crucial roles, right?
Isn't this "WhatLife'sAbout!"?
Hey, Eric.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a really fascinating topic! I think that you could merge Boystown n' Drag queens into a single pursuit and perhaps study the purpose/function that Boystown plays within the community of Chicago drag queens. How does this place perpetuate the community? How does it contribute to the groups overall image in the city? Interviews n' other forms of ethnographic research are always a plus.
I'm excited to see what you come up with!
Comedy. Leave it to you to pick Boystown as an ‘assignment’.
ReplyDeleteYou say that you don’t identify with the gay community. Knowing you as I do, I think that it would be better to say, you don’t want to identify with the gay community. That being said, I think you do know about the gay community, however I would argue with your summation that you only seen the negative. There are a number of positive things in the LGBT community and I think you already know it.
In addition to the “community involved individuals” you know; you have ChicagoPride.com and other resources to see both good and bad representations of the community. The Make A Difference section (http://www.chicagopride.com/Difference) is loaded with countless LGBT affiliated organizations that are uplifting, positive, and life changing. A number of the bars, clubs, and restaurants in the Boystown, Andersonville communities frequently give back to their community. (BarAIDS, Dining Out for Life, etc)
I would encourage you to seek these positive items out in your ‘saturated’ search of Boystown. You might also want to check out this interview I did a while back about Boystown. (http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=113239)
Boystown is a get-a-way; place to meet new friends; and outlet to seduce and be seduced. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. In fact, it is where we met.
What some do with the club scene can paint Boystown in a bad light! At the end of the day, homosexuality is just a blip on the screen for some. How you contribute; what you learn; the difference you make; the lives that mentor you, those are "WhatLife'sAbout!"