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It's not just suburban whites though. Literally, the black population here is so religious that by nature, they're anti-gay. I was in a barber shop in Conyers a few weeks ago getting a haircut and the discussion about that gay player being drafted into the NFL came up. Lets just say...if you're gay, you would have been extremely offended.
Conyers is not the city of Atlanta. It is a far eastern suburb, damn near exurb. Who goes to Conyers anyway especially if you live in/near the city? After all, this is a discussion between the city of Atlanta and Chicago not the suburbs/surrounding areas of each city.
Thats where I stayed in West Midtown at 1016 lofts. I rarely saw the suburbs. So I could probably give 2 cents about the suburban whites and how they feel about the gays.
Except that they vote and shape the laws of the state. Maybe that won't make a difference in your day to day life, but sometimes those laws have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it. Perhaps the courts will render a lot of the discriminatory laws invalid, perhaps they won't.
It's not just suburban whites though. Literally, the black population here is so religious that by nature, they're anti-gay. I was in a barber shop in Conyers a few weeks ago getting a haircut and the discussion about that gay player being drafted into the NFL came up. Lets just say...if you're gay, you would have been extremely offended.
And you don't think that same type of convo could have happened somewhere in metro Chicago or any other city for that matter?
but again, the sole area between Lincoln Park all the way to Uptown is hugely gay friendly. In fact, you should worry if you'd be acceptable up there being a straight person LOL. It has one of the largest pride parades worldwide there too. Gay bars and stores out the yin yang. I'd still say my point stands,
Eh - from Lincoln Park, I wouldn't call the population "hugely gay" it's very mixed all the way up through Uptown and the point about "you should worry if you'd be acceptable up there being a straight person" is very false. Parts of Lincoln Park and Lakeview are very bro-ish and straight, but may have many gay people intermixed in there besides the more gay parts of town (i.e. Boystown, Andersonville, parts of Edgewater, Lakeview East, etc). The point is that these areas and many more are very gay friendly - they don't have to state they're gay friendly because it's implied almost anywhere in many of these areas.
I've seriously never had a gay friend in Chicago express a question of whether some place will be gay friendly and whether they should go there on a date or not. There are some areas that may be a little weirder like up on Devon (litle India/Pakistan) or Little Village (big Mexican part of town) or the Arabic section of Albany Park or Irving Park or something. Other than that, businesses don't have to advertise they're gay friendly. If they're in one of the hip or gentrified hoods, it's pretty much implied that they're going to be "friendly."
Also, the gay population pretty much extends all the way north to the suburbs. Andersonville and Edgewater are big gay neighborhoods and the gay beach in Chicago is in Edgewater, and there's some gay bars and even a leather museum in Rogers Park. Not counting the places on the west or south either. There's probably 125,000 or more LGBT people living in Chicago with a parade that drew 1 million people last year, and another festival a month later that draws 100,000 every year. Being gay is a shock to nobody in the city unless they just moved here from a small town and have been living in a bubble.
I really can't think of any community know solely for it's gay community
That definitely is true, come to think of it, San francisco is probably big on gay pride and LGBT, but again, the sole area between Lincoln Park all the way to Uptown is hugely gay friendly. In fact, you should worry if you'd be acceptable up there being a straight person LOL. It has one of the largest pride parades worldwide there too. Gay bars and stores out the yin yang. I'd still say my point stands, Chicago is probably better between the two, because in California I definitely can see more communities, but this question was asking between Chicago and Atlanta. And there really isn't any or many gay "places", maybe a few accepting, but Georgia in whole is one of the most conservative states there are. Only southern and perhaps central Illinois is more conservative.
With all due respect, I don't think you read posts carefully enough. I ONLY brought up California ONLY because I simply stated that that is where I live, it had NOTHING to do with the post.
Secondly, your statement is bolded is kind of weird and frankly hilarious that one should be worried about being accepted as a straight person?? You do realize that the area from Lincoln Park to Uptown is also known for being a wild and rowdy Cubs fan/frat boy scene? If anything in that corridor you mentioned is known for being EITHER "bro/chad" or gay, one or the other. If you want to be stylish, fashionable straight male, its best to stick south of North Ave. in River North/Gold Coast/Streeterville, etc.
You also do realize, that often the difference between a "blue" state and a "red" state may very well be a thin margin. Illinois does obviously have a higher % of people living in a dense urban area than Georgia, but the southern 2/3rd of the state are somewhat bible belt, albeit maybe a little less intense than the south certainly.
Heres an example of a well thought out post earlier in the thread:
Atlanta has a huge gay community. I enjoyed it, personally. But I prefer Chicago's, from my experiences there. If I had to describe a few cities' gay communities in one/two words, negatively, I would say:
Atlanta - sugar daddies / queens
Chicago - marriage on the mind (if you're young and not looking to get hitched...)
