‘Gayest Place on Earth’ May Be Losing Identity
Friday, August 15 2008 | Comments (0)
The Castro District
In this week’s recap of 30 Days, Morgan Spurlock got Ryan, a straight man from Michigan, to live for a full month in the Castro District in San Francisco. While he was getting a tour from his gay roommate, Ryan called it the “Gayest Place on Earth”.
The Castro District came into prominence during the 60’s as a gay community and is considered a Mecca for the LBGT community all over the globe. The streets are safe, the weather is wonderful and the houses are attractive.
And heterosexuals are moving in as well…
There is a very good chance that The Castro will lose much of it’s identity if enough straight people move in and decide to raise families. Many gay activists in the district are concerned and have launched campaigns to the tune of $100,000 dollars to maintain the city’s gay image.
According to an article in the SF Gate online news edition, Adam Light, who is a leader in the Castro Coalition said that straight people were “welcome as long as they understand that this is our community”. The Castro Coalition is a group that was formed eight years ago to tackle the demographic change in the neighborhoods.
Nope. It's not named after Fidel...
A community is compromised by individuals who can afford to live there. It is a fact that homosexuals generally are maligned but if Light was another type of person, would his remarks be well received? If people moved into the Castro, paid taxes, became business owners and contributed to the coffers of the city government, wouldn’t that become a benefit to the Castro Community even if they weren’t gay?
Some people don’t see it that way. Having a haven for people who are attacked for being who they are have made places like Castro for gays during the 1960’s, Harlem for Blacks during the 1920’s and Dearborn for Muslims successful and historically noteworthy.
Will Gays in the Castro District assimilate to mainstream or will they continue with their cultural autonomy? Only time will tell…
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