With the Current, Against the Wind: Constructing Spatial Activism and Radical Politics in the Tel-Aviv Gay Center

Abstract

On the basis of an analysis of the Israeli LGBT group Trans in the Center, this article provides a theoretical and empirical account of spatial activism implemented "from within" through sexual politics. The paper first reviews the political-civil background and geographical-spatial discourse of activism. It then reviews the state-of-the-art literature on social centers, sexual politics and activism, focusing on Trans in the Center and the Gay Center where it operated. This case study gives an opportunity to examine LGBT spatial activism as a form of activist civil and sexual politics, unveiling a silenced reality and dialogical exchanges among community members as well as between members and the broader public. The paper articulates the potential of spatial activism to radicalize conservative and semi-hegemonic institutional space, promote social change and facilitate public visibility and discussion by working from within.