Is the TV show accurate??? (Houston, Dallas: lease, crime, houses)

[pepper131]

Originally Posted by skids929

Give me a Zegna sport T and pair of jcrew jeans and I would put my washed up 38 year old ass against any of those Hipster Dufuses or Polo wearing pretenders lookin like they were Teleported straight from the 80s.

I was at JCrew yesterday being helped by Steff from Pretty in Pink except he was a brunette. He had the swoop-y hair and all...

[skids929]

Originally Posted by pepper131

I was at JCrew yesterday being helped by Steff from Pretty in Pink except he was a brunette. He had the swoop-y hair and all...

"Money really means nothing to me. Do you think I'd treat my parents' house this way if it did?"

[pharpe]

Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr

3 dates to get a kiss? You're doing it wrong.

Depends on what you get to kiss.

[Lakewooder]

Originally Posted by skids929

I would put my washed up 38 year old ass against any of those Hipster Dufuses or Polo wearing pretenders lookin like they were Teleported straight from the 80s.

So what's wrong with the 80s?

[Twincam666]

Why would you even consider believing one of those dumb shows?

they make crap up for ratings...It's not REAL!

[moonsparkle]

Originally Posted by TurtleCreek80

I always thought there were more single women than men in Dallas- especially once you toss out all the gay men!!

That was one of the nice things about clubs in Miami, lots of guys, but at least half weren't competition, lol. Most other places, clubs are heavily outnumbered by guys competing for women. Makes for a lot of fights.

Are you sure the "gay" influence in Dallas isn't ever slightly feigned? A lot of cities do that, to sound more coastal, liberal, open-minded, than they really are. I lived in Chicago, and it struck me as a very straight, masculine city, although if you read some city brochure - they would pride (pardon the pun) of having the most gays in the midwest, great gay nightlife, etc. Gays are generally confined to Boystown in the city, and you don't really encounter as many as you would think. A lot of cities also feign the true scope of their arts' community. Outside of NY, LA, maybe San Fran, most art communities are just to impress those in that particular circle.

Minneapolis for example...is an overall, much more "gay" city than Chicago, but also substantially more liberal. The Minneapolis suburbs weren't as conservative as Chicago suburbs as well.

I'm guessing Dallas suburbs are 'right-of-center' to say the least. I don't really care, but I would prefer somewhere liberal where all people are accepted, not just "accepted-in-small-pockets" while everyone else wears Brooks Brothers.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by trancedout

Are you sure the "gay" influence in Dallas isn't ever slightly feigned? A lot of cities do that, to sound more coastal, liberal, open-minded, than they really are. I lived in Chicago, and it struck me as a very straight, masculine city, although if you read some city brochure - they would pride (pardon the pun) of having the most gays in the midwest, great gay nightlife, etc. Gays are generally confined to Boystown in the city, and you don't really encounter as many as you would think. A lot of cities also feign the true scope of their arts' community. Outside of NY, LA, maybe San Fran, most art communities are just to impress those in that particular circle.

The "gayborhood" in Dallas is Oak Lawn; its the neighborhood adjacent to Uptown's west border. The wealthier gays live in North Oak Cliff (which is a beautiful, hilly part of the city that appeals to all kinds of people, not just gays!), but can be found anywhere. Even up in the conservative Collin County suburbs of Frisco, Fairview, Plano, etc.

There are about 60,000 gays in Dallas, ranking 6th in the US. As a percent of the city, they make up 7% of the population - a much greater % than gays in NYC, LA, Chicago, and about half the % that are in SF. The greater DFW metroplex is home to nearly 200,000 gays.

It's a pretty visible presence if you live in Uptown or another surrounding neighborhood to Oak Lawn or if you follow city politics (we have a lesbian sherrif. Houston's had a gay mayor. Texas isn't still living in the 1950's, even if we appreciate good souther manners like opening doors for ladies!!)
Case in point:
*Last weekend there was a big rally/march that clogged up traffic (!!). *There's an annual Halloween parade on Cedar Springs Ave that is well attended by gays & straights.
*There's the annual Easter Dog Parade at Lee Park on Turtle Creek.
*The largest "gay" church in America is in the Oak Lawn gayborhood.
*We are home to one of the largest chapters of DIFFA (which is supported by many prominent staights, too, in Dallas).
*We are also home to one of the largest AIDS fundraisers each year- 2x2 for AIDS & ART which has raised nearly $30M in 12 years for amfAR. It is a star-studded sell-out each October.
*We are also home to Neiman Marcus, whose fashion director Ken Downing is one of the most fab gays in town!!

So...no....I wouldn't exactly call the gay "scene" in Dallas "quiet" or "confined."

history « 2×2 :: [ FOR AIDS + ART ]
DIFFA Dallas
http://www2.cathedralofhope.com/new
Dress for Success Miami Honors Neiman Marcus VP Ken Downing - Ken Downing - Zimbio
Pictures from Cedar Springs Halloween parade:
Oak Lawn/Cedar Springs Halloween Parade | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/moopinator/1786237434/ - broken link)

Originally Posted by trancedout

Minneapolis for example...is an overall, much more "gay" city than Chicago, but also substantially more liberal. The Minneapolis suburbs weren't as conservative as Chicago suburbs as well.

