Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(re)produce an affective landscape of interaction and desire within the sexualized cul-
tural and physical space of the club. They help to construct the flirty vibe of the club
as an arena of heterosexual attraction, where being looked at and admired offer thrills
for “beautiful” women. In addition to depicting the ideal form to which female club-
bers can aspire, these images also promote very specific gendered subject positions in
which individual women not only participate in their objectification, but actually enjoy
it (Hollway 1984). Forms of “happiness” (and “unhappiness”) are opened up to female
clubbers in and through the production and reproduction of images such as those above.
These affects are the outcome of regulated forms of performance and participation that
are open to male and female clubbers. Enjoyment of objectification is made an explicit
possibility for female clubbers and thus it implicitly shapes the performative possibilit-
ies of the space.
Conlon's (2004) work on monuments in public space can enrich our analysis of the
wallpaper images at Jacks (see
Figures 2.1
and
2.2
). Citing Edensor (1997), Conlon
(2004) argues that “monuments are a way for elites to memorialise important figures
while subaltern groups are marginalised” (468). Similarly, Conlon (2004) draws on Le-
febvre (1996) to argue that “monuments are representations of space wherein power re-
lationsaresubsumed;theyspeakofaparticularspatialcode,whichsimultaneouslycom-
mandsbodiesandordersspace”(468-69).Inotherwords,monumentsservetoillustrate
and provide a shared understanding of the ways in which a space might be used, and in
so doing they materialize power relations. It could be argued that the models appropri-
ated as part of the club's branding become “monuments” in this sense, serving as cultur-
al templates for sociospatial clubbing practices such as dress, dance, drinking, and de-
sirability. Embedded in this spatial code is a shared understanding of desirability which
positions some women as elite, simultaneously rendering abject others to the realm of
the subaltern. Furthermore, they serve to normalize heteronormative whiteness and the
objectification of women, both by themselves and by others, whilst simultaneously set-
ting Western standards of club culture as the ideal on which South African club culture
should be modeled. These monuments to Western club culture are rendered all the more
powerful by the simultaneous broadcast of Fashion TV, as discussed above.
These elements, in conjunction with other aspects such as the genre of music played
and the images displayed on the club's website, menus, and walls work together to con-
struct a vibe that is geared toward a hetero-normative environment in which women are
produced as objects of male consumption; their images are sexualized and displayed in
a way which caters toward male sexual fantasy. By this imagery and these practices, the
female body is objectified in a way that provides a framework for a particular kind of
engagement with and participation in the space of the club.
