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![Gay Bear Berlin Nollendorfplatz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Gay_Bear_Berlin_Nollendorfplatz.jpg)
A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many
lesbian,
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
,
bisexual,
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
, and
queer (
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establishments, such as
gay bars
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term '' gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities.
Gay bars once serv ...
and pubs,
nightclubs
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
,
bathhouse
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
s,
restaurants,
boutiques, and
bookstore
Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librar ...
s.
Among the most famous gay villages are New York City's
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
,
Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...
, and
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
neighborhoods in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
;
Fire Island
Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York.
Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lo ...
and
The Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...
on
Long Island;
Asbury Park
Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188 ,
Lambertville, and
Maplewood in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
; Boston's
South End,
Jamaica Plain
Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...
, and
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Province ...
; Philadelphia's
Gayborhood
A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establis ...
; Washington D.C.'s
Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW t ...
;
Midtown Atlanta
Midtown Atlanta, or Midtown, is a high-density commercial and residential neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia. The exact geographical extent of the area is ill-defined due to differing definitions used by the city, residents, and local business ...
; Chicago's
Boystown; London's
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develo ...
,
Birmingham's Gay Village, Brighton's
Kemptown, and Manchester's
Canal Street, all in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
; Los Angeles County's
West Hollywood
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...
; as well as Barcelona Province's
Sitges
Sitges (, , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Spain, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival, Carnival, and LGBT Culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is known for its beaches, nights ...
, Toronto's
Church and Wellesley
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
neighborhood,
the Castro
The Castro District, commonly referred to as the Castro, is a neighborhood in Eureka Valley in San Francisco. The Castro was one of the first gay neighborhoods in the United States. Having transformed from a working-class neighborhood through ...
of San Francisco; Madrid's
Chueca; Sydney's
Newtown and
Darlinghurst
Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. ...
; Berlin's
Schöneberg
Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempe ...
; the
Gay Street in Rome,
Le Marais
The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. Having once been an aristocratic district, it is home to many buildings of historic and architectural importance. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arr ...
in Paris;
Green Point in Cape Town;
Melville in Johannesburg; and
Zona Rosa in Mexico City.
Such areas may represent a
LGBT-friendly
Gay-friendly or LGBT-friendly places, policies, people, or institutions are those that are open and welcoming to gay or LGBT people. They typically aim to create an environment that is supportive, respectful, and non-judgmental towards the LGBT ...
oasis in an otherwise hostile city or may simply have a high concentration of gay residents and businesses. Some areas are often associated with being "gay" cities or resorts, due to their image and acceptance of the gay community. Examples include Provincetown;
Lower Manhattan; San Francisco;
Saugatuck, Michigan
Saugatuck is a city in Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 865 at the 2020 census. The city is within Saugatuck Township, but is administratively autonomous.
Originally a lumber town and port, Saugatuck, along wi ...
;
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
;
Brighton;
Sydney;
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
; and the Greek island of
Mykonos
Mykonos (, ; el, Μύκονος ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. There are 10,134 inhabitants according to th ...
.
Much as other urbanized groups, some LGBT people have managed to utilize their spaces as a way to reflect their cultural value and serve the special needs of individuals in relation to society at large. Today, these neighborhoods can typically be found in the upper-class areas of a given city, like in Manhattan, chosen for aesthetic or historic value, no longer resulting from the sociopolitical ostracization and the constant threat of physical violence from
homophobic
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
individuals that originally motivated these communities to live together for their mutual safety.
These neighborhoods are also often found in working-class parts of the city or in the neglected fringe of a downtown area communities which may have been upscale historically but became economically depressed and socially disorganized. In these cases, the establishment of an LGBT community has turned some of these areas into more expensive neighborhoods, a process known as
gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...
a phenomenon in which LGBT people often play a pioneer role. This process does not always work out to the benefit of these communities, as they often see property values rise so high that they can no longer afford them, as
high-rise condominiums are built and
bars move out, or the only LGBT establishments that remain are those catering to a more upscale clientele. However, today's manifestations of "queer
ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
s" bear little resemblance to those of the 1970s.
[
]
The ''ghetto''
The term ''ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
'' originally referred to those places in European cities, where Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
were required to live according to local law. During the 20th century, ''ghetto'' came to be used to describe the areas inhabited by a variety of groups that mainstream society deemed outside the norm, including not only Jews but poor people, LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
people, ethnic minorities, hobos, prostitutes, and bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Beer
* National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst
* Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
s.
