Author: Katherine Poltz, University of Amsterdam, Research master Urban Studies
Space and Identity
Comparing the Production of Queer Spaces in Amsterdam and Hong Kong
Queer (LGBTQI+) subjectivities and their relationship to the production of urban space are well understood in the American context. However, there exist many cases worldwide where queer communities did not follow this American road map. Contemporary research has focused on how and why queer spaces have been produced. This paper investigates cases where spaces have not been produced. Henri Lefebvre, in his seminal work on the production of space, argued that, “groups, classes or fractions of classes cannot constitute themselves, or recognize one another, as ‘subject’ unless they generate (or produce) a space” (Lefebvre,1991: 416). Without physical and spatial representations in a city, therefore, it is nearly impossible for a group to consider itself as such. The implications of a lack of space for minorities is far reaching, including the potential loss of identity and loss of city diversity in the push towards assimilation. This paper puts forth a conceptual framework for analyzing the production of space by minority groups, created through comparison of the existing literature on queer spaces with two cases diverging from the typical American case, Amsterdam, Netherlands and Hong Kong, SAR China.