UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 8-2009 Stigma Cities: Dystopian Urban Identities In The United States West And South In The Twentieth Century Jonathan Lavon Foster University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Immune System Diseases Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons, and the Virus Diseases Commons Repository Citation Foster, Jonathan Lavon, "Stigma Cities: Dystopian Urban Identities In The United States West And South In The Twentieth Century" (2009). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 1206. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/2797195 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STIGMA CITIES: DYSTOPIAN URBAN IDENTITIES IN THE UNITED STATES WEST AND SOUTH IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY by Jonathan Lavon Foster Bachelor of Arts University of Alabama at Birmingham 2000 Master of Arts, University of Alabama at Birmingham 2002 A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in History Department of History College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 2009 UMI Number: 3372127 Copyright 2009 by Foster, Jonathan Lavon All rights reserved INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ______________________________________________________________ UMI Microform 3372127 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. _______________________________________________________________ ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 Copyright by Jonathan Lavon Foster 2009 All Rights Reserved THE GRADUATE COLLEGE We recommend that the dissertation prepared under our supervision by Jonathan Lavon Foster entitled Stigma Cities: Dystopian Urban Identities in the United States West and South in the Twentieth Century be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy History David M. Wrobel, Committee Chair Eugene Moehring, Committee Member Thomas Wright, Committee Member John Tuman, Graduate Faculty Representative Ronald Smith, Ph. D., Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies and Dean of the Graduate College August 2009 ABSTRACT Stigma Cities: Dystopian Urban Identities in the United States West and South in the Twentieth Century By Jonathan Foster Dr. David Wrobel, Examination Committee Chair, Professor of History, University of Nevada, Las Vegas This dissertation examines how historical events and representation of those events relative to the wider historical context have allowed the media, opinion setters, and the ordinary public to use the names of San Francisco, California, Birmingham, Alabama and Las Vegas, Nevada as denigrating adjectives and the effect of this usage on those cities. Exploration of Birmingham’s image as a racist city, San Francisco’s as a gay Mecca, and Las Vegas, Nevada’s as an adult playground or sinful city serves this purpose. These case studies support a central argument that the nature of place-based stigmatization’s influence depends upon ever-shifting cultural values and historical context. Ultimately, this dissertation contends that ideas rival roads, master plans, and political organizations in importance with respect to their impact on urban areas. When considering the perceptions of Birmingham, Las Vegas, and San Francisco, one can see links between ideas and actions, mentalities and physical structures. In the case of Birmingham, local concerns over national perceptions of the place have resulted in a devastating level of anxiety as the city’s identity rapidly changed on the national scene iii from overwhelmingly positive to irredeemably deviant. In Las Vegas, the city’s reputation lacks the dramatic break found in Birmingham’s and has long played a direct role in its survival and prosperity. Yet while the city has prospered from being a place where one can do what is not acceptable elsewhere, “sin city” marketing has increasingly caused problems as the city has grown into a major metropolis complete with families and more mainstream aspirations. San Franciscans have tended to be more accepting of their mental placement as a Gay Mecca. Here, a long and continuous history of detachment from the American “norm” in popular portrayals, has created more of a laissez faire attitude. The idea of a gay-friendly city has directly impacted the city in recent years as its population has embraced the gay tourism industry and emerged as a pacesetter in regard to gay rights. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.......................................................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................. vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: BOXES OF CITIES AND PEOPLE........................ 1 Considering Urban Stigmatization................................................................................ 1 Stigma Theory............................................................................................................. 10 Structure...................................................................................................................... 26 CHAPTER 2 NOT ALWAYS A PARIAH: BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA’S JOURNEY FROM “MAGIC CITY” TO “BOMBINGHAM”................................... 37 National Press Coverage of Early Birmingham, 1871-1930 ...................................... 42 National Press Coverage in the Depression and War Years....................................... 47 The Acknowledgement of Racism.............................................................................. 54 “Bombingham” and the National Media, 1945-2000 ................................................. 57 CHAPTER 3 REMEMBERING BOMBINGHAM: BIRMINGHAM CONSIDERS ITS PAST, 1970 TO 2008 .......................................................................................... 79 Anniversaries ............................................................................................................ 104 Delayed Justice......................................................................................................... 106 Birmingham of Yesterday and Today....................................................................... 112 CHAPTER 4 NEVER QUITE AMERICAN: THE DEVIANTLY EXOTIC REPUTATION OF SAN FRANCISCO, 1776-1967 ............................................... 130 Early San Francisco .................................................................................................. 131 Exotic San Francisco.................................................................................................147 The Post-War City .................................................................................................... 150 CHAPTER 5 DANGEROUSLY SICK: THE PERCEPTION OF HOMOSEXUALITY IN AMERICA AND THE RISE OF GAY SAN FRANCISCO, 1945-1965 ........... 166 Perception of Homosexuality in Mid-Twentieth Century America.......................... 169 The Early Gay Rights Movement and San Francisco............................................... 191 CHAPTER 6 BATTLEFIELD BY THE BAY: SAN FRANCISCO’S EMERGENCE, TRIALS, AND ACCEPTANCE AS AMERICA’S GAY MECCA......................... 204 The Short and Lively Career of Harvey Milk........................................................... 208 AIDS and San Francisco........................................................................................... 232 Gay Tourism and Wedding Vows............................................................................. 238 v CHAPTER 7 SINNING IN THE DESERT: THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN PREMIER ADULT PLAYGROUND.......................................... 254 A Climate for Sin...................................................................................................... 259 Gambling and Sin Las Vegas Style .......................................................................... 271 CHAPTER 8 MAINSTREAM CURRENTS: LAS VEGAS AND RESPECTABILITY AT THE TURN OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY........................................ 298 Local Tension Over Image.......................................................................................