These neighborhoods, which often arise from crowded, highly dense, and often deteriorated inner city
The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...
districts, are critical sites where members of gender and sexual minorities have traditionally congregated. From one perspective, these spaces are places of marginality created by an often homophobic
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
, biphobic
Biphobia is aversion toward bisexuality and bisexual people as individuals. It is a form of homophobia against those in the bisexual community. It can take the form of denial that bisexuality is a genuine sexual orientation, or of negative ste ...
, and transphobic
Transphobia is a collection of ideas and phenomena that encompass a range of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender people or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger tow ...
heterosexual community; from another perspective, they are places of refuge where members of gender and sexual minorities can benefit from the concentration of safe, nondiscriminatory resources and services (just as other minorities do).
In some cities, LGBT people congregate in visibly identified neighborhoods, while in others, they are dispersed in neighborhoods, which have less visibility, because a liberal, affirming counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
is present. For example, LGBT people in San Francisco congregate in the Castro neighborhood, while LGBT people in Seattle concentrate in the city's older bohemian stomping grounds of Capitol Hill, and those of Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
have concentrated in a working-class neighborhood referred to administratively as "Centre-Sud
The Centre-Sud is a neighbourhood located in the easternmost edge of the Ville-Marie borough of the city of Montreal.
Home to Montreal's Gay Village and to the Sainte-Marie area, the Centre-Sud has long been seen as one of the city's most c ...
" but largely known as "Le Village". These areas, however, have higher concentrations of LGBT residents and businesses that cater to them than do surrounding neighborhoods. Some cities, like Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, have not developed a defined gay village despite the city of Austin being home to many LGBT people with developed LGBT-friendly businesses and a counterculture present.
History
The neighbourhood of Schöneberg
Schöneberg () is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempe ...
in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
was the first gay village in the world, developing in the 1920s. Prior to the 1960s and 1970s, specialized LGBT communities did not exist as gay villages in the United States; bars were usually where LGBT social network
A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for ...
s 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
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term '' gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities.
Gay bars once serv ...
had been granted a license to serve alcohol. The police raid of a private gay club called the Stonewall Inn
The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar and recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the sin ...
on June 27, 1969 led to a series of minor disturbances in the neighborhood of the bar over the course of the subsequent three days and involving more than 1,000 people. The Stonewall Rebellion
The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the LGBT community#Terminology, gay community in response to a police raid that began in t ...
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 neighborhoods. 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. On June 23, 2015, the Stonewall Inn was the first landmark in New York City to be recognized by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
on the basis of its status in LGBT history, and on June 24, 2016, the Stonewall National Monument
Stonewall National Monument is a U.S. national monument in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The designated area includes the Stonewall Inn, the Christopher Park, and nearby streets including ...
was named the first US National Monument dedicated to the LGBT-rights movement.
Online communities had developed globally by the early 2000s as a resource connecting gay villagers worldwide to provide information for arts, travel, business, gay counseling, and legal services, aiming to provide safe and gay-friendly environments for members of LGBT communities in general.
Characteristics
Gay villages can vary widely from city to city and country to country. Furthermore, some large cities also develop "satellite" gay villages that are essentially "overflow" areas. In such cases, gay men and lesbians have become priced-out of the main gay village and move to other, more affordable areas, thereby creating an entirely new gay village, also thereby furthering the process of gentrification
Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...
by pricing-out long held tenants of these areas. In New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, many gays in the 1990s moved to the Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
neighborhood from the Greenwich Village neighborhood as a less expensive alternative; subsequent to this movement, house prices in Chelsea have increased dramatically to rival the West Village
The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City.
The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, West 14th Street to th ...
within Greenwich Village itself. Similarly, gentrification is dramatically changing Philadelphia's Gayborhood, and the city's LGBT community is expanding across the city. Other examples include, in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, gay men moving to the South End and lesbians migrating to Jamaica Plain
Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...
; while in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, gays have moved to the Andersonville area as an offshoot of the Boystown/ Lakeview neighborhood. Some gay villages are not neighborhoods at all, but instead are entirely separate municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
from the city for which they serve as the primary gay enclave, such as West Hollywood
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...
in the Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
area, and Wilton Manors
Wilton Manors is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,426. Wilton Manors is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166,488 people at the 2020 census.
Hist ...
in the Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
/Fort Lauderdale
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
area.
These processes are tied to the spatial nature of the urban renaissance
The urban renaissance of the United Kingdom is the recent period of repopulation and regeneration of many British cities, including Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, and parts of London after a period of inner c ...
which was occurring at the time. The "first wave" of low-wage gay residences in these urban centers paved the way for other, more affluent gay professionals to move into the neighborhoods; this wealthier group played a significant role in the gentrification of many inner city neighborhoods. 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.
