Cities1

This chapter begins by defining constructions of both “sexuality” and “urban” and then surveys how scholars have explored the symbiotic relationship between them, as the two have historically been constructed, in no small part, alongside one another. In suggesting sexual repression as a likely causation for neuroses, Sigmund Freud juxtaposed cities where “less embarrassment” and “prudery” prevailed in relation to sexual matters to those that were “proud of their chastity.” Under this logic, although cities were distinctly understood as sites of greater sexual expression, not all cities permitted their inhabitants to experience sex in equal measure. Although cities are demonstrably built environments, scholars have noted their socially constructed characteristics that exist through distinct abstractions and conjectures. By their very design, cities have historically provided greater diversity, vocabularies, anonymity, and, often, protection or security. English settlers established cities in the American colonies that served primarily to regulate economic matters.