Just how gay is Seattle?
October 8, 2012 9:47 AM Subscribe
Just how gay is Seattle? Pretty gay.
I think it's a reasonable first approximation.
posted by empath at 10:05 AM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by empath at 10:05 AM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
but it should be noted that among America’s large cities (250,000+ population), Seattle ranks 2nd only to San Francisco.
I am a bit disheartened to find that Seatle is gayer than New York. It seems we are suffereing from a gayness gap. Is there anything that can be done to make New York gayer?We need to make sure New York is number 1 in gayness.
posted by Ad hominem at 10:12 AM on October 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
I am a bit disheartened to find that Seatle is gayer than New York. It seems we are suffereing from a gayness gap. Is there anything that can be done to make New York gayer?We need to make sure New York is number 1 in gayness.
posted by Ad hominem at 10:12 AM on October 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
Flannel is very flattering to both sexes. (although we're now in the middle of a Hot Vermont Dad fashion cycle.)
posted by The Whelk at 10:12 AM on October 8, 2012 [5 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 10:12 AM on October 8, 2012 [5 favorites]
We need to make sure New York is number 1 in gayness.
A five year plan, Pro Homo.
posted by The Whelk at 10:13 AM on October 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
A five year plan, Pro Homo.
posted by The Whelk at 10:13 AM on October 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
How gay are all the locations in the US?
The data for the article are from the Williams Institute at the law school of UCLA which did this study more generally. Here's a PDF of their Nationwide stats on same sex partner households, including maps of where the most same sex partners live, where they're raising kids, whether they identify as "spouses", and other interesting stuff.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:14 AM on October 8, 2012
The data for the article are from the Williams Institute at the law school of UCLA which did this study more generally. Here's a PDF of their Nationwide stats on same sex partner households, including maps of where the most same sex partners live, where they're raising kids, whether they identify as "spouses", and other interesting stuff.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:14 AM on October 8, 2012
Also - the William Institute main page. Scroll down for a map that leads to more detailed resources broken down by state.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:17 AM on October 8, 2012
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:17 AM on October 8, 2012
I bet somewhere like Salt Lake City has a much higher ratio of gays to gays who report having a same-sex partner on the census.
Interestingly enough according LGBT publication The Advocate, SLC was 2012's gayest city.
posted by Doleful Creature at 10:31 AM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
Interestingly enough according LGBT publication The Advocate, SLC was 2012's gayest city.
posted by Doleful Creature at 10:31 AM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
Odd that there was no attempt whatsoever to answer the question in the title of the article. I understand that it would be extremely hand-wavey, but surely there's someone who's undertaken a pseudoscientific attempt to get an estimate of the percentage of gay people in a given area. I mean, if nothing else, marketers would presumably pay a lot to have any kind of estimate at all.
posted by gurple at 10:33 AM on October 8, 2012
posted by gurple at 10:33 AM on October 8, 2012
We need to make sure New York is number 1 in gayness.
I agree with the lols of this statement completely, but on a more serious note (lol me) I have noticed that some local activism has slacked off since we got gay marriage. WE'RE NOT DONE HERE, PEOPLE.
posted by elizardbits at 10:36 AM on October 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
I agree with the lols of this statement completely, but on a more serious note (lol me) I have noticed that some local activism has slacked off since we got gay marriage. WE'RE NOT DONE HERE, PEOPLE.
posted by elizardbits at 10:36 AM on October 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
Okay, we need some new gay couples to move to Minneapolis. Losing to San Francisco and Oakland is unfortunate, but understandable. Seattle, though, that hurts. Sure, it is too cold in the Winter and too hot and humid in the Summer, but our city is great! Also, there is something to be said for extreme seasons.
posted by Area Man at 11:03 AM on October 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by Area Man at 11:03 AM on October 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
Tell me more about these hot Vermont dads.
posted by roger ackroyd at 11:08 AM on October 8, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by roger ackroyd at 11:08 AM on October 8, 2012 [6 favorites]
Okay, we need some new gay couples to move to Minneapolis.
