The Gay Community

One of the most commonly held assumptions in the gay community is that because politics has regressed to a focus on acceptance in the coastal powers of New York and San Francisco, the entire nation has moved with it. I propose that by looking at the history of Kansas City in a more radical way, we will uncover new evidence to create a more intricate and accurate description of national trends. More specifically, by shifting our focus to a Midwestern city, and by looking at the history of conflicts over space instead of the history of events and people, we will uncover a new body of evidence to complicate national gay histories.

Part of the impetus for writing this paper is that I want to explore Kansas City s character and how the dominant culture in the city relates to the gay community. Citizens view the city as the archetypal Midwestern city, and I think this is more than an inflated sense of self-importance. Cultural references to Kansas City suggest its significance, which plays a large part in the formation of citizens identity. During the flood of 1951 Norman Rockwell, who purposely accentuated the wholesome Americana prevalent in the Midwest, offered to help Kansas City in any way he could. The result is the painting Kansas City Spirit, a painting that, in the words of Joyce C. Hall, would forever symbolize that something in good men s hearts that makes them put service above self and accomplish the impossible (Kansas City 61). In many ways Kansas City has come to represent the qualities of the American Heartland that are most revered.

Just as significantly, we can understand the city s character in terms of space. Most often, citizens define and praise their city not in terms of what happens there but in terms of what kinds of spaces they have. Kansas City is the City of Fountains and the City of Boulevards and Parks, important characteristics that relate specifically to space. The first of these, the fountains, is also the most popularly espoused one. In Kansas City s book of self-adoration titled Kansas City, fountains are described in this way:

Fountains: they are a Kansas City hallmark. Few cities in the world can boast the water artistry that graces the boulevards, parks, and centers here. Herbert Silverman was amazed when he completed the aqua pura tour. Afterwards, he wrote for Travel and Leisure: In the order of magnitude of citizens pride - one must marvel first at its fountains.