Houston has a large and diverse

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 ...

population and is home to the 4th largest gay pride parade in the nation. Houston has the largest LGBT population of any city in the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

History

According to Ray Hill, a Montrose resident quoted in the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'', before the 1970s, the city's

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 ...

s were spread around

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10, Interstate 45, and Interstate 69. The ...

and what is now

Midtown Houston Midtown is a central neighborhood of Houston, located west-southwest of Downtown. Separated from Downtown by an elevated section of Interstate 45 (the Pierce Elevated), Midtown is characterized by a continuation of Downtown's square grid street ...

. Gays and lesbians needed to have a place to socialize after the closing of the gay bars. They began going to Art Wren, a 24-hour restaurant in Montrose, a community of empty nesters and widows. LGBT community members were attracted to Montrose as a neighborhood after encountering it while patronizing Art Wren, and they began to gentrify the neighborhood and assist the widows with the maintenance of their houses. Within Montrose, new gay bars began to open.Oaklander, Mandy. "The Mayor of Montrose." ''

''. 18 May 2011
2
Retrieved on May 18, 2011. By 1985, the flavor and politics of the neighborhood were heavily influenced by the LGBT community. and in 1990, according to Hill, 19% of the residents of Montrose were LGBT. Paul Broussard was murdered in Montrose in 1991. In the 2000s many LGBT individuals began moving to Westbury and several began referring to it as "Little Montrose".Holley, Peter, John Lomax, and Todd Spoth.
25 Hottest Neighborhoods

Archive
. '' Houstonia''. June 1, 2013. Retrieved on November 2, 2015. By 2009 some were also moving to

Riverside Terrace Riverside Terrace is a neighborhood in Houston, Texas, United States. It is along Texas State Highway 288 and north of the Texas Medical Center and located near Texas Southern University and University of Houston. There about 20 sections of R ...

. By 2011 many LGBT people moved to the

Houston Heights Houston Heights (often referred to simply as "The Heights") is a community in northwest-central Houston, Texas, United States. "The Heights" is often referred to colloquially to describe a larger collection of neighborhoods next to and includin ...

and to suburbs in

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

, and according to Hill, possibly less than 8% of Montrose's population was LGBT. Decentralization of Houston's LGBT population with the increasing LGBT acceptance in the city caused business at gay bars in Montrose to decline. Hill stated that "Gay bars used to be places where we had to go to get refuge because we were not welcome anywhere else. Well, guess what? There's nowhere we're not welcome anymore."Oaklander, Mandy. "The Mayor of Montrose." ''

''. 18 May 2011
4
Retrieved on May 18, 2011. The suburbs especially attracting gays are Pearland, Sugar Land, and Missouri City. In February 2015 a 17-year-old gay student at Lutheran High School North reported that the school forced him to leave since he refused to take down YouTube videos discussing his sexuality. The school's executive director, Wayne Kramer, referred to the student handbook, which stated: "Lutheran High North reserves the right, within its sole discretion, to refuse admission of an applicant and/or to discontinue enrollment of a current student participating in, promoting, supporting or condoning: pornography, sexual immorality, homosexual activity or bisexual activity".

Economy

Jordan Blum of the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

'' stated in 2016 that levels of LGBT acceptance and discrimination vary throughout the Houston energy industry. Around the 1990s BP,

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

, and several other companies offered benefits and protection to LGBT employees equal to that of straight employees. According to Blum many LGBT-identifying persons told him that several companies have cultures non-supportive of LGBT-identifying persons and that some had "described thinly veiled or blatant discrimination."Blum, Jordan.
In energy sector, coming out 'can put you at risk'
" ''

''. January 16, 2016. Retrieved on March 3, 2016. Blum stated that "In many ways, the energy sector mirrors Houston's dual identities - the diverse, innovative, big-business urban image clashing with a conservative culture, deeply rooted in Christian faith."

Institutions

The Montrose Center is an LGBT community center located in the Montrose district of Houston. The center in 2019 began the establishment of a senior center in the Third Ward.

Politics and activism

Michael Ennis of the ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

'' stated in 1980 that within Texas, "gay political inroads" were "most visible" in Houston.Ennis, Michael. "What do these Rugged Texas He-Men Have in Common?". ''

''. June 1980. Volume 8, No. 6. ISSN 0148-7736. Start page: 107. Cited: p
213
Retrieved from

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

on May 9, 2014. In the October 1979 ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'' Richard Goldstein wrote that due to the perceived threat from the "

Christian right The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with ...

" in the area, gay people in Houston "take politics more seriously" than those in New York City. The

Marriage of Billie Ert and Antonio Molina The marriage of Billie Ert and Antonio Molina took place on October 5, 1972, in Houston, Texas, United States. Ert and Molina's marriage was called the first legal same-sex marriage in Texas and one of the first in the U.S., and their marriage lic ...

, the first gay marriage in Texas, took place in 1972, although it was later voided by the

Texas Attorney General The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer
of the

. In 1978, Steve Shifflet, a former

Young Republican The Young Republican National Federation, commonly referred to as the Young Republicans or YRNF, is a 527 organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization ...

