Friday, July 14, 2006
Queer Copenhagen
Liminal spaces:
A space is liminal when it is in a state of in-between-ness. The in-between-ness can happen as a place is abandoned and not immediately re-programmed. This kind of space contains a potential for alternative social practices and is in constant negotiation between the different practices performed in the space. The power structures in the liminal area have not been fixed, and are therefore potentially flexible and not bound between a binary opposition.
- Power plant area – H. C. Ørstedsværket
- Deserted train tracks by Mjölnerparken
- Refshaleøen
Sexualized places:
A place or a site for a number of specifically sexual practises. In popular terms a cruising spot. Cruising means moving in a space of decidedly sexual activity, searching for sexual action(s). The cruising spot is often a public place, like parks, parking lots, highway stops, public baths, public toilets etc. The sexual specificity of the place implies a lot of social coding, though the sexual activity – more or less visible - can appear alongside other social activities performed in the given space. The sexualized space isn’t per se a queer space, but as actions are often taken by the dominant power structure to control and preferably eliminate the sexual activities, the place can become a battleground.
- Amager fælled
- Central Station showers
- Fælledparken
- Utterslev mose
- Charlottenlund Bath Club
- Amager beach
- H. C. Ørstedspark
Counter political:
A counter political space is a highly powered space. The intention is to actively shift the power balance of the surrounding society. This space is, typically, in an oppositional relationship with the capitalized space of the cities in the western world. The counter political space has the potential to hold in it strong ideas of counter sexuality, as the notion of the sexual can be considered to be political.
- Ungdomshuset
- Christiania?
Poetic Plateaux:
Like a lot of the other space categories, the poetic plateaux contains a potential of otherness. It can be seen as an escape way from the spaces of the everyday life, and is potentially an open space where the conquering and defining of the space is not necessarily a struggle, but a personal action. The word poetic refers to that personal action of defining and redefining the space in accordance to whichever sensibility is present in that given moment.
- Rooftop
- Christiania community bath
Off(ice) territory:
Again a highly powered place. The notion of off refers to the fact that the reigning power deliberately wishes to control the uses of the space – even though it is a public space – and thereby wants to keep it an off-limits-space.
- Kalvebod brygge
- Banking area on Christianshavn
Super powered spaces:
Like the Off(ice) territory, the super powered space is controlled deliberately to keep certain actions away. There are different ways of controlling a space – which is done all the time, almost every where – and the results are more or less visible. But a super powering of the space doesn’t have to be visible, but can also be for example auditive.
- Central Station entrance/exit with classical music
Liminal spaces:
A space is liminal when it is in a state of in-between-ness. The in-between-ness can happen as a place is abandoned and not immediately re-programmed. This kind of space contains a potential for alternative social practices and is in constant negotiation between the different practices performed in the space. The power structures in the liminal area have not been fixed, and are therefore potentially flexible and not bound between a binary opposition.
- Power plant area – H. C. Ørstedsværket
- Deserted train tracks by Mjölnerparken
- Refshaleøen
Sexualized places:
A place or a site for a number of specifically sexual practises. In popular terms a cruising spot. Cruising means moving in a space of decidedly sexual activity, searching for sexual action(s). The cruising spot is often a public place, like parks, parking lots, highway stops, public baths, public toilets etc. The sexual specificity of the place implies a lot of social coding, though the sexual activity – more or less visible - can appear alongside other social activities performed in the given space. The sexualized space isn’t per se a queer space, but as actions are often taken by the dominant power structure to control and preferably eliminate the sexual activities, the place can become a battleground.
- Amager fælled
- Central Station showers
- Fælledparken
- Utterslev mose
- Charlottenlund Bath Club
- Amager beach
- H. C. Ørstedspark
Counter political:
A counter political space is a highly powered space. The intention is to actively shift the power balance of the surrounding society. This space is, typically, in an oppositional relationship with the capitalized space of the cities in the western world. The counter political space has the potential to hold in it strong ideas of counter sexuality, as the notion of the sexual can be considered to be political.
- Ungdomshuset
- Christiania?
Poetic Plateaux:
Like a lot of the other space categories, the poetic plateaux contains a potential of otherness. It can be seen as an escape way from the spaces of the everyday life, and is potentially an open space where the conquering and defining of the space is not necessarily a struggle, but a personal action. The word poetic refers to that personal action of defining and redefining the space in accordance to whichever sensibility is present in that given moment.
- Rooftop
- Christiania community bath
Off(ice) territory:
Again a highly powered place. The notion of off refers to the fact that the reigning power deliberately wishes to control the uses of the space – even though it is a public space – and thereby wants to keep it an off-limits-space.
- Kalvebod brygge
- Banking area on Christianshavn
Super powered spaces:
Like the Off(ice) territory, the super powered space is controlled deliberately to keep certain actions away. There are different ways of controlling a space – which is done all the time, almost every where – and the results are more or less visible. But a super powering of the space doesn’t have to be visible, but can also be for example auditive.
- Central Station entrance/exit with classical music
# posted by Lasse @ 9:14 PM 
