Has SF always been gay-friendly?? (San Francisco, Berkeley: 2009, movies, move)

[bellalunatic]

Originally Posted by majoun

I am in FULL agreement that the ban on open gays in the military needs to be repealed.This was a position that both Obama and McCain supported in the 2008 election. Gays have served the US honorably in its armed forces ever since the Revolutionary War, and it is time to put those old, outdated prejudices aside. I sense the rabid anti-military sentiment in some Bay Area circles would diminish if the military abandons its Don't Ask Don't Tell policies.

Amen.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Gays in SF really came out of the closet en masse during the 1970s. That's when it became a well known gay city.

[Taboo2]

Originally Posted by nature's message

Just curious as to know when exactly did San Francisco became a gay mecca. Has it always been like this??

It has always been open to new ideas, the 49ers and barbary coast, the hippies and their free love, the gays etc...

It has been a place of being free and not being judged to harshly for being different forever.

[US-Traveller]

Originally Posted by majoun

And don't forget the nature of the times. The odds of being killed in the Pacific were even greater than being killed in the European Theatre. Those gays who were in the Armed Services felt free to express their sexuality, highly forbidden in 1940s America, BECAUSE of the high likelihood of impending death. The realistic possibility of not coming back alive gave them the freedom to be gay in an America that looked down on such things.



Forgetting that more troops were shipped out to the Pacific during WW2 from SF than anywhere else on the West Coast?

The Bay Area in the mid 20th century had a higher concentration of military bases than anywhere in the US - acording to this 1955 Call-Bulletin article.

Bases Keep Constant Vigil Against Attack - 1955

I am in FULL agreement that the ban on open gays in the military needs to be repealed.This was a position that both Obama and McCain supported in the 2008 election. Gays have served the US honorably in its armed forces ever since the Revolutionary War, and it is time to put those old, outdated prejudices aside. I sense the rabid anti-military sentiment in some Bay Area circles would diminish if the military abandons its Don't Ask Don't Tell policies.

I am in total agreement with you on the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy. I believe that we should focus more on cutting down on inappropriate actions in the battlefield that preventing people from being themselves.

While I don't believe that you are born a homosexual and my church (LDS church) takes a hard stance against homosexuality. I feel that it is very important for this country to allow gays to serve openly in the military and to have reciprocal benefits.

[redwoodlvr]

No.

Just ask Harvey Milk.

[redwoodlvr]

Originally Posted by majoun

It is ironic that SF's historical military presence, which some people in the current Bay Area would like to forget about, is responsible for the existence of the large gay community in SF!

You think that's ironic? Now that's both classic and ironic. Gay people have been in the military since the revolutionary war, whether they're out or not. One day we won't have to question how many different stratifications of humans are concentrated in any particular area or why. One day.

[rachelinala]

Check out the move Milk. It was actually really good. It did win an Oscar for best picture. An interesting insight into San Fran during this time I thought.

As an outsider of SF & California, I always pictures San Francisco as a very liberal city full of hippies, which meant more open/friendly to gay people. And Castro is a pretty famous place.

[jman650]

Originally Posted by fizbin

Nonsense. SF has been at the forefront of Mecca-dom since the '60s. Yes there are more gays in NY and LA, and from what I have heard both have gay villages similar to the Castro District, but those cities have much larger populations to draw from. That does not diminish the stature of SF and the Castro District as gay meccas.

From the wiki page on the Castro District:


The Castro, San Francisco, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gay capital? Yes, it has the highest percentage of known gay population of any major US city. Gay mecca? No, it hardly can be that when its gay population numbers 94,234 vs. NYC's 272,493 or LA's 154,270.

And comparing metro areas, it would be strange to call it a "Mecca" when its population is 256,313 compared to NYC's 568,903 and LA's 442,211.

Gay village - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[fizbin]

Originally Posted by jman650

blah blah blah

Whatever. I'm not gay and couldn't really care less. The fact is that thanks to the Castro and Harvey Milk, SF has a major gay rep. If you want to fight over numbers go knock yourself out . . .

[jman650]

Originally Posted by fizbin

Whatever. I'm not gay and couldn't really care less. The fact is that thanks to the Castro and Harvey Milk, SF has a major gay rep. If you want to fight over numbers go knock yourself out . . .

Wow, I'm surprised being proven wrong upsets you so much.

You called what was previously stated, "nonsense," and it clearly wasn't. I would think an adult should be able to respond to a correction of an overstatement without becoming hostile. Guess that's a bit too much to hope for.

Thank you for reiterating what I had already covered in referring to SF as a "gay capital." I'm not gay, but I'm not bothered by this fact. It's just not the "gay mecca" that people seem to want to label it. There may be a high percentage of them here, but if the total population of gays in the US was shown on a map, their "mecca" would be elsewhere. Hence the disagreement. Deal with it.