However, the gentrification of gay villages may also serve to reinforce stereotypes of gays, by pushing out gay people who do not conform to the prevailing "gay, white, affluent, professional" image. Such people (including gay people of color, low-income/working-class gays, and "undesirable" groups such as gay prostitutes and leathermen) are usually forced out of the "village" due to rising rents or constant harassment at the hands of an increased policing presence. Especially in San Francisco's Polk Gulch neighborhood (the first "gay village" in that city), gentrification seems to have had this result.
Gay men and women have a reputation for driving the revitalization of previously run-down enclaves. Making these neighborhoods more desirable places to live, businesses and other classes of people move to the area and, accordingly, property values tend to go up. Richard Florida
Richard L. Florida is an American urban studies theorist focusing on social and economic theory. He is a professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and a Distinguished Fellow at NYU's School of Professional Studies. ...
, an influential American academic, claims that their mere presence lures investor
An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...
s and jobs, particularly of the high-technology kind. They are, he says, "the canaries of the creative economy". Cities that have gay villages and are more tolerant towards gays, generally tend to have stronger, more robust, and creative economies, as compared to cities that are less tolerant towards gays. Florida says that cities as such have a stronger creative class
The creative class is the posit of American urban studies theorist Richard Florida for an ostensible socioeconomic class. Florida, a professor and head of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management at the University of To ...
, which is integral in bringing in new ideas that stimulate economies.
Consumerization
![Amsterdam little street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Amsterdam_little_street.JPG)
The gentrification of once rundown 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 and Manchester's Pride events attract significant investment and create tourist revenue, and cities have acknowledged that the acceptance of lesbian and gay culture has become a sign of urban "sophistication" and that gay-oriented events, such as pride parades and the Gay Games
The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals.
Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was star ...
, 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.
List of gay villages
North America
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Province ...
, was ranked by the US Census Bureau as "the gayest city in America". Provincetown, or Ptown, was also voted "Best Resort Town in 2011" by Gaycities.com. The town had far more gay marriages than straight marriages performed since 2003 when Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage. The town's various businesses sponsor Gay Men's Week, Women's Week, Bear Week, Family Week (for same-sex families), and their version of a gay pride parade, Carnival. Famous gay residents currently include journalist Andrew Sullivan, filmmaker John Waters
John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...
, and comedian Kate Clinton
Kate Clinton (born November 9, 1947) is an American comedian specializing in political commentary from a gay/ lesbian point of view.
Early life and education
Clinton was born in Buffalo, New York. She was raised in a large Catholic family in th ...
.
Some cities have a very well-defined gay village in the heart of a larger area that also has a significant gay population. One example of this phenomenon is Davie Village
Davie Village (also known as Davie District or simply Davie Street) is a neighbourhood in the West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is the home of the city's LGBT subculture, and, as such, is often considered a gay village, or '' ...
in the heart of Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
's gay community. It sits within the greater West End area, which, though decently populated by gay people, is not necessarily considered a gay village.
Boystown in Chicago is also a very well-defined gay village situated within the larger Lakeview neighborhood. Lakeview is an affluent neighborhood with a reputation for being a stronghold of liberal and progressive political views. Outside of Boystown, Lakeview is a mixture of both gay and straight citizens and families, but Boystown is the main gay village. Boystown began with a cluster of bars on North Halsted Street and blossomed into an entire district dedicted to LGBT life and culture in the 1980s. According to the founders of Sidetrack, one of these pioneering bars, Boystown was only to grow as much as it did because its residents were politically engaged and actively resisted city efforts to drive them underground. Gay bars in boystown also served as a hub of AIDS related activism.
Andersonville is another of Chicago's gay villages. It became known as "Girlstown" in the 1980s and 90s following an influx of lesbian couples to the area. Residents attribute this initial migration to a well-loved feminist bookstore called Women and Children First moving to Andersonville after being priced out of Boystown. In the mid 2000s, more families and older people started moving into Boystown, and many gay men also made the move to Girlstown. In the last decade, the number of married gay men in Andersonville actually surpassed the number of married lesbians and many of the neighborhood's lesbian-centric business have closed. Still, Andersonville retains its historical significance for the lesbian community and its identity as a haven for LGBT people.
