Gay life in Pittsburgh (Gap, Ellsworth: incomes, job, medicine)

[Chautauquast]

Funny, but when I lived in Shadyside I thought that neighborhood was gay Central.
Now I live close to the Mexican War Streets and I think IT'S gay Central.
Both are very nice neighborhoods in their own ways, and I'm glad, and lucky, that I've experienced both.

[guylocke]

Funny, but when I lived in Shadyside I thought that neighborhood was gay Central.
Now I live close to the Mexican War Streets and I think IT'S gay Central.
Both are very nice neighborhoods in their own ways, and I'm glad, and lucky, that I've experienced both.

LOL, that was a cute post, it made me laugh. Shadyside definitely has a large gay population due to the fact that we usually have higher expendable incomes and normally have no children (not always, though!). We also like to be around trendy areas, and if I may be so bold, I would bet my life that a great, great, percent of the "trend" in Shadyside is derived from the hard work and dedication of the gay community.

In fact, I KNOW that is the case.

And in terms of the Mexican War Streets, that also has a large gay population because if there is one thing gay people absolutely love to do, it's move into "shady" neighborhoods, fix them up, gentrify them, make them cool, and increase the property value.

I know they've done it in a major way in St. Petersburg and Seattle. Gay people are very good for a city, don't let anybody else tell you differently!!

[Geeo]

I think that Shadyside, North Side, South Side, Lawrenceville, Squirrel Hill, Regent Square and Highland Park all have a sizable gay population. It's pretty comfortable to live in any of those areas because there are all sorts of dirrerent types of people living there. My boyfriend and I were in Squirrel Hill a couple weeks ago and saw two yougish (in their 20s) guys walking down Forbes Avenue hand in hand and they didn't get a notice from anyone. Have also seen it on Ellsworth Avenue.

Look at what's happened in Lawrenceville - the gays and the artists started buying up cheap property and fixing it up, and now there's a vibrant blend of a new neighborhood co-existing with the old. Perhaps you've heard of the Boys of Lawrenceville?

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by PApisces

Yes, and they are actively trying to repeal it, last I heard. Why argue semantics is my point. Give me the benefits and call it whatever you want. :-)

Because, if we (I'm straight) have marriage and you have civil unions, there will still be a difference, even if the rights are the same. Marriage is seen (or touted) as the backbone of America, and if you don't have complete and total access to it even in semantics, you will still be second class citizens.

It's "Separate but equal" all over again.

And according to the Supreme Court in 1954, when they deemed that doctrine from after the Civil War unconstitutional, and segregated our schools, it's wrong wrong wrong. (Brown v. Board of Education) (Excuse please -- this decision desegregated our schools -- my bad)

I, and my husband, feel marriage is a constitutional right for everyone. EVERY SINGLE BLESSED ONE OF US THAT WANTS TO SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET MARRIED.

Just my opinion, as a Christian.

[fronnyar]

I just signed up on City-Data so I could post this:

Thanks, Guylocke, for the thread. Its good to have a place to come and chat. My 2 cents on the marriage issue? Let us get married!! Statistics show half of marriages fail now, we could probably do better

[Clevi112]

I'm from Phoenix and the gay community was the first group of people to make a stand in Downtown Phoenix bringing it back from a crime infested blighted area. Now the old homes have been renovated and we're undergoing a renaissance with bars, restaurants, working art galleries, and the like. Are there any predominantly gay neighborhoods in or around Pittsburgh that seem to be going through this? Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.
Live free or die.

[Geeo]

I think you could say that the Mexican War Streets had a gay influence in its resurgence. There sure are a lot of gay couples that have lived their for years and more that are still buying and rehabbing. A newer area that had a resurgence because of gay people is Lawrenceville. Was a blue-collar and kind of rough area that is seeing more gay people and artists moving in because of the cheap real estate. It's the classic gay renaissance area. Shadyside has always had a high percentage of gay residents, but it's always been an upscale area, as far as I know.

[guylocke]

Yeah, but there's only one small problem...it's not possible for two members of the same sex to actually have "sex". I've never heard of two men or two women producing any offspring.

I don't see why that fact is so hard for some people to understand.

If dedication is desired, have a loving husband/wife and some children. That's the natural human social arrangement, so I would assume that family life would be more fullfilling than what you are attempting now. Give it a shot, maybe?

I wasn't gonna respond, but I figured, what the heck. I'll keep a very open mind and be very civil, just throwing out some ideas.

It is true, procreation and having sex are very different. Almost every animal species in the world is documented in aspects of homosexuality. ESPECIALLY mammals and PARTICULARLY primates (that's us).

Of course, what exactly are straight people doing when they use condoms, birth control, are infertile, or simply do not want children? Are they less viable? Are they not having "sex"? Are they technically not ever married? *shrug*

Actually a man marrying a woman is in fact NOT natural human social arrangements. It's fairly new in the world of men, or at least, as an exclusivity. For thousands of years before the middle ages, two men were often in relationships of many different degrees and often physical. The most obvious and heavily documented of such societies were the Romans, the Greeks, and the Egyptians, all of which where homosexuality was viewed in a much different light than it is today.

