It doesn’t look like an LGBTQIA space at all, this one. No rainbow flags to mark it. No same-sex depictions. No apparent LGBTQIA person in sight. And so on… you get the point.
Instead, we have a crown-looking circular railing right in the middle of the Stockholm Central Station, featuring an art installation by the artist Sivert Lindblom. Titled “Väntande tåg (Waiting Trains)”, this was installed in 1981, with depictions of stylized figures (and agaian, none of them appearing to be LGBTQIA).
But this piece is significant to the LGBTQIA community in Sweden.
PR talk would say it’s because of this symbolizing inclusion – e.g. some of the human figures seem to be replicas of art of Indigenous Peoples from other countries, after all. But the real significance is in its “use” – i.e. this is actually a popular cruising spot for gay and bisexual men.
Supposedly, similar to so many countries all over the world, provincial men head to Stockholm to try their luck. Many of them do not know anyone in Stockholm, or know what to do when they get there. So after getting of their train or bus, they stay at this art installation… and wait to be picked up.
I say this is comparable to the “bakal boys” of Metro Manila, those men who have sex with men who were known to hang out near railings in malls, et cetera, waiting to be picked up. So yeah, if we have them… they have theirs, too.
But yeah, this also highlights many issues still affecting the LGBTQIA community – e.g. the lack of spaces for us to be at; lack of opportunities for those in far-flung areas, forcing them to take their chances in places where they may be endangered; and yeah… sex work.
All the same, if in the area, check out the center of the Stockholm Central Station. You may pick up, could be picked up, or simply… see not just an art installation, but a space that’s been “created” to be where gay and bisexual men of Stockholm gather. – WITH JOHN RYAN Nual MENDOZA
@outragemag #bakalboys sa Stockholm Central Station? Yes with this art installation a venue where #LGBTQIA #gay and #bisexual men gather for picking up