Despite its large gay population and higher concentration of gay venues, the South Beach area in Miami Beach, Florida, was never exclusively gay, because of its popularity among straight people alike. Philadelphia's traditional gay village comprises several downtown blocks and is called "the Gayborhood". The LGBT culture in Philadelphia
The development of LGBT culture in Philadelphia can be traced back to the early 20th century. It exists in current times as a dynamic, diverse, and philanthropically active culture with establishments and events held to promote LGBT culture and ...
has an established presence that includes clubs, bars, and restaurants as well as health facilities for the LGBT community. Philadelphia's "Gayborhood" contains 68 rainbow street sign signs throughout the community. Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
's Dupont Circle and Logan Circle area are known for its many gay oriented bars, restaurants, and shops. Dupont Circle is also known for its annual High Heel Drag Queen Race. The Short North
The Short North is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio, United States, centered on the main strip of High Street immediately north of the Arena District and extending until just south of the University District and Ohio State University. It is an ...
in downtown Columbus, Ohio, is primarily known as an art district, but has a strong gay community and a high concentration of gay-oriented clubs and bars. In Boston, the trendy and upscale South End neighborhood has a large population of gay men, and the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods are home to scores of lesbians, also with vibrant but less trendy downtown areas.
Montreal's Gay Village
A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establis ...
(''Le Village'', in French) is considered one of North America's largest in population, concentration and scope.
San Diego has its own gay village called Hillcrest, which sits around Balboa Park. Hillcrest is very close 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. Having been priced out of owning or renting in the Hillcrest area, the San Diego LGBT community has spread outward for miles into North Park, University Heights and dozens more neighborhoods. These diverse, welcoming areas have slowly continued the gentrifying process.
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, areas surrounding Loring Park
Loring Park is a park in the Loring Park neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
History
Loring Park was established in 1883 after the passage of the Park Act, which first created the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The park was first ...
, site of the local LGBT pride festival, are regarded as a "gay" neighborhood, though many gay and lesbian people have migrated to more residential neighborhoods such as Bryn Mawr and Whittier.
In Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
, the gay community was traditionally spread out among several neighborhoods. In the early 21st century, the Ybor City National Historic Landmark District has seen the creation of the GaYbor
GaYBOR District Coalition in Historic Ybor City ( ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization located within Ybor City in Tampa, Florida. It is an organization of LGBT bars, nightclubs, restaurants, shops, nonprofit organizations, throughout the We ...
District, which is now the center of gay and lesbian life in the Tampa Bay area and home to the majority of gay bars and dance clubs, restaurants, and service organizations. Across Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...
in St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, the LGBT community is centered around the Grand Central neighborhood near downtown. In Orlando, Florida, the gay community is centered around the neighborhoods of Thornton Park and Eola Heights.
Church and Wellesley
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
is an LGBT-oriented community located in Toronto, Canada
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. It is roughly bounded by Gould Street to the south, Yonge Street to the west, Charles Street to the north, and Jarvis Street to the east, with the intersection of Church and Wellesley Streets at the centre of this area. Though some gay and lesbian oriented establishments can be found outside of this area, the general boundaries of this village have been defined by the Gay Toronto Tourism Guild. Many LGBT individuals also live in the nearby residential neighbourhoods of The Annex
The Annex is a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road. The City of Toronto recognizes ...
, Cabbagetown, St. James Town and Riverdale, and in smaller numbers throughout the city and its suburbs.
Ottawa established a LGBT-friendly village along Bank Street in Centretown on November 4, 2011, when the City of Ottawa installed six street signs at the intersections of Bank/Nepean, Bank/Somerset and Bank/James. This is the cap to an historic year and six years of lobbying, where the village installed two public art projects in addition to tripling the number of rainbow flags in the village area. The village in Ottawa features a diverse mix of businesses and organizations, many of which cater to or of specific interest to the LGBT community, and has a high concentration of LGBT persons living and working in the area.
Asbury Park, New Jersey, and the adjacent town of Ocean Grove, New Jersey
Ocean Grove is a unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Neptune Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.[Asbury Park
Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.
As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 15,188] are gay, and the city houses New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
's only gay hotel, The Empress Hotel. Collingswood, New Jersey, a suburb of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, also houses a prominent year-round gay community. Ogunquit, Maine
Ogunquit ( ) is a resort town in York County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,577.
Ogunquit is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Ogunquit, which means "be ...
, has a gay population of year-round residents and second homeowners.