I'm guessing Dallas suburbs are 'right-of-center' to say the least. I don't really care, but I would prefer somewhere liberal where all people are accepted, not just "accepted-in-small-pockets" while everyone else wears Brooks Brothers.

Just because one shops at Brooks Brothers doesn't mean one is uber-conservative politically, socially, religously, etc. Judgey, judgey aren't we?

Dallas County voted for Obama in 2008 - 57% to McCain's 42%.
In 2004, Bush lost Dallas County 47% to Kerry's 52%.
Bush did win in 2000.

Yes, there's a thriving Republican Party in Dallas. But Dems/liberals constitute half or more of the city's popultation.

The suburbs are a different thing. Collin County (Plano, McKinney, Frisco, etc) is one of the most conservative voting counties in the US:
Voted for McCain 62% to Obama's 37%.
71% voted to re-elect Bush in 2004.
73% elected Bush in 2000.
Now compare that to Dallas County and see if you still think liberals are "accepted in small pockets" in a County that's home to 2.4M people!

[moonsparkle]

I like Dallas alot. I should have rephrased better from the start. I was really wondering just how strong the entire "Brooks Brothers" culture is. I still get the impression that a straight male needs to be devastatingly masculine in terms of dress, manner, etc. overall there. I also like electronic music which is known to have a scene in Dallas, although from what my friend said, it's largely confined to only a few places. Kind of seems like Dallas is a place where the hipsters are "off to the side".

For instance, myself for example, I felt in Chicago there was this strong "masculine" style preference. I live back in Des Moines, IA now (where I grew up) and this obviously exists here too.

By no means am I saying dress effeminately, although a style-conscious male is often mistaken as such. I think a lot of stems from Dallas still feeling it has the conservative stereotype - so it tries harder to disprove such theories. It's not like you goto LA and think to yourself...there's gay people here too. Usually truly liberal cities (not cities that simply vote blue) don't try to prove this.

I had the impression Dallas still had this sharp divide, that mentality that only "gay men are style-conscious". Straight men are expected to wear Polo, Jcrew, and Brooks Brothers, and not be into fancy haircuts. It's possible to have a very large gay population, and still have these old ideologies.

[CREW747]

Big Rich texas....Laughable,not accurate.The "country club" is cheap and located in Fort Worth.The characters are tacky and tasteless.Some characters recycled from Dallas daughters & divas.

Dallas most eligible....very accurate..Turtle creek is 100 percent spot on

[trc_everything]

Originally Posted by trancedout

I like Dallas alot. I should have rephrased better from the start. I was really wondering just how strong the entire "Brooks Brothers" culture is. I still get the impression that a straight male needs to be devastatingly masculine in terms of dress, manner, etc. overall there. I also like electronic music which is known to have a scene in Dallas, although from what my friend said, it's largely confined to only a few places. Kind of seems like Dallas is a place where the hipsters are "off to the side".

For instance, myself for example, I felt in Chicago there was this strong "masculine" style preference. I live back in Des Moines, IA now (where I grew up) and this obviously exists here too.

By no means am I saying dress effeminately, although a style-conscious male is often mistaken as such. I think a lot of stems from Dallas still feeling it has the conservative stereotype - so it tries harder to disprove such theories. It's not like you goto LA and think to yourself...there's gay people here too. Usually truly liberal cities (not cities that simply vote blue) don't try to prove this.

I had the impression Dallas still had this sharp divide, that mentality that only "gay men are style-conscious". Straight men are expected to wear Polo, Jcrew, and Brooks Brothers, and not be into fancy haircuts. It's possible to have a very large gay population, and still have these old ideologies.

Sounds like you're reading waaay too much into this show. I've lived here most of my life, and my family has been here generations. I didn't even know what Brooks Brothers was (had to Google it), if that tells you anything.

As others have stated, this show is a representation of Uptown. There is an entire metropolis outside of Uptown that are unlike those depicted in this show.

As far as straight men being required to be "devistatingly masculine," I don't get where you're coming from. Uptown is a very image-conscious place. If some lumberjack type walked into an Uptown bar there would be snickers and stares.

I do agree with the hipsters in Dallas being "off to the side". But hipsters don't typically crave the limelight or "see and be seen" areas of any city, right? They're "off to the side" in Brooklyn in NYC and "off to the side" in Echo Park in LA.

It sounds to me like if you went to some of the areas TC80 wisely mentioned (Deep Ellum, Expo Park, The Cedars) you'd have a completely different impression of Dallas.

Usually attempting to generalize any large American city, which are melting pots, is based on a stereotype from years ago.