In a breathtakingly short time span, we've seen a tectonic shift in popular attitudes toward gays and lesbians, away from bigotry and toward acceptance. It's a nuanced and complex tale-a tale of neighborhood changes and cultural shifts, an identity in flux-and Ghaziani does a nice job of telling it. While some LGBT residents are moving out of the gayborhoods, Ghaziani argues that a distinct, place-based gay identity continues to evolve. For finer-grained analysis, Ghaziani draws on 40 years of newspaper coverage and 125 interviews to explore how gay life has evolved during the past generation-what has been termed the "post-gay" era. The Census Bureau only counts gay households, not LGBT individuals, which excludes the estimated 75 percent of gay men and 60 percent of lesbians who are single, as well as gay couples who live apart and transgender and bisexual men and women. The census data-the only information available to Ghaziani for broad-brush arguments-have only limited value.
In There Goes the Gayborhood?, University of British Columbia sociologist Amin Ghaziani vivisects the transformation of these communities, which he labels "gayborhoods," as well as the emergence of gay enclaves in other urban precincts, suburbs, and small towns across America. When those change, so do our neighborhoods." Our neighborhoods get built within particular economic, political, and cultural circumstances. "We tend to assume that once created, queer neighborhoods will be self-sustaining," Don Romesburg, a historian, points out. Like it or not, though, the change seems to be inevitable and permanent. Some observers cheer the demise of these neighborhoods, among them veteran gay activist Urvashi Vaid, who has urged gays and lesbians to "leave the ghetto." Others lament the loss of a distinct gay sensibility and the homogenization that accompanies these demographic shifts. As a Chicago journalist observed, "With more families moving in and longtime residents moving out, some say Boystown is losing its gay flavor." This transformation story is much the same in other gay enclaves such as Chelsea and Greenwich Village in Manhattan, Dupont Circle in D.C., and Boystown in Chicago. The rainbow flag has become as ubiquitous, and as stripped of meaning, as the "I Heart.
The Gay Pride parade, once a cultural celebration, has morphed into a corporate-sponsored event, and like Halloween, it draws thousands of titillation-seeking suburbanites. Lesbians and gays are moving out, the census data show, and straights are moving in-that means more strollers and fewer sex shops. Gay tourists still throng the Castro, and tour buses continue to bring gawking tourists, but the neighborhood isn't what it used to be. The annual Gay Pride parade and Halloween party were red-letter days on the LGBT calendar. They came to party, and many wound up staying. This book review is from the Fall 2014 issue of The American Prospect magazine.įor nearly half a century, San Francisco's Castro district has been the gay Mecca, and from every corner of the globe LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) tourists have made the pilgrimage. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender celebration and parade is one of the largest LGBT gatherings in the nation. Eliza Galimba, 16, holds up a sign while watching the 44th annual San Francisco Gay Pride parade Sunday, June 29, 2014, in San Francisco.