Europe
The neighbourhood of Le Marais
The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. Having once been an aristocratic district, it is home to many buildings of historic and architectural importance. It spreads across parts of the 3rd and 4th arr ...
in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
has experienced a growing gay presence since the 1980s, as evidenced by the existence of a large gay community and of many gay cafés, nightclubs, cabarets and shops, such as one of the largest gay clubs in Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
, Le Depot. These establishments are mainly concentrated in the southwestern portion of the Marais, many on or near the streets Sainte-Croix de la Bretonnerie and Vieille du Temple.
A well-known gay village of Sitges
Sitges (, , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Spain, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival, Carnival, and LGBT Culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is known for its beaches, nights ...
is one of the richest residential areas within the area of greater Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. The town hosts several gay events throughout the year, such as Gay Pride and Bears Week. The first monument for the gay community, an inverse triangle, was built in Passeig Maritim street in 2006. Many gay tourists use the gay-friendly accommodation in Sitges during Circuit Festival of Barcelona.
Not all major cities have gay villages, especially those with more progressive histories with LGBT rights. Sweden, for example, legalized same sexual activity in 1944, a full 67 years before Lawrence vs. Texas decriminalized homosexuality in the US. As a result, there was not the same need for secret gathering places in Swedish cities that shaped many gay villages elsewhere. However, there are areas which were historically known as meeting places for gays, such as Södermalm
Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is a district and island in central Stockholm.
Overview
The district covers the large island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''). Although Södermalm usually is considered an island, wa ...
in Stockholm, Punavuori
Punavuori ( sv, Rödbergen) is a neighbourhood in the center of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The name Punavuori (English: Red mountain) refers to red cliffs located between Sepänkatu and Punavuorenkatu. They were still visible in the 19th ce ...
and Kallio in Helsinki, which remain as somewhat trendy areas for gay people to live in, though they do not have a predominantly gay population.
Australia
In Sydney, Australia, Potts Point
Potts Point is a small and densely populated suburb in inner-city Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Potts Point is located east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney.
Potts ...
(aka "Poofs Point") and nearby Elizabeth Bay (aka "Betty Bay") are renowned for having the largest gay population in the city, with many gay run business. The area is known for having the highest density of population in Australia with many Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
apartment blocks. Newtown also has a sizable gay population but it has a more gritty bohemian feel. Darlinghurst is also a historically gay area. Oxford Street in particular is known as the Golden Mile due to its long stretch of LGBT bars and clubs.
Asia
In Pattaya, Thailand, Boyztown
Boyztown is a Homosexuality, gay red-light district in Pattaya, Thailand. It is located in Soi 3, between Soi 13/4 and South Street.
History
It was founded in the 1980s with the first gay venue in all of Pattaya. Soon it became a popular nightlife ...
is a hub of gay nightlife and entertainment that is especially popular with European and Chinese tourists. Since its peak in the 1990s and early 2000s, rising prices and COVID policies have caused Boyztown to lose some of its business. At the peak of its popularity, Boyztown drew in funding for AIDS-related charity organizations through grand events like the Pattaya Gay Festival.
Shinjuku Ni-chōme, Tokyo's gay village, boasts the world's highest density of gay and lesbian bars, many of which are very small and highly curated to a particular scene. Some are intended for foreign tourists, while others give priority to regulars and court a certain subset of the local LGBT community, such as butch lesbians or the BDSM community. Ni-chōme is also home to Japan's first LGBT center, Pride House Toyko Legacy. Like Pattaya's Boyztown, Nichō's business suffered during the pandemic, but it is slowly bouncing back to its former glory.
South America
Bogota, Colombia has a prominent gay village called the Chapinero. The locus of the Chapinero's LGBT culture is one of the most famous gay nightclubs in the world, Theatron, which opened in the 1990s. Before Theatron, the Chapinero had a vibrant drag ball scene that drew crowds from neighboring South American countries.
UK gay villages
Bigger cities and metropolitan areas are most popular as they are deemed to be more tolerant and tend to have "a history of progressive local government policy towards supporting and financing LGBTQ-friendly initiatives." There is also a noted circular pattern of migration, whereby once areas have established a reputation as somewhere LGBT people live, more LGBT people are drawn there. LGBT-inclusive areas of UK towns and cities tend to be defined by "a distinct geographic focal point, a unique culture, a cluster of commercial spaces" and sometimes a concentration of residences. It is thought that LGBT-inclusive areas help towns and cities in the UK to prosper economically, but some believe the building of such areas creates an isolating effect on some LGBT people who want to blend in.
Pride festivals
Both Birmingham Pride
Birmingham Pride is a weekend-long LGBTQ+ festival held annually in the Gay Village, Hurst Street, Birmingham, England, over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. Birmingham Pride is the UK's largest two-day gay pride festival.
