The Gentrification of Queer Activism
Diversity Politics and the Promise of Inclusion in London
By Olimpia Burchiellaro
ISBN
978-1529228564Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressISBN
978-1529228571Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressISBN
978-1529228571Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University Press
The Gentrification of Queer Activism
In the 2010s, London’s LGBTQ+ scene was hit by extensive venue closures. For some, this represented the increased inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in society. For others, it threatened the city’s status as a ‘global beacon of diversity’ or merely reaffirmed the hostility of London’s neoliberal landscapes.
Navigating these competing realities, Olimpia Burchiellaro explores the queer politics of LGBTQ+ inclusion in London.
Drawing on ethnographic research conducted with activists, professionals and LGBTQ-friendly businesses, the author reveals how gender and sexuality come to be reconfigured in the production and consumption of LGBTQ+ inclusion and its promises.
Giving voice to queer perspectives on inclusion, this is an important contribution to our understanding of urban policy, nightlife, neoliberalism and LGBTQ+ politics.
“We needed this stunningly original and poignant book, and we needed Olimpia Burchiellaro to be the one to write it. She shows us how, between the managerial celebration and critical condemnation of promises of inclusion, there are forms of work and ways of life that, without this book, would continue to get completely occluded.” Melissa Tyler, University of Essex
"Burchiellaro makes a sobering and thorough argument that oppressed people's hopeful visions must surpass their own immediate experiences and conditions, no matter how dire. For without an expansive belief in justice for all, the mere acquisition of some basic rights quickly co-opts radical impulses and shifts our identifications from others on the sidelines of power to the newly welcoming ruling structures that only some will ever occupy." Sarah Schulman, Writer
Olimpia Burchiellaro is Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations, School of Social Sciences at the University of Westminster.
Introduction
1. Between Corporate Inclusivity and the Closure of Queer Spaces: The Neoliberal Politics of Inclusion in East London
2. Coming Out for Business: Lesbian Tech CEOs and the CEO-ization of Queer Politics
3. Diversity Work and Queer Value: Putting Queer Differences to Work in the LGBTQ-friendly Corporation
4. The Straightening Tendencies of Inclusion: The Friends of the Joiners Arms and the Normativities of Gentrification
5. As Soon as this Pub Closes: The Temporalities of Gentrification and Other Queer Utopias
6. Conclusion
