Gay village

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A gay village (also gay ghetto or gayborhood) is an urban geographic location with generally recognized boundaries where a large number of lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual people live. They often contain a number of gay-oriented establishments, such as gay bars or pubs, nightclubs, bathhouses, restaurants, bookstores, and other businesses.

Such areas may represent a gay-friendly oasis in an otherwise hostile city, or may simply have a high concentration of gay residents and/or businesses. As with many urban 'groups', gay and lesbian spaces or villages are a manifestation both of their necessity for a tolerant space as well as choice. Much as other urbanized groups, some gay men and women have managed to utilize their spaces as a way to reflect gay cultural value and serve the special needs of individuals in relation to society at large. In cities that have the necessary critical mass to support such a community, the gay 'ghetto' provides a normalization of space that is essential to the culture’s ability to be supported and practiced in a safe environment.

The traditional stereotypes of ghettos as dangerous and oppressive places rarely, if ever, apply to the gay "ghetto." Typically these neighborhoods are found in the upscale or trendy parts of town, chosen for aesthetic or historic value rather than resulting from the corraling of citizens bound together by mutual socioeconomic hardship. Today's manifestation of gay ghettos hardly resembles those of the 1970s.^[1]

[edit] The "ghetto"

The term ‘ghetto’ is often used to describe gay communities in urban areas.^{[citation needed]} Because this is a term that is employed by sociologists to describe a city housing a segregated cultural community, many believe that this definition is not an entirely inappropriate term.^{[citation needed]} Historically, the term "ghetto" applied only to the Jewish community, although it has, throughout the 20th century, been used to describe a variety of groups that mainstream society deemed outside the norm, including poor people, gay men and lesbians, hobos, prostitutes, and bohemians (also racial minorities).

It is not surprising that these neighborhoods often arise from zones of discard — that is, crowded, high density, and often deteriorated inner city districts. Indeed, many of these inner city districts were the only spaces where alternatives to identity and community based on the nuclear family could be constructed.^{[citation needed]} These spaces — and the institutions of which they are comprised — are critical sites where members of gender and sexual minorities congregate. From one perspective, these spaces are places of marginality created by an often homophobic heterosexual community; from another perspective, they are places of refuge where members of gender and sexual minorities can benefit from the concentration of safe, non-discriminatory resources and services.

In some cities, gays and lesbians concentrate in visibly gay neighbourhoods, while in other cities they concentrate in neighbourhoods that require less gay visibility because a liberal, affirming counterculture is present.^{[citation needed]} For example, gays and lesbians in San Francisco concentrate in the overtly gay and lesbian-oriented Castro neighbourhood, while gays and lesbians in Seattle concentrate in the bohemian stomping ground of Capitol Hill. Both areas, however, have higher concentrations of gay and lesbian residents and businesses that cater to them than do surrounding neighbourhoods.

[edit] History of the gay village

Prior to the 1960s and 1970s, specialized gay communities did not exist as such; bars were usually where gay social networks developed, and they were located in certain urban areas where police zoning would implicitly allow so-called ‘deviant entertainment’ under close surveillance. In New York, for example, the congregation of gay men had not been illegal since 1965; however, no openly gay bar had been granted a license to serve alcohol. The police raid of a private gay club called the Stonewall Inn on June 27, 1969 led to a three day rebellion involving over 1000 people. Stonewall managed to change not only the profile of the gay community but the dynamic within the community itself. This along with several other similar incidents precipitated the appearance of gay ghettos throughout North America, as spatial organization shifted from bars and street-cruising to specific neighbourhoods. This transition “from the bars to the streets, from nightlife to daytime, from ‘sexual deviance’ to an alternative lifestyle” was the critical moment in the development of the gay community (Castells, 1983 p.141).

The term "gay village" derives from New York City's Greenwich Village, where the Stonewall riots took place.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Gentrification

The gentrification of some urban neighbourhoods has been catalysed by gay villages. Certain patterns of residential development are particular to the community.

The gentrification is linked, in part, to changing national and global economies, and in particular to the social and spatial restructuring of labour processes. Heavy industry has been leaving North America for developing countries or leaving central business districts (CBDs) for suburban areas, seeking, in both cases, cheaper land, labour, and tax costs. Conversely, the service sector has been steadily expanding, and investment in high-tech industries has increased. Much of the new corporate-managerial and service-sector investment has tended to be, not insignificantly, in the CBDs of large cities, and these sectors have also tended to employ large proportions of low-wage and/or part-time labour, much of it female. The expansion of these jobs in CBDs has constituted a significant part of the economic pull-factor to urban areas for lesbians and gay men, complementing the attraction of the cities as centres of gay life.

