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A Multimedia Ethnography of Lesbian Community Space in the Washington, D.C

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A Multimedia Ethnography of Lesbian Community Space in the Washington, D.C LABOR OF LOVE: A MULTIMEDIA ETHNOGRAPHY OF LESBIAN COMMUNITY SPACE IN THE WASHINGTON, D.C. METROPOLITAN AREA A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication, Culture, & Technology By Kelsey Megan Brannan, B.A. Washington, D.C. April 23, 2013 Copyright 2013 by Kelsey Megan Brannan All Rights Reserved ii LABOR OF LOVE: A MULTIMEDIA ETHNOGRAPHY OF LESBIAN COMMUNITY SPACE IN THE WASHINGTON, D.C. METROPOLITAN AREA Kelsey M. Brannan, B.A. Thesis Advisor: David Ribes, Ph.D. ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to explore through their own experiences how lesbian leaders create and sustain lesbian cultural organizations in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The thirty-one lesbian leaders who participated in this study each had a hand in creating a community space for lesbians in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area between 1980 and 2013. This multimedia ethnographic investigation reveals the tools and emotions lesbian leaders use to build community spaces in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Two research questions guide this study: (i) how satisfied are lesbians with the current community spaces available to them in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area? and (ii) how can a multimedia ethnography assess and improve civic engagement practices amongst lesbians in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area? A multimedia ethnography research design was used in this qualitative study to focus on a group of lesbian leaders who share the culture and desire to improve the quality and quantity of lesbian community spaces. While filming interviews with lesbian leaders, I identified two important themes that my informants repeatedly referenced throughout each interview: (i) the safety of the community space, and (ii) the integration of lesbian culture within broader society. While the community’s perception of the overall safety of the community space impacts the preservation and longevity of the lesbian community space, the integration of lesbian culture with broader society has lessened the need to engage in sexuality-specific community events. iii The iterative process of this study hopes to educate current lesbian leaders in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area about the needs of the lesbian community in order to assist them in establishing a new inclusive community space. The lesbian stories recorded by video are made public via the documentary-video portion of the project, entitled Labor of Love, which was screened to members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) community during two offline events. Through these screenings I came to understand the contested views of what lesbian community space means and whether or not the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is in actual need of a new space to support women of the LGBTQ community. Finally, this multimedia ethnography demonstrates that the potential use of a new community space for lesbians will change depending on the needs of each lesbian, which are rooted in their ethnic background, social class, and friendship networks. iv The research and writing of this thesis is dedicated to the women of Washington, D.C.’s LGBTQ community. Without them, I would not have the courage, nor story, to tell. Many thanks, Kelsey Megan Brannan v TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction............................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter One: Methodology..................................................................................................... 8 Ethnography and multimedia ethnography............................................................................. 9 Intersections of cinema and ethnography ............................................................................. 12 Self-reflexivity and circumstantial activism ......................................................................... 16 My process of fieldwork ....................................................................................................... 22 Data interpretation and media production............................................................................. 27 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 29 Chapter Two: Setting the Stage ............................................................................................ 30 Lesbian space at stake........................................................................................................... 31 Circles of Influence: Visibility, Capital and Space of Lesbian Communities ...................... 35 Visibility ............................................................................................................................... 36 Capital................................................................................................................................... 39 Space..................................................................................................................................... 41 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 42 Chapter Three: Assessing Lesbian Community Space ......................................................... 43 Lesbian leader participants .................................................................................................. 44 Terms: Identity & organizational definitions....................................................................... .44 Community safety................................................................................................................. 48 a. Safety for comfort..................................................................................................48 b. Safety from danger................................................................................................53 Community integration ......................................................................................................... 55 a. Integration & technology ..................................................................................... 56 Survey Results: What do lesbians want & need ................................................................... 58 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 61 Chapter Four: Reflections on the Multimedia Process ......................................................... 62 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 70 Appendices............................................................................................................................ 74 Appendix A: List of participants in study................................................................. 74 Appendix B: D.C. Women’s Initiative survey.......................................................... 78 Appendix C: IRB Human Research Curriculum Report........................................... 81 Appendix D: IRB approval ....................................................................................... 82 References............................................................................................................................ 84 Special Addenda (3) December 13th Labor of Love DVD (13 Min) Digital: https://vimeo.com/55818295 March 14th Labor of Love DVD (25 Min) December 13th Screening Recap DVD (3 Min) Digital: https://vimeo.com/55997268 vi INTRODUCTION Fascinated by the popular perception of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area as a place that epitomized a progressive, liberal, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) friendly city, I set out in 2011 to explore the truth of this rhetoric and what it offered to the local communities inhabiting the area. As a recent transplant to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and a lesbian, I was looking for a place in the city to find new friends and build new relationships with other lesbians in the community. In search of a lesbian community space, I was surprised to find that the weekly spaces and events that catered to lesbians were primarily limited to the club space. I also found that the LGBTQ community spaces that did exist, such as the The D.C. Center, D.C.’s LGBTQ resource center, did not offer a consistent set of events that catered to the diverse array of interests within the lesbian community. Questions surfaced: Why is it that the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., lacks community infrastructure for lesbian women? Is it because lesbian women do not feel a need or was I not looking in the right places? I approached this project much like all my other research endeavors with a keen awareness of inner social dynamics, an interest in stories to be told, and a fascination in understanding the way community impacts the work people do. During the course this study, I came to understand the intellectual evolution of my undergraduate thesis to my master’s thesis as a change in my perspective and approach. In the past, while I focused on community injustices, my approach was rather top-down and relied on discourse analysis. This project, however, stemming from the doctrine of grounded theory, seeks to understand how members of the community formulate
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