Technically speaking, homosexuality itself only became sinful with the arrival of Christianity and or the Torah, which in the great scheme of things, is extremely recent.

Ancient Japanese, Ancient Native Americans, and cultures that are many thousands of years old practiced homosexuality and the union of two men (or two women, I suppose in some) to varying degrees.

Furthermore, this mostly comes down to the very redundant and tiresome point that some people (like yourself, I take it?) believe homosexuality is a choice, something that can just be stopped. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of educators, scholars, doctors, psychiatrists, researchers, and scientists know that isn't true.

In fact, homosexuality was taken out of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders) decades ago and the American Society of Psychiatry not only says it's NOT a choice, but trying to force gay people to change or asking them to can be very harmful to the individual and the family unit.

Also, the American Adoption Agency (among others) are PLEADING with states and governments to allow gay people to adopt. There is ever increasing and mounting evidence that children raised in loving families with same sex parents are not only normal, but thriving (and are NOT "made" gay themselves). In many states, gay people can't adopt, and adoption agency's are begging to allow it so young children can actually have a loving parent/parents that they so desperately need.

For me, life would most definitely not be more fulfilling with a woman. I'm not attracted to women. In fact, I find it sort of gross thinking about.... all that..... stuff. Just like I imagine you find it MORE than gross thinking about being with a man.

[guylocke]

Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of educators, scholars, doctors, psychiatrists, researchers, and scientists know that isn't true.

I just realized what I said here. I meant, unfortunately for you. lol.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by guylocke

I wasn't gonna respond, but I figured, what the heck. I'll keep a very open mind and be very civil, just throwing out some ideas.

It is true, procreation and having sex are very different. Almost every animal species in the world is documented in aspects of homosexuality. ESPECIALLY mammals and PARTICULARLY primates (that's us).

Of course, what exactly are straight people doing when they use condoms, birth control, are infertile, or simply do not want children? Are they less viable? Are they not having "sex"? Are they technically not ever married? *shrug*

Actually a man marrying a woman is in fact NOT natural human social arrangements. It's fairly new in the world of men, or at least, as an exclusivity. For thousands of years before the middle ages, two men were often in relationships of many different degrees and often physical. The most obvious and heavily documented of such societies were the Romans, the Greeks, and the Egyptians, all of which where homosexuality was viewed in a much different light than it is today.

Technically speaking, homosexuality itself only became sinful with the arrival of Christianity and or the Torah, which in the great scheme of things, is extremely recent.

Ancient Japanese, Ancient Native Americans, and cultures that are many thousands of years old practiced homosexuality and the union of two men (or two women, I suppose in some) to varying degrees.

Furthermore, this mostly comes down to the very redundant and tiresome point that some people (like yourself, I take it?) believe homosexuality is a choice, something that can just be stopped. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of educators, scholars, doctors, psychiatrists, researchers, and scientists know that isn't true.

In fact, homosexuality was taken out of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders) decades ago and the American Society of Psychiatry not only says it's NOT a choice, but trying to force gay people to change or asking them to can be very harmful to the individual and the family unit.

Also, the American Adoption Agency (among others) are PLEADING with states and governments to allow gay people to adopt. There is ever increasing and mounting evidence that children raised in loving families with same sex parents are not only normal, but thriving (and are NOT "made" gay themselves). In many states, gay people can't adopt, and adoption agency's are begging to allow it so young children can actually have a loving parent/parents that they so desperately need.

For me, life would most definitely not be more fulfilling with a woman. I'm not attracted to women. In fact, I find it sort of gross thinking about.... all that..... stuff. Just like I imagine you find it MORE than gross thinking about being with a man.

Which is sad, cause I bet you're a cutie! But I'm married...

Yes -- I haven't met a lot of gay people that do have kids, but honestly, anyone that wants to take the time to raise a child should be considered. Especially because it's not an easy task to do, and pretty much everybody knows it so if you're looking, that should mean you're pretty serious about doing it right.

And nowadays, Guylocke, you could have your own kid, with the right surrogate.

I have straight friends that have kids and a lot of them are the very picture of "just because you can squeeze out kids doesn't mean you should"... and what we try to do is to be very nice to those kids -- they need to know that not all adults act like howling animals.

I do wish the world could get over this -- homosexuality is such a non-issue. I mean -- it seems every time someone gets all bent out of shape about it, people start "coming out of the closets" ratting them out about doing the same thing they are saying is evil.

In the grand scheme of things what does this matter? To me it seems like homosexuals are the new persecuted on the block. Which is something we've been doing as the human race for as long as there has been a human race. It's almost a psychological need to be tear down someone else in order to feel better about yourself and your way of life.

And, since I believe in evolution, I think it's time we evolve past this nonsense.