, became the head of the Houston Gay Political Caucus (HGPC). He advocated for using bloc-voting so gay people could get their preferred candidates. That year, the LGBT bloc-voted to put

Mickey Leland George Thomas "Mickey" Leland III (November 27, 1944 – August 7, 1989) was an anti-poverty activist who later became a congressman from the Texas 18th District and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. He was a Democrat. Early years Leland ...

in the Congressional seat formerly held by Barbara Jordan, and Leland personally thanked the HGPC.Ennis, Michael. "What do these Rugged Texas He-Men Have in Common?". ''

''. June 1980. Volume 8, No. 6. ISSN 0148-7736. Start page: 107. Cited: p
213214
Retrieved from

on May 9, 2014. In 1979, Montrose became included in a single-member Houston City Council district and therefore increasing LGBT political representation.Ennis, Michael. "What do these Rugged Texas He-Men Have in Common?". ''

''. June 1980. Volume 8, No. 6. ISSN 0148-7736. Start page: 107. Cited: p
214
Retrieved from

on May 9, 2014. In 1980, Montrose was in Texas Legislative District 79. That year, Ennis stated that according to " cal politicians" the district "will now go the way the gay vote goes." In the fall 1979 election for Houston City Council, Eleanor Tinsley, a liberal, and Frank Mann, a conservative, competed for an at-large city council district. Tinsley attracted LGBT voters while Mann referred to them as "oddwads and queers" as a way of polarizing those opposing the LGBT community into voting for him. Due to the support of the LGBT community, Tinsley defeated Mann. In 2002, voters in the City of Houston had passed Proposition 2, which outlawed the city government from giving same-sex partners of municipal employees benefits.Quittner, Jeremy. "Odd Man Out at Enron." '' The Advocate''.

Here Publishing Here Media Inc. is an 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 ...

, October 15, 2002. No. 874 ISSN 0001-8996. p
30
Retrieved from

on May 10, 2014. In 2010, Annise Parker, a lesbian woman, was voted

Mayor of Houston The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Until 2015, the term of the mayor was two years. Beginning with the tenure of Bob Lanier, the city charter imposed term limits on offi ...

, making that city the first large American city to vote an openly homosexual person as a mayor. This made Parker the LGBT official in the United States with the largest constituency. Parker had been elected to political offices in the city government six previous times. Miguel Bustillo of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' stated that this occurred "with little controversy over her sexual preference". The Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) gave transgender women the right to use women's restrooms. Christian groups opposed the ordinance. Opponents gathered 50,000 votes on a petition to have it recalled. The voting base rejected HERO in November 2015.

Media

OutSmart ''OutSmart Magazine'', or simply ''OutSmart'', is a monthly publication serving Houston's LGBT community since 1994. Founded by Greg Jeu, the magazine's outreach has exceeded 200,000 and is distributed at over 350 locations in Houston and Galvesto ...

'' is a monthly LGBT magazine in Houston. In 2008 the ''

'' ranked it the "Best Local Magazine."

Culture

In previous eras, gay people in the area attended gay

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

clubs. By 1980, gay Houstonians were still going to

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

clubs, while among straight people disco was a fad. Charles Armstrong owns four gay clubs in Houston,Oaklander, Mandy. "The Mayor of Montrose." ''

''. 18 May 2011
1
Retrieved on May 10, 2014. with two of them being

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard. This area was the ...

and Montrose Mining Company;Oaklander, Mandy. "The Mayor of Montrose." ''

''. 18 May 2011
2
Retrieved on May 10, 2014. Mandy Oaklander of the ''

'' wrote in 2011 that Armstrong's clubs were "the most successful clubs in Houston's gay scene". In 2002 Jeremy Quittner of '' The Advocate'' wrote that "it would seem" one could be prevented from being in the "superelite" of Houston for being homosexual;Quittner, Jeremy. "Odd Man Out at Enron." '' The Advocate''.

, October 15, 2002. No. 874 ISSN 0001-8996. p
31
Retrieved from

on May 10, 2014. he stated this in reference to Michael J. Kopper, the chief assistant of

Enron Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional compani ...

CFO Andrew Fastow. The Gay Men's Chorus of Houston is the premier predominately gay male chorus in the Houston metro. The men's chorus was founded in 1979 and has a predominately lesbian counterpart known as the Bayou City Women's Chorus. The women's chorus was established in 2005. "Out at the Rodeo" week is held annually at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in March. During this week, there are several events acknowledging and celebrating the LGBT community in conjunction with the festival. The

Houston Gay Pride Parade The Houston Gay Pride Parade (or often called the Houston Pride Parade) is the major feature of a gay pride festival held annually since 1979. The festival takes place in June to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and t ...

is the largest pride parade in Texas. Pride Houston (parade organizers) has been able to attract approximately 200,000 spectators from Houston and beyond for the annual June event. For the first time since its inception, the parade has moved from Montrose to

for 2015. The reason cited for the move is that downtown has the space and resources to improve the quality and size of the event. Houston's annual Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is organized by Qfest. Qfest was founded in 1996 and sponsors several events throughout the year. Revelry is the premiere annual circuit party in Houston. The event has been growing in popularity and notoriety since 2016. Orgullo Houston is a non-profit organization that seek out, recognize and celebrate the contributions that Latinos and Latinas make to the LGBT community. In 2016, the organization held Houston's first LGBT event with an emphasis on Latinx people and culture. The organization holds annual events. Houston Splash is a black LGBT pride event that attracts a few thousand attendees. It is the oldest black LGBT pride event in Texas beginning in 1995 and is held every early May. It is the largest event of its kind in the Gulf Coast Region with a five-day span of activities celebrating the black LGBT community. The epicenter of Houston's gay community and nightlife is the Montrose district.