It usually features ...
and Liverpool Pride are huge annual festivals which attract tens of thousands of people to their respective cities in August each year. Birmingham Pride is centred on the city's gay village
A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establis ...
located around Hurst Street, whilst Liverpool's Pride is spread across the Liverpool gay quarter and the Pier Head
The Pier Head (properly, George's Pier Head) is a riverside location in the city centre of Liverpool, England. It was part of the former Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was inscribed in 2004, but revoked in ...
.
Brighton
Brighton is generally agreed to be the unofficial "gay capital" of the UK, and records LGBT history in the city since the 19th century. Brighton Pride
Brighton and Hove Pride is an annual LGBT pride event held in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, organised by Brighton Pride, a community interest company (CIC) who promote equality and diversity, and advance education to eliminate discr ...
is the largest Pride event in the UK, celebrated at the start of August and attracting around 160,000 people every year. Many LGBT pubs, clubs, bars, restaurants, cafés and shops are located around Brighton and in particular around St James's Street in Kemptown. Several LGBT charities, social and support groups are also based in the city, including the Allsorts Youth Project
Allsorts Youth Project is an LGBT youth charity in East Sussex. Founded in 1999 by Jess Wood and James Newton, the project aims to meet the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* and unsure youth in Brighton and Hove and the wider East Su ...
, the Brighton Gay and Lesbian Switchboard
Switchboard, formerly Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard, is a British listening service or hotline, for the LGBT communities based in Brighton. It service was launched, with just one telephone, in April 1975 at the Open Cafe, a centre for alternat ...
and the Brighton Gay Men's Chorus. ''GScene'' magazine, the LGBT magazine for the city, is published every month. In a 2014 estimate, 11–15% of the city's population aged 16 or over is thought to be lesbian, gay or bisexual. The city also had the highest percentage of same-sex households in the UK in 2004 and the largest number of civil partnership registrations outside of London in 2013.
London
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
's LGBT community has historically been centred around Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develo ...
since the 18th century, and Old Compton Street
Old Compton Street is a road that runs east–west through Soho in the West End of London.
History
The street was named after Henry Compton who raised funds for a local parish church, eventually dedicated as St Anne's Church in 1686. Th ...
in particular, where bars, clubs, restaurants, cafés, shops and theatres now line the streets. Vauxhall
Vauxhall ( ) is a district in South West London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. Vauxhall was part of Surrey until 1889 when the County of London was created. Named after a medieval manor, "Fox Hall", it became well known for ...
, known colloquially as Voho, is also popular, which homes bars, nightclubs and a sauna as well as the historic Royal Vauxhall Tavern
The Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a Grade II listed gay entertainment venue in Vauxhall, London. It is also known as the RVT. It is South London's oldest surviving gay venue.
History
The RVT was built between 1860 and 1862 at Spring Gardens, Kenning ...
and Above The Stag Theatre, the UK's only LGBT theatre. Recently, venues in Dalston
Dalston () is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas includ ...
, Shoreditch and Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...
have become popular with the LGBT community. The Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front (GLF) was the name of several gay liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots. Similar organizations also formed in the UK and Canada. The GLF provided a ...
in the UK started in London in the 1970s, which spawned the first official UK Gay Pride Rally in the city in 1972. London's Pride festival is now celebrated across the centre of city at the end of June, with particular focus on the main stage at Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...
and venues in Soho and Vauxhall. Pride is an annual event that closes London's Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...
and draws the largest numbers of spectators in the country each year. In 2014, more than 750,000 people attended London Pride. This number reportedly grew to an estimated 1.5 million in 2019, making it the biggest Pride yet. London is also home to UK Black Pride. In an Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for t ...
survey in 2010, London was found to be home to the highest percentage of British people who identify as either gay, lesbian or bisexual than anywhere else in the UK at 2.5%. LGBT organisations in the city include the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard
Switchboard is the second-oldest LGBT, LGBT+ telephone helpline in the United Kingdom, launched the day after Edinburgh Befrienders (later known as Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard (organisation), Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard).
Switc ...
and OutRage!
OutRage! was a British political group focused on lesbian and gay rights. Founded in 1990, the organisation ran for 21 years until 2011. It described itself as "a broad based group of queers committed to radical, non-violent direct action and ...
