How Gay is Southie? (Boston, Cambridge: apartment, loft, crime)

[Cliff Clavin]

An interesting read regarding the changing demographics of South Boston...

The Phoenix > Lifestyle Features > How gay is Southie?

[m.1]

southie? as in south boston? that's where 'southie' usually refers to. of course you will find gays everywhere, but i wouldn't recommend it; from what i've heard it's not very gay at all, though a somewhat diverse population is there, mainly for the affordability. now, the 'south end' is completely different; there is a thriving gay community there, and that is where i would suggest moving, though it's going to be more expensive; one of the more expensive parts of town. it's a very charming area, with brick sidewalks and tree lined streets, safe and fairly clean. affordable will mean not big in terms of space. but it's a real nice area as far as location; everything is between five and ten minutes, tops, from your doorstep. my mother has had a lovely apartment there for the past seven years. one drawback is sometimes it can be quite noisy, depending on the area you are at; that's city life i suppose.. i love the south end . . .

[goyguy]

I think the only thing that's really changed is that it's no longer considered acceptable to wear animosities on one's sleeve. The "N word" used to fly through the air in conversations, and would be directed freely at AA persons. Now it's mostly self-inflicted by kids who think that by "owning" the epithet it's not an epithet any more - when in reality a lot of White folks still think it without saying it. In the same way, the "F" and "D" slurs against gays and lesbians are heard considerably less nowadays (at least among adults) because they're socially unacceptable - but those who would've uttered them before mostly haven't rethought their attitudes. And younger "GLBT" types make the same mistake as their straight Black counterparts in thinking that referring to themselves and their friends as "*****" that the negativity in the word is squashed. The external hostility is still there, except the "PC" terms (Black, gay) are said with a sneer to communicate it instead.
What's really playing out in Southie is grudging accommodation masking intense resentment. No one heaves bricks at school buses any more because there are severe penalties for doing so. Similarly, the law no longer looks kindly (or away) upon "gay bashing" and property damage. All but the most determinedly self-destructive wingnuts have caught on to this. Any survey of some of the Facebook followers who gravitate to the "safe" bar of the month would probably turn up that most of them have little or no involvement in the neighborhood, and that many don't even know who lives downstairs or next door. And those who can sing "Southie is My Hometown" and mean it - and still are able to afford to live there - go right on thinking if not using the same "hate speech" as always. Every rule has its exceptions, but I seriously doubt that any significant number of the latest residents of Southie have any intention of settling there long-term and trying to become part of the community. And the folks there who "go way back" probably like it that way just fine.
Colonizing a loft development and swarming a designated location ("with advance warning," take note) is a far cry from being woven into the fabric of the neighborhood.
There are kind-hearted, open-minded citizens in South Boston just as there are closed-minded, prejudiced individuals in "The People's Republic of Cambridge." But in each instance they're clearly outnumbered. Anybody who thinks that they can waltz onto, say, M Street with their same-sex marriage license and go about making over a rowhouse while running into zero animosity has a rude awakening in store. The cold reception hopefully won't progress beyond shunning and muttering and dirty looks. But invitations to Moira's First Communion and offers of raffle tickets to support Patrick's football league aren't to be watched for either, at least at first.
Those who are bailing out of the ubertrendy, overpriced, overrated "gayborhood" of the South End are only expanding the boundaries of their ghetto. It's just like what happened forty years ago when some AA households from Roxbury were pushed out by "urban removal" while some others worked their way up the economic ladder. They sought to resettle where there'd be less crime and isolation, and where they'd be accepted by the folks already there. For most the destination was...Mattapan.