Is
the South End gay anymore?
February 15, 2006
WHAT'S THE NEW GAY NEIGHBORHOOD? DORCHESTER? JAMAICA
PLAIN? DOES BOSTON NEED A GAY NEIGHBORHOOD? WHY DOES CHICAGO STILL HAVE ONE?
Three years ago, at Pride Lights, the big Boston Pride week
Tuesday evening ceremony held in the heart of Boston's traditionally gay South
End neighborhood, police and barricades couldn't keep the crowds from spilling
out into the streets as Varla Jean Merman performed. But this past year, at the
height of the event, crowds were thin enough that passersby could walk a few
feet from the main stage without so much as bumping anyone.
What is happening to the South End?
The South End of Boston, once known specifically for its
welcoming stance on the GLBT community, for its proximity to the most happening
gay bars and clubs, is no longer what it once was. It's been said by many,
perhaps even by you, that the GLBT community is no longer making it its primary
neighborhood.
Perhaps you're thinking that's a bad thing.
But from where the men and women who work for Boston Mayor Thomas
Menino and help make sure the GLBT community all over the city, and not just in
the South End, have what they need - from where they're sitting, such change
isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Dorchester's GLBT population grows
In Dorchester, where its Irish roots are twisted deep in
Boston and American history, DotOUT - formed by friends Daniel Cushing and
Michele Gillen - has more than 150 gay and lesbian members from Lower Mills and
Ashmont to Jones and Meetinghouse hills. Its members have marched in the annual
Dorchester Day parade, a contrast of sorts where, in South Boston, an
Irish-American gay and lesbian group was banned from participating in the
annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, a ban upheld by the Supreme Court in 1995.
Homes in the Savin Hill, Jones Hill, and Melville Park
neighborhoods are decked with Pride flags, and as Dorchester fills with
families and singles looking to buy-in at an affordable (or perhaps less
expensive) rate, so, too, does the GLBT population.
And on Dot (what the locals call Dorchester) Avenue, dBar
has been making a splash and packing in gay clientele lately.
The mayor's liaison to Dorchester, Molly Dunford, said
during a recent interview that no matter which committee meeting or major event
she attends, she sees members of the GLBT community alongside heterosexuals,
often working together.
"DotOUT and the legalization of gay marriage helped
solidify the GLBT presence in Dorchester," said Dunford. "It provided
us a chance to focus on GLBT issues and also work on issues relative to the
entire neighborhood."
The 2000 Census recorded figures reflecting the South End as
still having the largest populations of gay men and lesbians, but since the
last Census, the mayor's liaison to the GLBT community, Karen Fried, said she wouldn't
be surprised if those numbers have decreased. Speculating that neighborhoods
like Dorchester and Jamaica Plain would see increases.
That doesn't mean that the South End still doesn't harbor
many GLBT residents.
Beyond ghettos
But with the legalization of gay marriage and the ease with
which members of the GLBT community and their heterosexual counterparts
co-exist, you've got a city where it's no longer necessary to ghettoize the
gays.
Not that Boston ever specifically labeled the South End as
the sole place in the city where gay men and women would feel welcome; it just
happened that way. Similarly, the diversification of different communities
within Boston, and the welcoming and inclusion of the GLBT community, well,
that just happened, too.
"Boston is just plain different," Menino said
during a telephone interview during the week leading up to his November
re-election. "It's a welcoming city, and is diverse in every
community."
As for the change in the South End, Menino said that it was
his opinion that too much emphasis has been placed on the GLBT community's
specific strides as opposed to the improvements made in the city for all
communities.
"Everyone here shares the same concerns," he said.
"The same issues of education and housing and safety. It doesn't matter
who you are or where you live."
Look at San Francisco. For decades, it's been synonymous
with gay life. The city and its denizens made extreme political and social
gains in the 1970s and early '80s, then AIDS hit and many gay men were dying.
Still, the men and women living in the Castro District fought and survived, new
business replaced old, and new people brought a renewed sense of hope to the
city.
But, like Boston, the GLBT community in San Francisco isn't
segregated in one specific area. The community has extended itself all over the
city and continued to thrive.
