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2 . Controlling Eye - Solitary confinement for a gay man in total darkness . Still from Great Freedom ( 2021 )
The quest for sexual encounters in public spaces is called “ cruising ”. Despite being historically characterized by dependant relationships , over the centuries it has established itself as an equal , democratic , intimate encounter outside the norms of mainstream society . Unnoticed by the general public , a homosexual underground emerged that met the need for closeness and intimacy . The search for confirmation of not being alone with one ’ s desires and needs , one ’ s love and lust . Men would meet in secluded parks , in public toilets , in theatre boxes and the last row in a cinema . Mostly under the cover of the night .
The historical circumstances provide an understanding of the need for these sexual encounters between men : fast and fleeting , anonymous and in the dark . Because their actual private spaces were disqualified on account of social restrictions . What in the general understanding would in fact have to be qualified as public sex was thus one of the few forms of possible privacy within a hostile society . This also led to a quickening of the actual sexual encounters , because no one wanted to be caught , given the threat of punishment – from imprisonment , internment , loss of honour , stigmatization , humiliation , to death . In light of this fact , the superficially easy separation of the “ private ” and “ public ” spheres appears to be a shaky construct of a fearful society , which further confirmed the already attested perversion in the cruising men .
A darkroom is a place for developing film material . A darkroom is also a room that a persecuted community built , filled and claimed for itself . The history of this room , specifically dedicated to sexual encounters , is closely tied to the history of emancipation of modern homosexuality itself . Emerging from the margins of post-war America , this enchanted space took root in the heart of the homosexual underground , waiting to move towards the light . Despite the most strenuous attempts , the basic need for sex could be forbidden , but never eradicated .
Informal and illicit encounters in the darkness of the cities also gave rise to qualities to which people thought to pay tribute in a fetishized way even after repression had ceased . All these secret spots became the blueprint when it came to hosting the public gay sex culture in darkrooms .
Turning a swear word into a self-designation and elevating symbols of oppression to a fetish is both a coping strategy and one for selfempowerment . A darkroom can therefore be seen as the epitome of a freedom movement of all the battered gay generations who had been robbed of their youth and are old enough by now to appreciate the dimmed light . The stolen loves , the forbidden lives , all the offsides , all the banished identities gather here in the darkness of this museum-like space of contemplation . Thanks to darkrooms , “ cruising ” has not only been given a structural framework , but also an interactive memorial space
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Observing Memories Issue 6