Meatpacking
© Dina LitovskyEvery weekend night, the cobblestone streets of the Meatpacking District are transformed into a microcosm of sexual politics. The rules that govern the city during the day are suspended; the act of looking, concealed in the daytime, is brazenly celebrated. Women, navigating the jagged streets in high heels, are confident of their presentation but unsteady in their step. A barrage of compliments and whistles accompanies them as they make their way through the space.The formerly gritty, working-class neighborhood that used to be known for its dynamic gay nightlife and transgender sex workers, has metamorphosed into an ostentatious, high-gloss carnival for the young, single and heterosexual. While the Meatpacking District’s seedy history of fetish houses and leather bars may have been erased by fashionable nightclubs, the area remains a sexual playground, offering a fascinating glimpse of contemporary romance.
