SP Seminar Series -- Kevin Walby

Thursday, March 5th
12:30pm – 1:30pm
Mackintosh-Corry Hall, D-411
Queen's University

"He asked me if I was looking for fags…" Ottawa's National Capital Commission Conservation Officers and the Policing of Sex in Public Parks

The National Capital Commission (NCC) is an organization responsible for so-called "beautification" and land development around Canada's capital city, Ottawa. This paper examines surveillance of public sex by NCC conservation officers in the parks of Ottawa. Conservation officers have been excluded from studies of policing because of an urban bias in the policing literature and the marginal status of specialized enforcement agents. Conceptualizing NCC conservation officer work as a kind of policing, I analyze conservation officer occurrence reports obtained through access to information requests to examine how public male with male sexual activity is problematized and criminalized. This case study of NCC conservation officer work demonstrates how notions of so-called "appropriate" sexuality and space usage can be shaped and reinforced through policing and surveillance conducted by governance agents who have peace officer status. Contributing to the literature on policing of public sex, my analysis of conservation officer occurrence reports suggests that even when bylaws and park regulations concerning erotic acts are written in gender-neutral and innocuous language, these are enforced in ways that discriminate against public male with male sexual relations.

Everyone welcome!