I don't think we're going to get same-sex marriage in Minnesota in the next 20 years though. The current wave of legalization is going to hit the entire northeast and west coast, and pass us over entirely.
posted by miyabo at 11:25 AM on October 8, 2012
I don't think we're going to get same-sex marriage in Minnesota in the next 20 years though. The current wave of legalization is going to hit the entire northeast and west coast, and pass us over entirely.
posted by miyabo at 11:25 AM on October 8, 2012
I think it will happen before then, even if we lose this election. Opinions are changing quickly, and the lack of any negative consequences in Iowa will help.
posted by Area Man at 11:38 AM on October 8, 2012
posted by Area Man at 11:38 AM on October 8, 2012
I'm sorry, but THREE spaces after every period, I can't even...
posted by iamkimiam at 11:47 AM on October 8, 2012
posted by iamkimiam at 11:47 AM on October 8, 2012
We need to make sure New York is number 1 in gayness.please, the correct term is "gayosity"
posted by pxe2000 at 11:50 AM on October 8, 2012
please, the correct term is "gayosity"
The premier city for gayosity.
Unfortunately, the only idea I can come up with is making brunch tax deductible.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:07 PM on October 8, 2012 [6 favorites]
The premier city for gayosity.
Unfortunately, the only idea I can come up with is making brunch tax deductible.
posted by Ad hominem at 12:07 PM on October 8, 2012 [6 favorites]
it should be. Brunch is a religious rite for my people.
posted by The Whelk at 12:09 PM on October 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 12:09 PM on October 8, 2012 [4 favorites]
New York isn't even on the study's list of the 25 big US cities with the largest proportions of same sex couples. Is New York less gay than Kansas City?
posted by Area Man at 12:14 PM on October 8, 2012
posted by Area Man at 12:14 PM on October 8, 2012
i thiink elizardbits is right, and i think defining gayness by couple rates isn't v. helpful; i think maybe another metric might be helpful--you know how easy is it for someone to get a blowjob at 3 am on a tuesday, how easy does a kd lang concert sell out, radical fairy or sisters of perpetural indulgence contingents, excellent brunch menus....
if those were the measures, Toronto would do well, Montreal kind of poorly, Vancouver much better--and MPLS/Seattle would win over SF or NY
posted by PinkMoose at 12:14 PM on October 8, 2012
if those were the measures, Toronto would do well, Montreal kind of poorly, Vancouver much better--and MPLS/Seattle would win over SF or NY
posted by PinkMoose at 12:14 PM on October 8, 2012
esp. the Trucking Company
posted by PinkMoose at 12:16 PM on October 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by PinkMoose at 12:16 PM on October 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
Is New York less gay than Kansas City?
If you assume gay people tend to move to the largest city in a metro area, then this makes sense. The metro areas around Kansas City, Seattle, and Minneapolis all have 5-10 times as many people as the cities themselves. Gay people (and young people, and old people, and rich people) are constantly moving from the suburbs toward the city center. NYC has suburbs obviously, but they're like 50% of the population, not 80 or 90%. And the suburbs themselves are pretty urban and much more likely to be tolerant.
posted by miyabo at 1:00 PM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
If you assume gay people tend to move to the largest city in a metro area, then this makes sense. The metro areas around Kansas City, Seattle, and Minneapolis all have 5-10 times as many people as the cities themselves. Gay people (and young people, and old people, and rich people) are constantly moving from the suburbs toward the city center. NYC has suburbs obviously, but they're like 50% of the population, not 80 or 90%. And the suburbs themselves are pretty urban and much more likely to be tolerant.
posted by miyabo at 1:00 PM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
It's not easy being single and gay. Nobody wants to count us, it seems.
posted by Carol Anne at 2:14 PM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Carol Anne at 2:14 PM on October 8, 2012 [1 favorite]
Okay, we need some new gay couples to move to Minneapolis.I moved back in 2009 and brought my forevertimes boyfriend with me. The amendment thing is making me want to move away again though.
Not that I really have much of an option to, and I do love the apartment we just moved into.
Anyway, we're doing what we can.
posted by kavasa at 3:30 PM on October 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
> It's not easy being single and gay. Nobody wants to count us, it seems
That's how we get the gay suburbs, I guess. Lake Forest Park, which they say is gayer than Olympia, is almost all single-family homes; people move there for the trees and the good schools. Gay!
