Better to Complicate, Rather than Homogenize, Urban Nightlife: A Response to Grazian

Abstract

Grazian (2009) challenges a prominent narrative that claims urban nightlife is a democratized and social‐capital‐enriching “third space” of social life. For Grazian, urban nightlife is, instead, characterized by (1) race and class divisions, (2) gender inequities and the exploitation of women, and (3) exclusivity rather than inclusiveness or solidarity. Grazian makes a brief and compelling case. It is one I agree with to a certain point. However, in this essay, I present two major concerns with his argument.