Gay friendly suburbs of Chicago...

[Frank the Tank]

Originally Posted by adele115

This is ridiculous - Oak Park, Evanston, and really, many suburbs are far more tolerant than not. "Boystown" obviously has a lot to offer, however, the entire north side is gay friendly, as are many suburbs. AND, in other suburbs, unless we're talking Wheaton (and I may be wrong here), many people DON"T CARE!!! LIve and let live. I think most collar suburbs are fine, most of the north side is fine, even southern suburbs are oK...the question is really which places are not gay friendly? I know couples in Hinsdale, Winnetka, Orland Park,.... Like the previous poster said..."we're not Missippi!"

This is probably the most accurate assessment of the suburbs. Even in a place like Wheaton, the conservative perception is more from the historical underpinnings of Wheaton College than what the majority of the residents in that town believe today - generally, the suburbs are significantly more socially progressive than they were even 10 years ago. While they aren't necessarily going to have rainbow flags waving all over the place, Chicagoans generally don't care about what people want to do in their private lives. There are certainly examples of bigots out there in the Chicago area, but it's not like some major Southern cities where there are frequently open public displays of anti-gay fervor. I would say the Chicago area is pretty comparable to the East Coast metro areas such as NYC and Boston on this issue, slightly less liberal than West Coast metro areas, and light years more liberal on this issue than Southern and Southwestern metro areas or other more culturally conservative Midwestern cities.

[adele115]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

This is probably the most accurate assessment of the suburbs. Even in a place like Wheaton, the conservative perception is more from the historical underpinnings of Wheaton College than what the majority of the residents in that town believe today - generally, the suburbs are significantly more socially progressive than they were even 10 years ago. While they aren't necessarily going to have rainbow flags waving all over the place, Chicagoans generally don't care about what people want to do in their private lives. There are certainly examples of bigots out there in the Chicago area, but it's not like some major Southern cities where there are frequently open public displays of anti-gay fervor. I would say the Chicago area is pretty comparable to the East Coast metro areas such as NYC and Boston on this issue, slightly less liberal than West Coast metro areas, and light years more liberal on this issue than Southern and Southwestern metro areas or other more culturally conservative Midwestern cities.

Yes, I agree. And to the previous poster who asked what is so ridiculous...when people say "just Halsted is gay friendly", the ridiculous part is that they haven't traveled up to Clark and Foster to see how Andersonville is quite gay friendly. So is Lincoln Square (WCTImes in CAfe Selmarie, gay musicians at Old Town School of FM, Go to Jury's and see a mix of gay and straight. I think the GOOD news is that really, there is less need for rainbow flags hanging everywhere...Chicago area is generally tolerant, and the explicity "friendly" is not limited to Halsted and Clark. Jeesh...

[adele115]

Oh yeah...and as for the burbs, there was a piece written several months back about the unitarian church in Hinsdale having several gay couples as members, with it being the "place" where gays go, without the church being explicit about their welcoming stance.

The words "gay friendly" are quite subjective...there are all kinds of gay and lesbian folks who don't need nor want rainblow flags and phallic monuments (think Halsted) to designate "gay friendly". Rather, they want neighbors who treat them the same, who don't think twice about a basic level of dignity just because they are a same sex couple. Most of us live quiet yet open lives that aren't defined by our sexual orientation -

[Chummy Waters]

I relented on locations in Chicago being gay friendly, but again, please read the thread title. There isn't a gay friendly suburb that I know of in Chicago...I haven't read it here either? Anyone? Adele? What suburbs are gay friendly?

A church that is quietly accepting gay people, doesn't qualify as gay friendly in my book. Factually, communities as a whole are very NIMBYish when it comes to gays. California was thought to be a gay friendly state, but look what a bit of lobbying did this last election. When you take a grade school class to attend a lesbian wedding, you find out quickly that what you thought was gay friendly is just tolerence.