Religion

Christianity

Some Christian churches accept members of the

community.Shelnutt, Kate.
Gay Christian community in Houston: Diverse, kid-friendly and working for justice

Archive
. ''

''. January 28, 2011. Retrieved on May 3, 2014. In 2008 Reverend Dwayne Johnson, the pastor of the Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church,Karkabi, Barbara.
Grace Evangelical Lutheran welcomes gay pastor

Archive
. ''

''. August 29, 2008. Retrieved on May 3, 2014. a church in the

, stated that there were about 15-20 openly gay Christian clergy members in Houston. Resurrection Metropolitan's main service group is the LGBT community. In 1980 the pastor was gay, and almost all of the congregation was LGBT.Ennis, Michael. "What do these Rugged Texas He-Men Have in Common?". ''

''. June 1980. Volume 8, No. 6. ISSN 0148-7736. Start page: 107. Cited: p
107
Retrieved from

on May 9, 2014. "It was Easter morning at Houston's Metropolitan Community Church of the Resurrection. .. In December 2010 Reverend Harry Knox, a pro-LGBT activist, became the leader of the Resurrection Metropolitan. In 2011 Resurrection Metropolitan had 850 members. Over the years a number of Evangelical/Pentecostal GLBT affirming churches have also ministered to the Houston Community. Community Gospel Church began in the early 1980s and served the community until 2012, with about 150 members at its height. In 2012, Gateway of Hope Churc

was birthed as a Pentecostal/Word of Faith, Spirit Filled, Word Based, Jesus Centered fellowship meeting off of Dacoma Street and Hempstead Highway and is pastored by Pastor Sven Verbeet. It is affiliated with the Covenant Network and serves not only the Houston area, but also active missions works in the Philippines and India. Founded in 2010 Living Mosaic Christian Churc

is an independent, nondenominational fellowship, pastored by Rev. Jason Wood meets at the Montrose Counseling Center. Living Mosaic's worship style is a liturgical and evangelical blend. In 1995 Grace Evangelican Lutheran Church began accepting LGBT members and became a "

Reconciling in Christ ReconcilingWorks, initially named Lutherans Concerned for Gay People and subsequently Lutherans Concerned/North America, is an organization of laypeople, pastors, and congregations primarily from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) ...

" Lutheran church; it was founded in 1922. In 2008 René Garcia, a member of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...

(ELCA), stated that he estimated that 40% of the members identified themselves as LGBT, with many of them coming from other Christian denominations such as Missouri Synod Lutheranism and Roman Catholicism. In 2008 pro-LGBT activist Jay Bakker argued that Joel Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church, should speak out in favor of the LGBT community, and invited him to join his group in a picnic.

Judaism

The group Keshet Houston is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

that connects

Jewish 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 ...

LGBT people in the Houston area. They connect Jewish people with LGBT affirming

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

s as well as holding their own social and religious events. Keshet Houston has participated in the Houston Pride Parade since 2014, and in 2015 the first legally married

same-sex couple A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. '' Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...

from Texas rode on their float. Temple Emanu El is an LGBT friendly congregation whose leaders have spoken out against LGBT discrimination, and participated in events that seek to end this discrimination in Texas.

Islam

Houston has a large number of

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

residents, constituting approximately 1.2% of the population. After the 2016

Orlando nightclub shooting On , 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff. In a ...

M.J. Khan Masrur Javed "M.J." Khan (born May 1, 1950) is a Pakistani American and former Houston City Council member.Dooley, Tara. "Khan inspires Muslims with election to council." ''Houston Chronicle''. Saturday, December 13, 2003. Religion p. 1. NewsBank ...

, the president of the

Islamic Society of Greater Houston The Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) is a system of mosques in Greater Houston. It is headquartered at the Eastside Main Center in Upper Kirby in Houston. There are women from south Asian backgrounds who do not believe in wearing the ...

denounced the shooter, and said that the Muslim community stands in solidarity with LGBT people. The

Council on American-Islamic Relations A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nat ...

of Houston also hosted a blood drive to benefit those who had been hurt by the shooting.

Notable residents

Michael Arceneaux Michael Arceneaux (born April 12, 1984) is an American writer. He is the author of the 2018 essay collection '' I Can't Date Jesus'', a ''New York Times'' bestselling book. His second book is titled ''I Don't Want to Die Poor'' (2020). Early l ...

(author of '' I Can't Date Jesus'') * Paul Broussard (murder victim) * Annise Parker (

) * Monica Roberts