. Stonewall, founded in 1989, is now the UK's biggest LGBT charity and is based in London. HIV/AIDS charities Terrence Higgins Trust
Terrence Higgins Trust is a British charity that campaigns about and provides services relating to HIV and sexual health. In particular, the charity aims to end the transmission of HIV in the UK; to support and empower people living with HIV, to ...
and National AIDS Trust are also based in London as well as ''PinkNews
''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community ( LGBT) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in 2005.
It closely follows political progress on LGBT rights a ...
'', a popular LGBT online newspaper. National LGBT magazines ''Gay Times
''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...
'', '' Attitude'' and ''DIVA
Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...
'' are also based in the city, as are publications '' QX'', ''Boyz'', ''So So Gay'', and ''Out in the City'', which are distributed exclusively in the capital.
Manchester
Canal Street has been the centre of Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
's Gay Village since the 1960s. Manchester Pride
Manchester Pride is a leading charity that campaigns for LGBTQ+ equality across the United Kingdom, predominantly in Greater Manchester. The Charity offers dialogue, training, research and policy analysis, advocacy and outreach activities focus ...
, held every year in the village at the end of August, started from humble beginnings in the 1980s to achieving tens of thousands of spectators in the ensuing years. Manchester's Gay Village has been named one of the "most successful gay villages in Europe" and the "gay capital of the north," a reputation enhanced by LGBT TV shows '' Bob & Rose'' and '' Queer as Folk'', both written by Russell T Davies
Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include ''Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scien ...
, which were set there. '' Cucumber''/'' Banana'', also by Davies, was also set there. The LGBT Foundation
LGBT Foundation (formerly known as The Lesbian & Gay Foundation) is a national charity based in Manchester with a wide portfolio of services. With a history dating back nearly 40 years, it campaigns for a fair and equal society where all lesbian, ...
charity is based in Manchester as is the Albert Kennedy Trust, which started in the city and branched out to London and Newcastle. The UK's longest-running bisexual community organisation, BiPhoria, is also based in the city. The city of Manchester is estimated to be home to between 24,950 and 34,930 lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
is home to 60,000 gay people. The Birmingham Gay Village, which became prominent in the 1990s, is located around Hurst Street
Hurst Street is the main street of the Birmingham Gay Village and is located along the edge of the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England.BBCDavid Parker, "Chinese People in Birmingham: A Brief History by Dr. David Parker," January 2003 access ...
in Southside Southside or South Side may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region
Canada
* South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of Newf ...
and features clubs, bars and shops. Birmingham Pride is celebrated each year around the late May bank holiday weekend; its entertainment and festivities are centred around the Gay Village. Organisers estimated that Pride brings around £15 million to the city's economy. In 2014, it attracted over 50,000 people. The city also has its own LGBT centre, opened in 2013, for support with health and well being. ''Midlands Zone'', the LGBT magazine for the region, is published every month.
Leicester, Nottingham, Stoke
The Midlands cities of Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
, Leicester and Stoke-on-Trent have big LGBT communities and all host Pride events. Nottingham Pride
Nottinghamshire Pride is a registered charity in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It organises an annual LGBT pride festival with the same name, held within the city of Nottingham. The event usually takes place during July. The charity has ...
, Leicester Pride and Stoke-on-Trent Pride are all attended by thousands.
Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
is home to the largest LGBT population in the UK, with an estimated 94,000 LGBT people living in the city, equivalent to the LGBT population of San Francisco. Liverpool is also the first and only British city to officially recognise its gay quarter Stanley Street Quarter
The Pride Quarter, also known as the Stanley Street Quarter, Liverpool Gay Quarter or Village, is an area within Liverpool City Centre, England. It serves as the main focal point for Liverpool's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. ...
, installing street signs bearing the rainbow-coloured Pride flag
A pride flag is any flag that represents a segment or part of the LGBT community. ''Pride'' in this case refers to the notion of gay pride. The terms ''LGBT flag'' and ''queer flag'' are often used interchangeably.
The rainbow flag is the most ...
to identify it in 2011 on Stanley Street, Cumberland Street, Temple Lane, Eberle Street and Temple Street. Liverpool Pride was established in 2010 and draws tens of thousands each year. The city's annual Homotopia festival is run by the only lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer combined arts organisation in northern England. Liverpool was also the scene of many significant moments in the history of the gay rights movement (see LGBT culture in Liverpool).
Leeds and Sheffield
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
's large gay district is centred around Leeds Bridge
Leeds Bridge is a historic river crossing in Leeds, England. The present cast iron road bridge over the River Aire dates from 1870. It is Grade II listed.
