Space and place in gay men’s leisure

Abstract

This paper explores the use of spaces and places by gay men as sites for leisure in the industrial city of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Eleven gay men were asked to photographically document the places / spaces in Newcastle which had significance to them, and the resulting photographic collection was subject to content analysis in order to uncover any discernible patterns. The men were later interviewed about their photographs and this information was used to help understand the ways in which these men make use of place and space within the city, and the meanings they attach to those places. The categories of photographs which accounted for just over 80 per cent of the 106 photographs were ‘beats’ (27%), privately owned places (25%), and commercial leisure service providers (32%). The associated interviews revealed some of the techniques and strategies employed by these men to construct and live their lives within an overwhelmingly heterosexual territory.