Members of the LGBTQ+ communities have always had to face discrimination in the way they express themselves and their love. The idea of “gayborhoods” probably emerged to have a supportive community of like-minded individuals who supported each other and had gone through similar strife. These neighborhoods most likely started small but have the years have passes housing shortages have caused these areas to expand and move around. According to Vox writer Matthew Yglesias, “gayborhoods” began after the Second World War, “gay men and lesbians who were discharged from the military for their real or perceived homosexuality remained behind in major port cities.” Places such as San Francisco, Greenwich Village, and Boystown had a high concentration of LGBTQ+ partners living there.
As of recent, these neighborhoods are disappearing and becoming gentrified or “straightened” as Scott James of the NYT puts it. This gentrification isn’t solely due to increased expenses to live in a big city, but also due to the increased acceptance of members of the LGBTQ+ community. Due to less discrimination, there are more options, young gay millennials no longer believe that they can only thrive in gayborhoods. There used to be a need for gays and lesbians to freely express themselves but now they can feel safe almost anywhere.
James, Scott. “There Goes the Gayborhood.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 June 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/06/21/us/gay-pride-lgbtq-gayborhood.html.
Yglesias, Matthew. The Rise and Fall of American Gayborhoods. 8 Aug. 2014, www.vox.com/2014/8/8/5979467/there-goes-the-gayborhood-by-amin-ghaziani.