There Goes the Gayborhood?

A scene from DC's annual "Drag Race" held the night before Halloween.

When San Francisco canceled its annual Halloween party in the Castro district last month over fears about safety, it spurred a conversation about the shifting makeup of historically gay neighborhoods, and whether they're on the verge of becoming passé. As the New York Times reported:

These are wrenching times for San Francisco’s historic gay village, with population shifts, booming development, and a waning sense of belonging that is also being felt in gay enclaves across the nation, from Key West, Fla., to West Hollywood, as they struggle to maintain cultural relevance in the face of gentrification.

...The Castro remains a top tourist destination for gay and lesbian visitors. But Joe D’Alessandro, president and C.E.O. of the San Francisco Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, and a gay parent who lives in the Castro, predicted that eventually the neighborhood would go the way of North Beach, “still a historic Italian neighborhood though Italians don’t necessarily live there anymore."

While gentrification encroaches upon urban gay enclaves, the idea that the neighborhoods are passé doesn't sit well with John Tanzella, Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association. "I wouldn’t say that it’s the case yet," he told IT.

"It’s hard to generalize all gay and lesbian travelers, but certainly, if you’re traveling internationally, you feel comfortable going to a place like Dupont Circle [in Washington, D.C.], where you know that there is gay shopping and gay-owned restaurants," he said. And increasingly, he noted, cities and tours are targeting gay tourists and families.

"Many cities are going after the gay and lesbian traveler now that may not actually have a gay neighborhood," Tanzella said. "Non gay-owned businesses are marketing to the gay traveler. It’s really evolved. It’s not just South Florida and San Francisco. It’s all sorts of places around the globe that are saying 'Hey come to our destination, we’re gay friendly as well.'"

Both Philadelphia and D.C. have been promoting their gay tourism industries in the past few weeks. Philly unveiled rainbow-patterned street signs in its Washington Square West neighborhood, while D.C. hosted the Gay Life Travel Expo, and Washington Blade reported, the D.C. Convention & Tourism Corporation has been making a concerted effort to attract gay tourists. Tanzella says tourism initiatives have been seen in Dallas and Tempe as well, and many cities have even created gay history tours like Crusin the Castro in San Francisco, the Gay Key West trolley tour in Florida, and Gays Gone By in Las Vegas (as part of IGLTA's annual convention), so visitors can explore the culture and events that took place in the neighborhoods and encourage them to keep thriving.

Photo: Traveler Assistant Photo Editor Krista Rossow

Comments

[Annette]

This past pride the Toronto Star had a similar article and I can see what they mean - we aren't living in the gaybourhood anymore because we don't need to. BUT that article also listed a bunch of mini neighbourhoods popping up (lessieville, etc).

I think that the old gaybourhoods are keeping their integrity as cultural centres, but we're finding new residential areas out of the city that are more comfortable to live in.