“Without Working?”

Abstract

Within the gay/lesbian historiography, there has been a long-running debate over the relative roles played by capitalism and urban culture in the historical formation of gay and lesbian identities and communities. The author argues that in recent years historians have come to favor the urban, both as a framework for inquiry and as an explanatory device. In view of this historiographical tilt toward the urban, the author goes on to suggest some ways to bring capitalism and the economic back into view.