'Seedy bars and grotty pints': close encounters in queer leisure spaces

This paper is based on the British Academy project 'Not all bright lights and big city?' (2008-2010), which explores the diverse and divided lives of lesbians and gay men in the north-east of England. Here, we focus on the 'close encounters' between material culture and place, within queer leisure spaces (Binnie, 2014; Binnie & Skeggs, 2004; Brown, 2013; Lim, 2007, 2010; Lim & Fanghanel, 2013; Nash & Gorman-Murray, 2014). We build on existing geographical intersections of class, gender and sexuality (Browne & Bakshi, 2014; Savci, 2013; Taylor, 2007a, 2007b; Tyler, 2013) and incorporate embodied and affectual analysis of 'things' (food, drink, decor) as well as sensual and affective articulations of 'atmosphere' (light, dark, dirty, 'seedy') (Anderson, 2012; Bennett, 2013; Brown, 2008). Considering the potential 'zero sum' game of territoriality and identity (Brown, 2013) - as mapped onto scene space - we highlight material cultures and sensual atmospheres that both seduce and disgust bodies, affectively pulling people into and out of place, mattering the 'changing structurations' of sexualities and space.