Gay Enclaves Face Prospect of Being Passé
October 30, 2007
By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24 This Halloween, the Glindas, gladiators and harem boys of the Castro along with untold numbers who plan to dress up as Senator Larry E. Craig, this years camp celebrity will be celebrating behind closed doors. The citys most popular Halloween party, in Americas largest gay neighborhood, is canceled.
The once-exuberant street party, a symbol of sexual liberation since 1979 has in recent years become a Nightmare on Castro Street, drawing as many as 200,000 people, many of them costumeless outsiders, and there has been talk of moving it outside the district because of increasing violence. Last year, nine people were wounded when a gunman opened fire at the celebration.
For many in the Castro District, the cancellation is a blow that strikes at the heart of neighborhood identity, and it has brought soul-searching that goes beyond concerns about crime.
These are wrenching times for San Franciscos 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.
There has been a notable shift of gravity from the Castro, with young gay men and lesbians fanning out into less-expensive neighborhoods like Mission Dolores and the Outer Sunset, and farther away to Marin and Alameda Counties, mirroring national trends where you are seeing same-sex couples becoming less urban, even as the population become slightly more urban, said Gary J. Gates, a demographer and senior research fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles.
October 30, 2007
By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24 This Halloween, the Glindas, gladiators and harem boys of the Castro along with untold numbers who plan to dress up as Senator Larry E. Craig, this years camp celebrity will be celebrating behind closed doors. The citys most popular Halloween party, in Americas largest gay neighborhood, is canceled.
The once-exuberant street party, a symbol of sexual liberation since 1979 has in recent years become a Nightmare on Castro Street, drawing as many as 200,000 people, many of them costumeless outsiders, and there has been talk of moving it outside the district because of increasing violence. Last year, nine people were wounded when a gunman opened fire at the celebration.
For many in the Castro District, the cancellation is a blow that strikes at the heart of neighborhood identity, and it has brought soul-searching that goes beyond concerns about crime.
These are wrenching times for San Franciscos 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.
There has been a notable shift of gravity from the Castro, with young gay men and lesbians fanning out into less-expensive neighborhoods like Mission Dolores and the Outer Sunset, and farther away to Marin and Alameda Counties, mirroring national trends where you are seeing same-sex couples becoming less urban, even as the population become slightly more urban, said Gary J. Gates, a demographer and senior research fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles.
