I totally avoided the whole “Black Friday” scene yesterday…and Thanksgiving day too for that matter. It’s just not for me. Several years back, someone attempted to start a “Buy Nothing Day” movement to be celebrated instead of participating in the madness that is “Black Friday”. That didn’t catch on in our materialistic, gotta have it and have it now culture but I can appreciate the thinking behind it. I did buy something yesterday, late in the day. I put gas in my wife’s car. She put gas in mine too (long story) and that was all either of us spent for the day.
My wife and I both have great jobs and we make a decent living. We have what we need and we’re able to help others too like one side of our very needy family, some truly less fortunate friends and a few charities. We don’t see the need other lesbian and gay couples seem to have to spend, spend, spend especially as that spending revolves around the dance club and party scene. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve never been into those scenes. My wife, though she has visited clubs a few more times than I have, doesn’t identify with those scenes either.
My lack of interest in participating in the whole gay dance club phenomenon is no way indicative of my curiosity about it. As a reader and reviewer, I’m quite the student of many things and studying gay and lesbian culture is certainly at the top of my list. One thing I do spend on, on occasion, obviously, is books. As an aside; I also borrow books, trade books and, because of this blog, people send me books to read and review. Anyway, I ran across this book: Impossible Dance: Club Culture and Queer World-Making
Buckland’s book, focused on findings from the New York City club scene, was published in 2002 but it’s still relevant. The drug scene side of the club culture has declined a bit in some places…and increased in others but, on the whole, a lot of what is addressed in this book is much the same as it was in 2002. I know what you’re thinking: since you’re not a part of “the scene”, how would you know? Mind you, I didn’t formally come out until very late in 2005. I “visited” clubs several times over the following couple of years, I have acquaintances that are heavily involved and I’ve been a couple of times with friends celebrating various life “occasions” recently. They want to go where they want to go and I’m certainly not a party pooper (although designated driver is often my title).
This book isn’t a collection of essays focused on individual club goers or any sort of review guide of clubs. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll be very disappointed. It is a well researched history and social culture study produced as part of the outcome of Ms. Buckland’s completion of her Ph.D. in Performance Studies at NYU. Given that background, descriptions and reviews of this book on other sites (and even on Amazon) border on the high brow academic side, but this is a fascinating read that does not feel academic.
Not to be skipped over is the “Timeline” in the front of the book. I wouldn’t even just skim this as a reader. It’s worth reading each entry to get a sense of how things began and how they flowed through time and what things had impact on the club scene and on Buckland’s body of research. Also not to be missed is the introduction as it gets at the authors own motivations for her personal interest in social dancing and her later advanced studies in the medium of expression and “world making” that it is.
I, personally, found the 2nd chapter, titled “The Currency of Fabulousness” fascinating. When I think of gay dance clubs, this is what I think of. The politics surrounding “adult businesses” that lead to the closing of many of the best known clubs are also quite interesting reading.
If you’re a student of history and culture, this ones for you!
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