Mapping the Gay Guides:  Understanding Queer Spaces in Pre- and Post-Stonewall America

1. Abstract

Mapping the Gay Guides is a project aimed at understanding often ignored queer geographies through an interactive web application and digital public history project. Drawing on and making accessible the Damron Guides, an early but longstanding travel guide aimed at gay men since the early 1960s, this online mapping project explores different dimensions of American gay life through time, from bars and nightlife, bookstores, cinemas, and churches. Utilizing digitized data and visualizations from the app, the website will present a historical analysis of the changing ways that gay spaces were defined. This presentation will discuss the initial-beta version of the project and our findings.