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:33 PM on October 8, 2012
That's how we get the gay suburbs, I guess. Lake Forest Park, which they say is gayer than Olympia, is almost all single-family homes; people move there for the trees and the good schools. Gay!
posted by The corpse in the library at 6:33 PM on October 8, 2012
From the article: "There is one county in Washington that actually has no gay couples at all – Garfield"
From Carol Anne: "It's not easy being single and gay. Nobody wants to count us, it seems."
I know for a fact there are gay people living in Garfield County, WA. I've met at least two of them, and know of several more.
The metric they're using for this article is stupid. Not all gay couple households report themselves to the Census, not all gay people are in co-habitating couples (even if they are coupled), and without a way to count single gay people (especially in places like eastern WA, where there are a LOT of single gay people for various reasons, just like in cities where there are a lot of single gay people for various reasons), you're basically undercounting the population by a significant proportion.
I know they're doing the best they can with the data they have available to them, but the end result is justified bullshit, not actual facts.
posted by hippybear at 6:58 PM on October 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
From Carol Anne: "It's not easy being single and gay. Nobody wants to count us, it seems."
I know for a fact there are gay people living in Garfield County, WA. I've met at least two of them, and know of several more.
The metric they're using for this article is stupid. Not all gay couple households report themselves to the Census, not all gay people are in co-habitating couples (even if they are coupled), and without a way to count single gay people (especially in places like eastern WA, where there are a LOT of single gay people for various reasons, just like in cities where there are a lot of single gay people for various reasons), you're basically undercounting the population by a significant proportion.
I know they're doing the best they can with the data they have available to them, but the end result is justified bullshit, not actual facts.
posted by hippybear at 6:58 PM on October 8, 2012 [3 favorites]
Maybe we should get all the single gay people into one place, like some kind of gathering spot where drinks could be served, maybe music playing.
posted by The Whelk at 8:11 PM on October 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 8:11 PM on October 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
Well, if you live in Garfield County, the closest gay bar is in Spokane, which is a 2-3 hour drive.
Besides, there's nothing wrong with being single, no matter whether you're homo- or heterosexual. Perhaps you're advocating for casual hookups? I'm in favor of that. Not so much in favor of enforced matchmaking.
posted by hippybear at 8:17 PM on October 8, 2012
Besides, there's nothing wrong with being single, no matter whether you're homo- or heterosexual. Perhaps you're advocating for casual hookups? I'm in favor of that. Not so much in favor of enforced matchmaking.
posted by hippybear at 8:17 PM on October 8, 2012
No I'm in favor of enforced casual hookups, like a kind of lottery.
posted by The Whelk at 8:20 PM on October 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by The Whelk at 8:20 PM on October 8, 2012 [2 favorites]
I think that's actually one of my problems with the It Get's Better Project as well--there is this kind of forced narrative where people that hippybear talks about fall through the cracks, b/c the assumption is that it gets better when you move out of the place you are--and there is a kind of mainstreaming subtext--instead of move to the city, fuck casually, develop webs of connection, etc--move to the city, find a partner, move in with him or her...
in this sense, it kind of evades how cities have worked for centuries.
also, when is the key party, Mr Whelk.
posted by PinkMoose at 11:16 PM on October 8, 2012
in this sense, it kind of evades how cities have worked for centuries.
also, when is the key party, Mr Whelk.
posted by PinkMoose at 11:16 PM on October 8, 2012
Maybe we should get all the single gay people into one place
Careful - the gravity there would fall precipitously!
posted by Twang at 12:50 AM on October 9, 2012
Careful - the gravity there would fall precipitously!
posted by Twang at 12:50 AM on October 9, 2012
So these hot Vermont dads, they vibrate?
posted by ostranenie at 9:40 AM on October 9, 2012
posted by ostranenie at 9:40 AM on October 9, 2012
« Older Eating the plate instead of the food | ...exchange some of their UK employment rights... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
They have never heard of closeted gays? I bet somewhere like Salt Lake City has a much higher ratio of gays to gays who report having a same-sex partner on the census.
posted by bitslayer at 10:02 AM on October 8, 2012 [2 favorites]