Reviewing Identity on Sissy Street

Currently, I am staying with friends on St. Anne's in the French Quarter. I was told that this is referred to as "Sissy Street." Normally, I would be offended by that, but since I am here--away from my normal place and space of comfort--I find it pretty funny. I also find it comforting.

More comforting is walking down a street and seeing the rainbow flags, knowing that there are five or six gay bars within a stones throw, and that most men living on this block are gay. That makes me feel comfortable and safe in a way that I have not felt before.

I have never lived in a "gay ghetto," nor have I sought them out. I have always avoided large cities like the plague, but cities are usually the only places which have said ghettos. So avoiding big cities means avoiding gay enclaves.

Being in a totally new place without my partner has been pushing me to rethink just what it is to be gay/queer/etc. This has little to do with theory. This has everything to do with the actual location of my body, how it feels emotionally, and how relaxed I am.

I can honestly and proudly say I really, really like being here. If I could afford to sanely live in a gay ghetto I would. While it may make me sound like a sheep or a conformist, I cannot deny what is true: I want to live around people like me: LGBT folks. The sense of safety, absence of fear, or deep location of normalcy is truly astonishing.

Who knows how I will feel tomorrow, but I sure feel good right now. I like knowing that many of the people around me are like me. After decades of feeling alienated, isolated, or hermitted--by choice--I now have a sense of how other folks live.

I also know there are serious issues of race and class that are not addressed here--that the world on the other side of Rampart is very different. I just got here. I have had less than five hours sleep today, and that was on a plane. My analytical skills are not as honed as they need to be to grapple with race and class. I just did not want to pretend as if they do not exist or as if I am ignoring them.