San Francisco - overbearingly techie
New York - intimidating in all the right ways (well that sucks if you aren't really good looking, successful, and generally awesome, lol)
Los Angeles - trying so hard, but most won't make it; or they'll suck Brian Singer's...and still won't make it, lol
Miami / Ft Lauderdale - what does everyone do for a living around here?
DC - an exact extension of the general population, except gay
There's more to do in a confined area in Chicago's gay districts, which are larger than Atlanta's. In Atlanta, you will find that despite being a cheaper city, there are a lot of guys that somehow can't afford Midtown or intown areas (without that sugar daddy...and they become snobs when someone else leases them a used 3 series and lets them stay at their $350K Midtown condo, LOLOL). You will go to Marietta to a drag show or Gwinnett for a pool party as a result. In Chicago, pick one of 3 neighborhoods and you won't have to leave for gay stuff, and will find yourself leaving merely to explore the rest of the city in a non-gay way. Lakewood/Boystown is definitely the largest gay area in the city, though. I personally find the boys cuter in Chicago (but I prefer a more European look and mentality). Atlanta's gay scene is more diverse (huge black gay scene, more diverse backgrounds).
One thing that is striking about Atlanta is the sheer amount of guys that come from small town backgrounds. Perhaps they were even persecuted in their small GA/southern town. They come to Atlanta and you will hear their story, and I personally think they way overcompensate for their "gayness" (hence queeny / sugar daddy / house boy culture, imo, in the south in general).
Guys in Chicago are kind of conservative (not too much) and come from Midwestern backgrounds, but for some reason that background doesn't result in crazy queens or super fem guys. Maybe their parents disapprove, but still accept them. So you get a guy who was raised in a likely religious, semi-conservative, but *accepting* household. Results in a completely different adult person, I promise you that (proof that accepting, at minimum, is needed in people's lives). Clean cut Midwestern boys (jocks) with good heads on their shoulders; mmm. Watch out, though, they ARE relationship oriented. If you're out to have fun, Atlanta is probably a better bet! Move to Chicago to find your husband.
With all due respect, I don't think you read posts carefully enough. I ONLY brought up California ONLY because I simply stated that that is where I live, it had NOTHING to do with the post.
Secondly, your statement is bolded is kind of weird and frankly hilarious that one should be worried about being accepted as a straight person?? You do realize that the area from Lincoln Park to Uptown is also known for being a wild and rowdy Cubs fan/frat boy scene? If anything in that corridor you mentioned is known for being EITHER "bro/chad" or gay, one or the other. If you want to be stylish, fashionable straight male, its best to stick south of North Ave. in River North/Gold Coast/Streeterville, etc.
.
I'll agree the bolded part is hilarious, but I don't agree that you can paint an entire picture of Lincoln Park/Lakeview as frat boy/cubs fan. Certainly there's large areas of it, but not all of them are. The east sections of both Lakeview and Lincoln Park are not overly bro-ish (there is some, but it's not a ton), not to mention Boystown and Roscoe Village is not bro-ish. There's also the area around Belmont which is nonesuch. If you count Uptown then not much of that would be counted as such either.
Adding to the areas of fashionable, areas like Wicker Park, Ukrainian Village, Avondale and Logan Square are also great for that, and certainly you can get away with it in areas like Roscoe Village, East Lakeview, etc. In the end though, as a "fashionable male," I never run into problems anywhere as you've heard me talk about before. Unless you're in a really townie part of town, people don't give a **** and in the end it depends on how you wear it and how you carry yourself with it. If you carry yourself confidently, nobody is going to even say anything or look at you weirdly. People are inherantly kind of intimidated by people who look confident and look like they don't give a rat's ass what that person thinks of them. And to that degree, some people definitely wear fashions that don't fit them. Like all of the people wearing those cardigans for awhile - it looks bad on most people, and if you don't look natural wearing it, then people are going to be more apt look weirdly at you guaranteed.
And you don't think that same type of convo could have happened somewhere in metro Chicago or any other city for that matter?
Except this is a widespread attitude amongst the black community. The black community is probably the most homophobic of any of the 4 major racial groups in this country. It's even worse in cities like Atlanta.
Except this is a widespread attitude amongst the black community. The black community is probably the most homophobic of any of the 4 major racial groups in this country. It's even worse in cities like Atlanta.
That's a pretty overblown stereotype and attitudes are quickly changing.
To say that this attitude is worse in cities like Atlanta, which is known as a Black gay mecca, is a bit misguided. For one, Conyers isn't Atlanta. Secondly, the divide with respect to attitudes towards gay issues (including marriage) is more generational and geographical (urban/rural). Of course you still have conservative pastors who probably won't ever come around, but there's beginning to be more differences of opinion among clergy and laity similar to what you see in the Catholic Church as it regards social issues.