Lauria and Knopp, professors at the University of New Orleans and University of Minnesota respectively, tie these processes to the spatial nature of the urban renaissance which was occurring at the time. They also argue that the “first wave” of low-wage gay residences in these urban centres paved the way for other, more affluent gay professionals to move into the neighbourhoods; this wealthier group played a significant role in the gentrification of many inner city neighbourhoods. The professors also noted that the presence of gay men in the real estate industry of San Francisco was a major factor facilitating the urban renaissance of the city in the 1970s.

[edit] Consumerisation

The gentrification of once run-down inner-city areas, coupled with the staging of pride parades in these areas, has resulted in the increased visibility of gay communities. Parades such as Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras attract significant investment and create tourist revenue, and cities are beginning to realize, firstly, that the acceptance (or promotion) of lesbian and gay culture is fast becoming a sign of urban "sophistication," and secondly, that gay-oriented events, such as pride parades, the World Outgames and the Gay Games, are potentially lucrative events, attracting thousands of gay tourists and their dollars. The growing recognition of the economic value of the gay community is not only associated with their wealth but also with the role that lesbians and gay men have played (and continue to play) in urban revitalization.

Some cities have taken it upon themselves to artificially create gay villages to capitalize on gay dollars.^{[citation needed]} Oakland, California recently (as of 2004) tried to create a village in a run-down portion of the city in an attempt to divert entertainment and shopping dollars from neighbouring San Francisco. The project has achieved mixed results as that city's gay community is spread out over a wide area. Moreover, some critics claim that the level of social acceptance is higher in Oakland than in other cities, negating the need for a centralized gay village.

[edit] List of gay villages

Main article: List of gay villages

Gay villages can vary widely from city to city and country to country. Furthermore, some large cities develop "satellite" gay villages that are essentially "overflow" areas; in such cases, lesbians and gay men become priced-out of gentrified gay villages and move to other, more affordable areas, thereby creating entirely new gay villages. Some of the listed gay villages are technically not neighborhoods of a larger city but a separate entity entirely from the city for which they are the primary gay enclave, e.g. - West Hollywood, California, and Wilton Manors, Florida.

Some cities have a well-defined gay village in the heart of a larger area with a significant gay population that would not necessarily be considered a gay village. For example, Davie Village is the heart of Vancouver's gay community, but sits within the greater West End area which, though decently populated by gay people, is not necessarily considered a gay village. Other examples of this phenomenon include Boystown, Chicago, a well-defined gay village situated in the larger Lakeview community. Lakeview has a reputation for being a stronghold of liberal and progressive political views, but is far from exclusively gay, as a large number of straight families call the neighborhood home. Similarly, despite its predominantly gay population and higher concetration of gay venues, the South Beach area in Miami Beach, FL, was never exclusively gay, because of its popularity among straight people alike. Philadelphia's gay village in Pennsylvania comprises downtown blocks from 12th and Walnut to 13th and Locust and is called "The Gayborhood". It is known for a wide range of clubs, bars, and restaurants along with LGBT health facilities. Some cities are often associated with being "Gay" cities, for instance Manchester or Brighton in the United Kingdom, Sydney in Australia, and even Mykonos in Greece is associated as a gay Island.

San Diego has its own gay village called "Hillcrest" which sits around Balboa Park. Hillcrest is right next to the downtown area but is able to maintain a small town eclectic feel. While it is considered by most as the gay area of San Diego with its gay bars and dance clubs, the overall population of the area has only gotten more and more diverse with the rise in condominium projects.

In Minneapolis, Minnesota areas surrounding Loring Park, site of the local GLBT Pride Festival, are regarded as a "gay" neighborhood, though many gay and lesbians people have migrated to more residential neighborhoods such as Bryn Mawr and Whittier.

In some cities, such as Stockholm and Copenhagen, there are no established gay villages, partly due to the differing social dynamics of these cities (less social segregation within the city), but also due to earlier and greater social acceptance of the gay community within mainstream society.^{[citation needed]} However there are areas which were historically known as meeting places for gays, such as Södermalm in Stockholm, which remains a somewhat trendy area for gay people to live, though it certainly does not have a predominantly gay population.

[edit] Top US cities

The US city with the largest gay population is New York, with an estimated 360,000 - 500,000 gay residents ^[2]. Los Angeles is second with 154,270, followed by Chicago with 114,449, and San Francisco, with 94,234.

The US metro area with the largest gay population is New York - Northern New Jersey - Long Island, with an estimated 568,903 gay residents. Los Angeles-Long Beach - Santa Ana is a close second with 442,211, followed by Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI with 288,748. ^[3]

The following charts show a list of the top US cities, states, and metro areas with: 1) the highest population of gay residents, and 2) the highest percentage of gay residents within city limits. (GLB population as a percentage of total residents). ^[4]

[edit] See also

• Gay tourism

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Memoir and history of gay Upper West Side in Manhattan, NYC
• Counting Gay New York (Gotham Gazette, July 2001)cy:Pentref hoyw

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