History
The medieval town of Leeds centred on 13th century burgess building plots eithe ...
and Lower Briggate in The Calls. Leeds Pride is the most popular Pride event in Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, bringing approximately 25,000 people to the city each year, with other Prides in the region taking place in Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
and York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
. Sheffield is reportedly home to between 27,635 and 38,689 lesbian, gay and bisexual people and 3,300 trans people. Since the 1990s the Yorkshire market town of Hebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge is a market town in the Upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England. It is west of Halifax and 14 miles (21 km) north-east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the Hebden Water. The town is the largest ...
has been branded "the lesbian capital of the UK", and is reported to have the highest number of lesbians per capita than anywhere else in the UK.
In 2018, Sheffield had its first "gay quarter" established. Located on the corner of The Moor and Hereford Street in the city centre, it takes in the long-established Dempsey's bar and club, the newly opened Queer Junction and in the imminent future, another gay bar, sauna and shop will open on the same block. The 2018 LGBTQ+ Pride which took place in the city has also been reportedly the busiest alongside celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Bristol
Old Market was declared the main gay village in Bristol, with its scene centred on West Street. Across the city centre, Frogmore Street in the Old City is considered the Bristol Gay Central. Queenshilling first opened here in 1992, although the first post-1967 gay club to open in Bristol was the Moulin Rouge on Worrall Road, Clifton, in 1970. The city's first Pride took place in 1977 as a fundraiser. Some unofficial celebrations took place in the 2000s until Bristol Pride was re-established in 2010.
LGBT populations
Top LGBT populations in Brazilian cities
In 2009, a survey conducted by the University of São Paulo
The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the bes ...
in 10 Brazilian state capitals estimated that 7.8% of Brazil's male population was gay and 2.6% was bisexual (a total of 10.4%), while 4.9% of the female population was estimated to be lesbian and 1.4% bisexual (a total of 6.3%).
In the city of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, 19.3% of the male population was estimated to be gay or bisexual. Among the female population in the city of Manaus, 10.2% were estimated to be lesbian or bisexual.
Top LGBT populations in the US
An estimated 33 to 50 percent of Palm Springs, California, are gay male or other parts of the LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
community; this statistic makes them the largest percentage community in the US.
The following charts show a list of the top US cities, states, and metro areas with:
# the highest population of gay residents, and
# the highest percentage of gay residents within city limits. (LGBT population as a percentage of total residents). The numbers given are estimates based on American Community Survey. The US Census does not ask for sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
or gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...
.
Population
See also
* Ethnic enclave
In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...
* Homosocialization
Homosocialization or LGBT socialization is the process by which LGBT people meet, relate and become integrated in the LGBT community, especially with people of the same sexual orientation and gender identity, helping to build their own identity a ...
* Lesbian bar
A lesbian bar (sometimes called a "women's bar") is a drinking establishment that caters exclusively or predominantly to lesbian women. While often conflated, the lesbian bar has a history distinct from that of the gay bar.
Significance
Les ...
* LGBT tourism
LGBT tourism (or gay tourism) is a form of tourism marketed to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. People might be open about their sexual orientation and gender identity at times, but less so in areas known for violence agai ...
* Gay villages in the UK
A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establish ...
Notes
References
*
* Castells, Manuel 1983. ''The City and the Grassroots: A Cross-Cultural Theory of Urban Social Movements.'' Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press.
* D'Emilio, John 1992. ''Making Trouble: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and the University.'' New York, London: Routledge.
* Escoffier, Jeffrey 1998. ''American Homo: Community and Perversity.'' Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.
* Florida, Richard 2002. ''The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life.'' New York: Perseus Books Group.
*
* Kenney, Moira Rachel 1998. "Remember, Stonewall was a Riot: Understanding Gay and Lesbian Experience in the City" Chapter 5, pp. 120–132 in: Leoni Sandercock (ed) ''Making the Invisible Visible.'' Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.
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* Levine, Martin P. 1979. "Gay Ghetto" pp. 182–204 in: Martin Levine (ed) ''Gay Men: The Sociology of Male Homosexuality.'' New York, Hagerstown, San Francisco, London: Harper & Row.
* Ray, Brian and Damaris Rose 2000. "Cities of the Everyday: Socio-Spatial Perspectives on Gender, Difference, and Diversity" pp. 507–512 in: Trudi Bunting and Pierre Filion (eds). ''Canadian Cities in Transition: The Twenty-First Century.'' 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
External links
Memoir and history of gay Upper West Side in Manhattan, NYC
Counting Gay New York (Gotham Gazette, July 2001)
NYC LGBT Historical Sites Project
{{American gay villages