With all due respect, I don't think you read posts carefully enough. I ONLY brought up California ONLY because I simply stated that that is where I live, it had NOTHING to do with the post.
Secondly, your statement is bolded is kind of weird and frankly hilarious that one should be worried about being accepted as a straight person?? You do realize that the area from Lincoln Park to Uptown is also known for being a wild and rowdy Cubs fan/frat boy scene? If anything in that corridor you mentioned is known for being EITHER "bro/chad" or gay, one or the other. If you want to be stylish, fashionable straight male, its best to stick south of North Ave. in River North/Gold Coast/Streeterville, etc.
You also do realize, that often the difference between a "blue" state and a "red" state may very well be a thin margin. Illinois does obviously have a higher % of people living in a dense urban area than Georgia, but the southern 2/3rd of the state are somewhat bible belt, albeit maybe a little less intense than the south certainly.
Heres an example of a well thought out post earlier in the thread:
Atlanta has a huge gay community. I enjoyed it, personally. But I prefer Chicago's, from my experiences there. If I had to describe a few cities' gay communities in one/two words, negatively, I would say:
Atlanta - sugar daddies / queens
Chicago - marriage on the mind (if you're young and not looking to get hitched...)
San Francisco - overbearingly techie
New York - intimidating in all the right ways (well that sucks if you aren't really good looking, successful, and generally awesome, lol)
Los Angeles - trying so hard, but most won't make it; or they'll suck Brian Singer's...and still won't make it, lol
Miami / Ft Lauderdale - what does everyone do for a living around here?
DC - an exact extension of the general population, except gay
There's more to do in a confined area in Chicago's gay districts, which are larger than Atlanta's. In Atlanta, you will find that despite being a cheaper city, there are a lot of guys that somehow can't afford Midtown or intown areas (without that sugar daddy...and they become snobs when someone else leases them a used 3 series and lets them stay at their $350K Midtown condo, LOLOL). You will go to Marietta to a drag show or Gwinnett for a pool party as a result. In Chicago, pick one of 3 neighborhoods and you won't have to leave for gay stuff, and will find yourself leaving merely to explore the rest of the city in a non-gay way. Lakewood/Boystown is definitely the largest gay area in the city, though. I personally find the boys cuter in Chicago (but I prefer a more European look and mentality). Atlanta's gay scene is more diverse (huge black gay scene, more diverse backgrounds).
One thing that is striking about Atlanta is the sheer amount of guys that come from small town backgrounds. Perhaps they were even persecuted in their small GA/southern town. They come to Atlanta and you will hear their story, and I personally think they way overcompensate for their "gayness" (hence queeny / sugar daddy / house boy culture, imo, in the south in general).
Guys in Chicago are kind of conservative (not too much) and come from Midwestern backgrounds, but for some reason that background doesn't result in crazy queens or super fem guys. Maybe their parents disapprove, but still accept them. So you get a guy who was raised in a likely religious, semi-conservative, but *accepting* household. Results in a completely different adult person, I promise you that (proof that accepting, at minimum, is needed in people's lives). Clean cut Midwestern boys (jocks) with good heads on their shoulders; mmm. Watch out, though, they ARE relationship oriented. If you're out to have fun, Atlanta is probably a better bet! Move to Chicago to find your husband.
Okay, my areas perhaps were off by saying Lincoln Park to Uptown, but north of Diversey, east of Halsted, and south of Irving Park Road IS the prime "gay" community of Chicago, not buts. And my analogy was called SARCASM. Of course Wrigleyville is full of drunks and hipsters, no argument there. But all throughout the general area, there aren't really any hostile gay parts. Most of Illinois' pop is in the Chicagoland area, 3 quarters to be exact. Hence, it is considered a blue state. I AGREED with you about the mid and south part of IL being conservative.
Also, I didn't claim to be an expert on everything about Boystown, but I do know where it's at and I have been there a few times.
Okay, my areas perhaps were off by saying Lincoln Park to Uptown, but north of Diversey, east of Halsted, and south of Irving Park Road IS the prime "gay" community of Chicago, not buts. And my analogy was called SARCASM. Of course Wrigleyville is full of drunks and hipsters, no argument there. But all throughout the general area, there aren't really any hostile gay parts. Most of Illinois' pop is in the Chicagoland area, 3 quarters to be exact. Hence, it is considered a blue state. I AGREED with you about the mid and south part of IL being conservative.
Since when do Hipsters hang out in Wrigleyville? LOL! Not even close - there are some that hang out in the area around Belmont but it's a small area.
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