Los Angeles Times columnist Gregory Rodriguez follows up on last week's New York Times' piece about the decline of gay urban enclaves. Citing research by UCLA demographer Gary Gates, Rodriguez observes:
Gates' research on U.S. Census data drives home a point that the gay vanguard has been wrestling with for a while: The hedonistic, transgressive, radical ethos (and stereotype) that once characterized gay culture doesn't represent reality anymore. The decline of urban coastal gay communities, the increase in the gay population in the interior U.S. and the overall diversification of the gay population are facts. What's more, Gates argues, these trends are a function of the growing acceptance of homosexuality among the American public. . . .
Gates doesn't believe that these trends spell an end of gay "associational" life. The process he's describing is not unlike the one experienced by so many immigrant or minority groups in America that fought against discrimination, moved beyond their enclaves and then felt a little sad that they lost the embracing sense of uniqueness and community that they once enjoyed.
10 Comments for “Gay? Who Cares?”
posted by Jorge on
So bland. So true.
(Which immigrant and minority groups was that?)
posted by thom on
“The hedonistic, transgressive, radical ethos (and stereotype) that once characterized gay culture doesn’t represent reality anymore.”
Oh, my. If that is so, against whom will James and ND30 rail against?
posted by North Dallas Thirty on
That’s easy, thom; the gays who continue to insist that we must follow that ethos or not really be gay.
posted by Bobby on
“The hedonistic, transgressive, radical ethos (and stereotype) that once characterized gay culture doesn’t represent reality anymore.”
—I guess she’s not a regular at craiglist.com.
The “gay getto” has moved online. Why go to a gay bar, a gay church or a bathhouse, be uncomfotable with people that don’t appeal to you, deal with the advances of people you don’t like, spend hard earned money on booze you don’t need and a cover charge that doesn’t guarantee scoring, when you can pick and choose who you want online?
posted by Brian Miller on
It underscores the complete lack of reality perception exercised by the left and right alike.
The lefties demand that we be “progressive” socialists who avoid all involvement in voluntary institutions like marriage that they view as “oppressive.”
Whereas the right-wing loons like ND-30 (and James) paint all of us — except for a tiny minority like them — as leftist hedonists who are deserving of the abuse of government power that their political masters use to punish us.
It’s funny. Both groups are tiny, yet are constantly positioned as “leaders.” And whenever the gay mainstream speaks up for itself by initiating lawsuits for marriage equality, or criticizing the left/right’s preferred candidates, the fingernails come out and they’re a-hissin’ and scratchin’.
The biggest news of all, coming out of the sheer diversity (and omnipresence) of the gay community is that it doesn’t represent a monolithic bloc of people who can be bullied and cajoled into supporting (or not opposing) a hard-left or hard-right agenda.
The more lefties insist that gay people must be redistributionist hard-left big government socialists, or they’re “bad gays,” the more the lefties will get knocked silly by reality.
And the more that righties insist that gay people must punish everyone who is different from them — and until they do, they “deserve” the abuse they and their GOP masters heap out, the more surprised they’re going to be by the reaction as well. Especially considering that a number of the loudest squealers from the right have been caught in compromising positions with guys, or are residents of the very centers of hedonism — like the Castro — that they claim to oppose.
All in all, Libertarians win the day. Perhaps not electorally (yet), but we’re the only voices in the gay movement that accept it as it is today, and how each person within it chooses to be. It’s the right and the left that are seeking to disrupt and distort it to achieve their own policy ends — which means they’re just not as natural a fit.
We’ll keep taking advantage of that fact. 😉
posted by Brian Miller on
I guess she’s not a regular at craiglist.com.
Looking at the San Francisco Craigslist, it looks like over 60% of the posts seeking hookups are seeking heterosexual liaisons. Is Craigslist a straight ghetto too?
Or could it be that lots of people, regardless of sexual orientation, tend towards promiscuity?
posted by thom on
I’m sure that
Booby does not mean to imply that Craigslist is only frequented by the gay ghetto, nor that only gays engage in hedonistic behavior on that site.
posted by ColoradoPatriot on
thom: “I’m sure that Booby does not mean to imply that Craigslist is only frequented by the gay ghetto, nor that only gays engage in hedonistic behavior on that site.”
What makes you sure about that? His point that all gays are hedonistic perverts who are not to be trusted with equal rights is exactly what I got from Bobby’s post (in fact, ALL of his posts) here.
posted by North Dallas Thirty on
Looking at the San Francisco Craigslist, it looks like over 60% of the posts seeking hookups are seeking heterosexual liaisons. Is Craigslist a straight ghetto too?
Pretty bad, when you consider that even the most optimistic of estimates of San Francisco’s gay population place us at less than 20% of the total.
Or, in other words, 20% of the population is doing 40% of the hookups.
posted by ETJB on
The Libertarian Party is not the ‘gay mainstream.’ Heck, libertarianism is not really mainstream in any community, except libertarians.
I suspect that a great many comfortable middle class LGBT people ID themselves as being “socially liberal and fiscally conservative”. This is basically Neo Liberaism.
I have no problem with being critical of Democrats or Republicans (although calling them left or right can be misleading).
The problem is that we live in a two-party system and thus the Libertarian Party, Green Party, Socialist Party, Ravining Loony Party, etc are not viable choices.
They will not become viable choices until we;
* adopt fair & equitable ballot access laws
* adopt fair rules for debate participation
* using some form of PR in legislative races or IRV.
The Libertarian Party is not likely going to capture the hearts and minds of the LGBT community, not with their opposition to civil rights and affordable health care.
They should be included on the ballot and the debates, just as should any serious party or candidate.
All in all, Libertarians win the day. Perhaps not electorally (yet), but we’re the only voices in the gay movement that accept it as it is today, and how each person within it chooses to be. It’s the right and the left that are seeking to disrupt and distort it to achieve their own policy ends — which means they’re just not as natural a fit.
We’ll keep taking advantage of that fact. 😉