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I put Dallas in a high tier.... Oak Lawn vs. Montrose alone makes it very obvious.
Quote:
Originally Posted by As Above So Below...
Seriously. There is nothing like Cedar Springs in Houston.
I like Houston better as a city overall, but this one isnt even close.
I don't particularly think Houston is more "gay male friendly" than Dallas, but Oak Lawn vs Montrose isn't the right measurement. Maybe decades ago, but gayborhoods are pretty much a thing of the past. Other than a few suburbs, there's not the intimidation there once was. And even where there is, younger millennials and gen Zs are particularly extremely pro gay (at least as compared to previous generations). As the generation ages, openly practicing is only becoming more accepting. You'll find openly gay males all over all major cities extending through the suburbs.
That's not to say gayborhoods have no signs of life. They keep their history with monuments such as LGBT crosswalks as seen in Hyde Park and the Castro and so forth, and More gay bars than other places. It's generally particularly celebrated there, but the whole thing about being forced to live in certain sections of cities to openly be gay or be doomed to be looked at funny isn't what it once was. These days Montrose is pretty much just a hipster neighborhood with straights and gays alike, with no judgement among the two. Of course, it's particularly gay friendly compared to some places (like pretty much all hipster hoods in America are these days). But that's the case for most central locations. It's more common for straights to attend gay bars and vice versa than ever, not just in large cities but small towns as well.
I don't particularly think Houston is more "gay male friendly" than Dallas, but Oak Lawn vs Montrose isn't the right measurement. Maybe decades ago, but gayborhoods are pretty much a thing of the past. Other than a few suburbs, there's not the intimidation there once was. And even where there is, younger millennials and gen Zs are particularly extremely pro gay (at least as compared to previous generations). As the generation ages, openly practicing is only becoming more accepting. You'll find openly gay males all over all major cities extending through the suburbs.
That's not to say gayborhoods have no signs of life. They keep their history with monuments such as LGBT crosswalks as seen in Hyde Park and the Castro and so forth, and More gay bars than other places. It's generally particularly celebrated there, but the whole thing about being forced to live in certain sections of cities to openly be gay or be doomed to be looked at funny isn't what it once was. These days Montrose is pretty much just a hipster neighborhood with straights and gays alike, with no judgement among the two. Of course, it's particularly gay friendly compared to some places (like pretty much all hipster hoods in America are these days). But that's the case for most central locations. It's more common for straights to attend gay bars and vice versa than ever, not just in large cities but small towns as well.
Dallas is the better city for gay males out of the two for multiple reasons.
But even smaller towns are a whole lot more open than they were just 10 years ago.
Ranking the major cities nowadays is gonna be a while lot of splitting hairs.
I mean it wasn't too long ago people were harassed on the street, persecuted for being gay, only able to work certain jobs...
Are gay ghettos really needed nowadays?
Used to be a place where you were free to be you.
Is that type of isolation really the standard these days?
Gay bars are fun but do they have to be all clustered in distinct neighborhoods?
Like entertainment district they are usually gimmicky these days and I don't think the presence or absence of them gives a good picture these days.
SF and Atlanta have high concentrations of LGBT residents so I would include them in lists with NY, DC, and Boston. I would also throw in Chicago, LA and Seattle. All in one tier.
The next 10 or so cities are pretty much the same.
I think you need to take into consideration healthcare, advocacy groups, local protections, sports leagues etc.. not alot of cities have lgbtq+ specific resources like Center on Halsted in Chicago, or large clinics specifically designated to the community like Whitman Walker in DC, major events like Black Pride in Atlanta, or well established sports leagues like Varsity in SF. Another major factor would be how comfortable one would be in the city as well as the metro area. And there are major advocacy groups like the Trevor Project in LA and HRC in DC etc..
With that said I would group them like this:
1. LA, SF, Seattle, Chicago, NYC, DC, Boston
2. Atlanta, Dallas, SD, Miami, Philadelphia
3. Houston, Denver, Minneapolis, Tampa
4. Phoenix, Detroit, St. Louis, BMore
For the Tier one group, I can actually name their gayborhoods.
LA - Weho
SF - Castro and a bit of Soma
Seattle - Capitol Hill
Chicago - Boystown
NYC - West Village/Chelsea
DC - Dupont - spreading out to Shaw
Boston - South End
I'd actually agree with your placing Philadelphia in Tier 2, but it actually checks off all of the boxes you list in your opening paragraph:
William Way LGBT Community Center
Mazzoni Center: LGBT Health & Well-Being
Equality Forum and Outfest (we have a parade here too, but our block parties are far better)
City of Brotherly Love Softball League (hosted the NAGAAA World Series in 1998)
EqualityPA (political advocacy)
...and...
this is the city where the term "gayborhood" entered the language via a 1991 Philadelphia CityPaper article on that year's Outfest titled "A Beautiful Day in the Gayborhood."
And that is now precisely what we call our gayborhood, which occupies the western half of Washington Square West in Center City.(IOW, Philly's is the "OG" — the "Original 'Gayborhood.'")
