The Gentrification of the Mind

March 5, 2012
In her latest book, queer activist Schulman (Ties that Bind) argues that the AIDS epidemic that ravaged the gay community in the U.S. from 1981 to 1996 spurred the process of gentrification, "a concrete replacement process," not only in New York City, but in the larger spheres of American theater, literature, and art. She seeks to demonstrate how "the unexplored consequences of AIDS and the literal gentrification of cities created a diminished consciousness about how political and artistic change get made." Schulman, who was a member of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power), makes a bold argument, linking the rapid decline of the gay male population in New York City due to AIDSâespecially in neighborhoods such as Chelsea, the East Village, Harlem, and the West Villageâto the trend of homogenization, corporate takeovers, and rising rents. She warns, "Pretending that AIDS is not happening and never happened, so that we don't have to be accountable, destroys our integrity and therefore our future." Schulman's firsthand experience of the epidemic and the queer community should make for a poignant and stirring story, but the author's argument soon devolves into name dropping and discourses against motherhood and academia, to name a few. These diatribes are brimming with so much vitriol that they ultimately come across as the personal agenda of someone with an ax to grind rather than cogent research.