As success in the gay rights movement has marched forward, the movement has also changed. While by no means have the goals of the equality movement been completely met, being gay today is much more acceptable than it was 50 or even ten years ago. Today, the majority of Americans now support same-sex marriage. The Continued Evolution of the LGBT Community & Gayborhood in West Hollywood (Source: Reuben Duarte) Hamburger Mary's in West Hollywood (Source: Reuben Duarte) Go-Go Dancers at The Abbey in West Hollywood (Source: Frontiers LA) Mark Hough’s post provides an excellent crash course in gay neighborhood history. Gone were the dark bars where gay men and women met in secret, replaced by more overtly gay-friendly establishments, touting both acceptance and sexual liberation for all to see. The gayborhood became home base for this new liberation, where the LGBT community began to view their sexuality as a defining aspect of who they were and the gayborhoods reflected that mentality in the physical world. "Coming out" made the very existence of gay men and women, and the gayborhood itself, a kind of protest-a statement that we are here to stay in the face of a society that viewed the community as subversive and immoral. During this time, the gayborhood evolved to be more open, a welcoming beacon offering safe-haven for the community in an otherwise hostile social environment. O f course, coming out in was not easy and often carried with it societal shun. After the Stonewall Riots, gay culture evolved from hiding in the shadows and encouraged gay men and women to “come out” as an early form of activism. Early gay culture was in a state of hiding, where gay men and women met in secret bars out of fear of being discovered and persecuted. There were no rainbow flags nor were there gay bars with go-go dancers. Like the whole of the city, they are organic and evolve over time as a reflection of those living within. Neighborhoods are not simply static buildings and streets. The Early LGBT Community and the Evolution of the Gayborhood I believe that gay friendly neighborhoods will, in some fashion, continue to exist for those who have recently come out, the same way that traditionally ethnic neighborhoods will continue to exist for recent immigrants. Instead, what I am focusing on is not the question of necessity-whether or not we still need gay friendly neighborhood, but the form that these neighborhoods will take-how will their appearance and even commercial and residential tenants evolve? I do not wish to duplicate the points of these other blog posts, as they are all largely the same-that the gay neighborhood is not going anywhere soon. The release of Ghaziani’s book have prompted a few blog posts recently regarding this issue, including a post by Natalie McDonald at Next City (though as a young gay man myself, I get annoyed when people’s default to gay culture is the hook-up app, but I digress) and fellow Planetizen blogger Mark Hough. For this, I was very interested to see Amin Ghaziani, a sociologist at the University of British Columbia, release a new book, There Goes the Gayborhood?, where he explores how LGBT neighborhoods are evolving and, in some cases, become “less gay.” Understanding the sociological conditions of a community reveals a great deal about how our neighborhoods will be planned. Urban planning is as much an exercise in sociology as it is in land use regulations and built form. With the advancement of LGBT rights and equality and with nineteen states (at the time of this post) now legalizing same-sex marriage, traditional LGBT neighborhoods are changing and evolving as a reflection of the evolving community within and society’s view without. While an obviously humorous take on the issue, the Daily Show exposed a very real debate within the LGBT community. The conversation reveals the couple waking up in the morning to drink coffee and eat banana bread (so gay!) and run errands at the quintessential gay establishments of Bed Bath & Beyond and Target. On the other end, the correspondent travels to Minneapolis and asks a young gay couple to describe their regular oh-so-gay day. (Ever!) Whether by design or not, the interview shows the correspondent engaging in stereotypical gay activities, including visiting a sex shop and strapping on some leather.
In the clip, a Daily Show correspondent first visits San Francisco to meet with two older gay men who try to argue why San Francisco is still the gayest city. As is usually the case, the Daily Show ran a wonderfully humorous take on this story. In 2011, the Advocate magazine published their annual list of “Gayest Cities in America.” That year’s list placed Minneapolis at the top, much to the chagrin of some San Francisco residents.