ABSTRACT
Since the time of the Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah and classical Athens, homosexuality has been associated with the city. 1 This article surveys historical studies of homosexuality in urban milieux published over the past decade, suggesting the multiple links between homosexuality and the city evident since Antiquity. It argues that urban centres have been conducive to homosexual expression, whether integrated into or transgressive against social norms. Recent books not only record the history of homosexual groups in cities, but show the ways in which homosexual life has intersected with other aspects of urban life. Particular themes that reoccur are the emergence of homosexual cultures and types of sociability—from clandestine encounters to brazen parades—which cities have hosted, the impact of gay men and lesbians on urban environments and the spread of Western-style gay urban life around the world. My intention is not to articulate a general theory of urban homosexuality, but to illustrate sources and research strategies employed by contemporary historians and to argue the value to social scientists of an historical perspective in studies of homosexuality in the city.
