The Centrality of Gender, Sexuality, Race, Sociability and...

In Slumming by Chad Heap the author describes the true reality of slumming, and how it was more wide spread than what it appear just in the surface. Heap defines slumming, as he concentrate on cities like Chicago and New York, that were provide with entertainment. This entertainment would come from immigrants, blacks, gays and bohemians during a period of large scale immigration in this cities. The author explains in detail the culture of slumming, as well as how it helps to produce the sex/gender/racial system. Heap also argues how the different participants in slumming affect one another. The impact between the different interactions among different races, classes and gender was as well discussed in detail by the author. Finally Heap†¦show more content†¦Thanks to slumming the middle class was provided with a new way to define its own social and moral superiority. It also created reformers that were against slumming, but this produced more amusement as it created more seek ers. â€Å"the presence of reformers—especially female reformers—on the streets and in the tenements and dives of these districts paradoxically suggested that such spaces were safe for popular congregation, and reformers’ activities in the cities’ slums and red-light districts were often remarkably similar to those of their pleasure-seeking compatriots † (18). As more people were attracted to slumming it created a mix of social classes that broke the social bounties and chains that keep society in a hierarchy. Heap argues that slumming promoted social mixing and change the racial and sexual system. Many opportunities for slum residents as whites’ interest more in slumming culture grow. Some slums stated to offer tours of the slums to attract more customers. Slumming gave the opportunities to cross over class lines as well as ethic boundaries; but more importantly it gave the opportunity to explore ones sexual identity. The slums were a place for sexual exploration in where people were not judge for trying to discover ones sexuality. Sexual norms were different in the slum, for example men who were consider to be straight could have a sexual relationship with â€Å"fairies† in the slums. Fairies were