Suburban assimilation
Within the city, openly gay owned and operated businesses
can be found in places that you wouldn't have expected 10 years ago. Roslindale
Village has both the cozy Gusto and the scrumptious Bangkok cafe serving up
food. Jamaica Plain has the gay friendly Milky Way and Dogwood Cafe. Just
eating in Dogwood on a Friday evening you'll see the demographic spread of the
city. If there was ever a sign of change, Mike's Gym, the staple of all things
old South End, closed a couple years ago and reopened in Jamaica Plain
recently.
Although Mass. state Rep. Mike Rush (D-West Roxbury) of West
Roxbury was one of the few city representatives in the Massachusetts House of
Representatives to vote for the amendment banning gay marriage, his district is
certainly changing. During the summer months one can walk by the Victorians
nestled behind Phil's Barber Shop on Centre Street and see Pride flags
displayed.
Across the Charles River in Somerville, Mass., after
narrowly defeating a solid incumbent, openly gay Carl Sciortino was voted as a
representative of the district. Not only does Somerville have the feel of old
South End thanks to places like Diesel but it also has one of the few ladies
nights in the city at Toast.
Out in Worcester, Mass., the Central Massachusetts Business
Council, after only a year in existence, already has a thriving business
network. The businesses are a 50/50 split of those that are gay owned and those
that are friendly. Paul Leone, president of the CMBC said, "For a first
year to have 170 members, it's great!"
Rhode Island real estate developers and agencies are
advertising to the gay community to move down to Providence and leave the
expense of Boston behind. And for those worried they'll lose their marriage
status down south, Marriage Equality R.I. (MERI) tries every year to pass a
marriage law, though the official status of married Massachusetts couples that
move to Rhode Island is still grey. And GLBT people are moving beyond urban
Providence into areas like Cranston, R.I., which has a MERI office. And R.I.'s
Youth Pride, Inc., opened a facility in Newport, R.I. Newport, a town of
26,000, even boasts its own GLBT chamber of commerce, The Newport Business
Council.
Contrast: Chicago's Boys Town
Contrast Boston's experience to Chicago, where you'll still
find the GLBT population concentrated in just a couple areas of the city. The
place to be if you're gay, according to Marie Chaiart who works for the Chicago
Office of Tourism, is Northalsted, also known as Boys Town, and Andersonville.
These areas are not only predominately comprised of the GLBT
community, she said, but are also the places where the most gay bars and clubs
and GLBT festivals are held - kind of like the way the South End used to be.
Northalsted is located predominately between Addison and
Belmont Streets along Halsted Avenue and has more than 20 gay bars and dance
clubs from which revelers can choose their evening's entertainment. It's also
where Market Days, the largest GLBT festival in the Midwest, is held each year.
Andersonville, originally known for its Swedish roots, runs along Clark Street
between Foster and Peterson, north of Northalsted, and is predominately
inhabited by lesbians, though many gay men frequent the area, according to
Chaiart.
So why does Chicago still consider needing to have a
specific area for the gay population?
Chaiart explained it as a way for the city to fill an
obvious need. "It's the only urban mecca in the Midwest that has brought
men and women from all over the heartland to its borders," she wrote in an
e-mail.
Consider that Chicago is in Illinois, a state where the
House of Representatives and Senate voted just last year to pass legislation
outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in
employment, housing, credit and public accommodations - something Massachusetts
did in 1989.
Boston's strength: integrated diversity
Boston may not be able to claim the title Midwest Heartland,
but it could be seen as the "heart" of New England, which is leading
the country in terms of legal rights given members of the GLBT community. And
if the widespread migration of gay men and women from the South End all
throughout the city is indicative of the current state of affairs in Boston,
then come next election, gay marriage should remain safe.
"Boston residents aren't concerned anymore about
gay-specific issues," Karen Fried said. "They're more concerned about
where their kids will go to school and whether the neighborhood they're living
in is safe. Really, if you think about it, diversity is the strength of the
city." •
Alexander Sliwinski contributed to this article.