I did feel that Philadelphia's LGBT community seemed underpowered for a city its size when I moved here from Boston in 1983 (and immediately started writing for the Philadelphia Gay News, now one of the oldest local LGBT newspapers in the country). One reason for the difference, I concluded, had to do with the much greater proportion of city residents who were born and raised either in the city or in the general area. I noted then, and believe this is still the case, that most of the top-tier LGBT cities tend to be places people move to from points far away. I think it was definitely easier back then, and still a little easier now, to come out fully when one is away from the pull of family or childhood friends.
Philadelphia still has a higher percentage of native-born residents than either the other top big cities or the other top cities for LGBT folk, but it now has both a critical mass of native-born locals who have fully come out and support the institutions I list above and a larger number of people like me who transplanted from elsewhere. This probably isn't enough to vault the city into the ranks of the more established Tier 1 cities, but it's certainly enough to gain the city more respect from their denizens.
But even smaller towns are a whole lot more open than they were just 10 years ago.
Ranking the major cities nowadays is gonna be a while lot of splitting hairs.
I mean it wasn't too long ago people were harassed on the street, persecuted for being gay, only able to work certain jobs...
Are gay ghettos really needed nowadays?
Used to be a place where you were free to be you.
Is that type of isolation really the standard these days?
Gay bars are fun but do they have to be all clustered in distinct neighborhoods?
Like entertainment district they are usually gimmicky these days and I don't think the presence or absence of them gives a good picture these days.
SF and Atlanta have high concentrations of LGBT residents so I would include them in lists with NY, DC, and Boston. I would also throw in Chicago, LA and Seattle. All in one tier.
The next 10 or so cities are pretty much the same.
Gay ghettos are not as important as they used to be in major cities but some of the legacy districts will always have an important role within the gay community i.e. Castro, West Village, Dupont, Boystown etc.. they are all considered historic locales in the development of American gay identity.
I'd actually agree with your placing Philadelphia in Tier 2, but it actually checks off all of the boxes you list in your opening paragraph:
William Way LGBT Community Center
Mazzoni Center: LGBT Health & Well-Being
Equality Forum and Outfest (we have a parade here too, but our block parties are far better)
City of Brotherly Love Softball League (hosted the NAGAAA World Series in 1998)
EqualityPA (political advocacy)
...and...
this is the city where the term "gayborhood" entered the language via a 1991 Philadelphia CityPaper article on that year's Outfest titled "A Beautiful Day in the Gayborhood."
And that is now precisely what we call our gayborhood, which occupies the western half of Washington Square West in Center City.(IOW, Philly's is the "OG" — the "Original 'Gayborhood.'")
I did feel that Philadelphia's LGBT community seemed underpowered for a city its size when I moved here from Boston in 1983 (and immediately started writing for the Philadelphia Gay News, now one of the oldest local LGBT newspapers in the country). One reason for the difference, I concluded, had to do with the much greater proportion of city residents who were born and raised either in the city or in the general area. I noted then, and believe this is still the case, that most of the top-tier LGBT cities tend to be places people move to from points far away. I think it was definitely easier back then, and still a little easier now, to come out fully when one is away from the pull of family or childhood friends.
Philadelphia still has a higher percentage of native-born residents than either the other top big cities or the other top cities for LGBT folk, but it now has both a critical mass of native-born locals who have fully come out and support the institutions I list above and a larger number of people like me who transplanted from elsewhere. This probably isn't enough to vault the city into the ranks of the more established Tier 1 cities, but it's certainly enough to gain the city more respect from their denizens.
Philly definitely checks the boxes. I placed it in tier 2 because of what I said regarding feeling comfortable being lgbtq+ in the city and metro wide. Like I said earlier with Atlanta and Dallas, Philly also seems a step behind when it comes to metro wide acceptance of the community vs just the city and immediate areas. Just my opinion is all.
But even smaller towns are a whole lot more open than they were just 10 years ago.
Ranking the major cities nowadays is gonna be a while lot of splitting hairs.
I mean it wasn't too long ago people were harassed on the street, persecuted for being gay, only able to work certain jobs...
Are gay ghettos really needed nowadays?
Used to be a place where you were free to be you.
Is that type of isolation really the standard these days?
Gay bars are fun but do they have to be all clustered in distinct neighborhoods?
Like entertainment district they are usually gimmicky these days and I don't think the presence or absence of them gives a good picture these days.
SF and Atlanta have high concentrations of LGBT residents so I would include them in lists with NY, DC, and Boston. I would also throw in Chicago, LA and Seattle. All in one tier.
The next 10 or so cities are pretty much the same.
Cities that have gay districts aren’t necessarily throwing the community into isolation, I just think they are large cities with historically active gay districts. In Dallas, there’s more gay bars outside the “Strip” in the Medical District, Deep Ellum, North Oak Cliff and other parts of greater Oak Lawn. WeHo and Boystown are big nightlife areas in their cities and there’s many other bars across those cities as well. I just think some large cities have that infrastructure and has been able to sustain it and others have lost it or didn’t really have it to begin with.
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