Why is San Francisco so Gay?

It became the gay capital way before gay marriage became legal anywhere, it seemed odd to me too that California wasn't one of the first states to grant gay marriage , until I went to californa and realised how big the population of californa is outside of san fransissco and there's a big distance between san fransico and los angeles so people in los angeles wont necessarily support gay rights its like people in the middle of England supporting gay rights because Brighton is a few hours away. Wikipedia says the following : World War II saw a jump in the gay population when the US military actively sought out and dishonorably discharged homosexuals. From 1941 to 1945, more than 9,000 gay servicemen and women were discharged, and many were processed out in San Francisco.[24] The late 1960s also brought in a new wave of lesbians and gays who were more radical and less mainstream and who had flocked to San Francisco not only for its gay-friendly reputation, but for its reputation as a radical, left-wing center These new residents were the prime movers of Gay Liberation and often lived communally, buying decrepit Victorians in the Haight and fixing them up. When drugs and violence began to become a serious problem in the Haight, many lesbians and gays simply moved "over the hill" to the Castro replacing Irish-Americans who had moved to the more affluent and culturally homogeneous suburbs. The Castro became known as a Gay Mecca, and its gay population swelled as significant numbers of gay people moved to San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s

 

This is absolutely true. And I guess it's because it's so far away from Washington D.C. haha :lol:

 

I wouldn't say San Francisco is the gay capital, there are a lot of gay people spread out all across the country, especially in big cities. NYC was where Stonewall and much of early gay liberation history happened, and is where Harvey Milk got his start. I do think SF has the highest percentage of gay people in it, though not the highest number, since it's not that big a city.

Gay people probably started moving westward to the Bay Area for the same reasons everyone else was migrating to California in the 20th century, nicer weather, strong economy with jobs, desirable locations, and at that time not too costly. And there were different parts of the state that appealed to both progressive/left-wing politics (e.g. the SF Bay Area) and conservative/right-wing politics (e.g. Orange County).

But I think the trend in recent years is for old gay 'ghettos' to be taken over by yuppies and the sort. San Francisco is too expensive now to be the refuge it once was for gay people from rural middle America looking for a place to be accepted.

As for why California sometimes has conservative tendencies and passed Prop H8... Traditionally San Francisco and Northern California, particularly along the coast, are liberal, while the interior and Southern California are more conservative. San Francisco voted 75% against Prop H8, and the rest of the Bay Area also voted overwhelmingly against it. However they were outvoted by the major population centers of SoCal and the Central Valley voting in support. Even LA County narrowly voted in support of Prop H8. The fact that the large Hispanic population in the state wasn't yet on board with marriage equality probably was a factor in that.

 

I have only seen 3 gayples holding hands the whole time I was in San Francisco.

also, they were like wearing armani or something, i wouldn't know. something more fashionable than shorts/jeans and a shirt?

 

because the coit tower looks like a penis...

 

I've read it started with The Gold Rush: thousands of men flocked to San Francisco, a small sleepy village at the time, from around the world. The concept of homosexuality hadn't been invented, and with few women in town (less in the gold mines), men turned to each other for support, and because there was little infrastructure and room, men lived in close proximity with one another, sharing rooms, beds, and blankets. It soon gained a reputation for being liberal, classy, and 'sinful', a lot like what people think of when they hear Las Vegas.

 

San Francisco is sort of losing its reputation as THE gay mecca...partially because America no longer really needs a gay mecca. One can be gay-out-and-proud in any number of American cities. Also, San Francisco is insanely expensive to live in. The house I grew up in is a small, two-bedroom affair built in the 1930s, in what is now considered a rather unsavory part of town. (Back then, it was solidly middle class.) It recently sold for $1.7 million.

That said, I do love going back to visit. Not for its gayness, necessarily, but for its charm and the nostalgia factor.

Lex