Vassar College Digital Window @ Vassar Senior Capstone Projects 2019 “It’s your future, don’t miss it”: nostalgia, utopia, and desire in the New York lesbian bar Zoe Wennerholm Vassar College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalwindow.vassar.edu/senior_capstone Recommended Citation Wennerholm, Zoe, "“It’s your future, don’t miss it”: nostalgia, utopia, and desire in the New York lesbian bar" (2019). Senior Capstone Projects. 897. https://digitalwindow.vassar.edu/senior_capstone/897 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Window @ Vassar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Senior Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of Digital Window @ Vassar. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. “It’s Your Future, Don’t Miss It”: Nostalgia, Utopia, and Desire in the New York Lesbian Bar Zoe Wennerholm April 26, 2019 Senior Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies ________________________ Advisor, Lisa Brawley Table of Contents Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………….3 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….4 Chapter 1: History: A Brief Review of Lesbian Bars in the 20th and 21st Century American Urban Landscape……………………………………………………………………………9 Chapter 2: Loss: Lesbian Bar Closings and Their Affective Reverberations………………29 Chapter 3: Desire: The Lesbian Bar in the Queer Imaginary……………………………….47 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………….52 References Cited……………………………………………………………………………55 Appendix 1: Interview with Gwen Shockey…………………………………………………60 Appendix 2: Timeline of New York Lesbian Bars…………………………………………73 2 Acknowledgements I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Lisa Brawley, whose guidance and encouragement always came at exactly the right time. My heartfelt thanks also goes to Gwen Shockey, whose enthusiasm and willingness to speak with a naïve young dyke made me feel understood and inspired.