Homework 13

Short Answer Questions on

Kat Long, The Forbidden Apple: A Century of Sex & Sin in New York City, pp. 57 – 67 ; Kevin Mumford, Interzones: Black/White Sex Districts in Chicago and New York in the Early Twentieth Century

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THIS IS ASSIGNMENT 13

Questions on The Forbidden Apple: A Century of Sex & Sin in New York City, pp. 57 – 67

1) What forces converged (verb: to arrive at same destination) to make Harlem, in the words of the time, “the Negro capital of the world”?

2) For white audiences of the time and their values, what was so appealing about Harlem?  Be sure you know the meaning of the words “antidote” and “colonialism.”

3) Given your answer to question (2) about, why might white “slumming” trips to Harlem at the time be considered racist?

4) The author refers to “Villagers” refering to the almost exclusively white writers, artists and bohemians of the Greenwich Village.    Compare the role of sexual identity (according to the author) in Harlem versus the role of sexual identity in Greenwich Village.

5) According to the author, what was one benefit of blues singers’ frank acknowledgement of their sexual identities?

6) Explain the relationship between speakeasies and prostitution in Harlem. (requires three sentences)

7) The author provides two explanations for the end of sexual tourism in Harlem.  What are those? Be specific.

Questions onpp. 83-85 Interzones: Black/White Sex Districts in Chicago and New York in the Early Twentieth Century,

8)   As the author notes, psychological theories of sexuality popuar in the 1920s argued that sexual instincts were remnants of a “primitive” self that society attempted (usually unsuccessfully) to repress.  (be sure you know the meaning of the word repress in this context).

Given what Kat long writes about how Whites viewed African Americans and Harlem at the time, how might such theories both (A)have enhanced the appeal of Harlem speakeasies to whites and (B) provided a space for gay socializing and sex work?  Pay particular attention to what Mumford writes on p. 83. (requires five sentences)

9) How and why does Mumford believe that African-American culture shaped gay culture as a consequence of Harlem’s speakeasies in the 1920s?(requires three sentences)

10) Mumford argues that the culture of Harlem’s speakeasies in the 1920s shaped the habits of white homosexuals far from Harlem.  Explain. (requires three sentences)

END OF ASSIGNMENT