Inner-city possibilities: using place and space to facilitate inter-ethnic dating and romance in 1960s–1980s Leicester. (May 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bishop, Sue Zeleny
• Editors: Andrews, Aaron; Kefford, Alistair; Warner, Daniel
• Is Part Of: Urban history. Volume 50:Part 2(2023)
• Page Start: 232
• Page End: 247
• Publication Date: 2023-05
• Subjects: Cities and towns -- History -- Periodicals; Cities and towns -- History -- Bibliography -- Periodicals; 909.09732
• DOI: 10.1017/S0963926821000742
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0963-9268

Abstract

Abstract: Applying a spatial lens to the oral histories of heterosexual women who had intercultural romantic relationships in Leicester from the 1960s to the 1980s provides an alternative perspective on their experiences. This article examines these women's movements into and around the inner city, eliciting discussion about the concept of 'safe' places and spaces and the factors that determined the transient nature of these spaces. It illustrates opportunities created for intercultural mixing, away from familial gaze and public hostility. Utilizing such spaces to develop and sustain their relationships reveals a previously unacknowledged female agency that also enabled an 'everyday multiculturalism' in the British city.