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A gay village, also known as a gayborhood, is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establishments, such as gay bars and pubs, nightclubs, bathhouses, restaurants, boutiques, and bookstores.
Such areas may represent an LGBT-friendly oasis in an otherwise hostile city or may simply have a high concentration of gay residents and businesses. Some areas are often associated with being "gay" cities or resorts, due to their image and acceptance of the gay community.
Much as other urbanized groups, some LGBT people have managed to utilize their spaces as a way to reflect their cultural values and serve the special needs of individuals in relation to society at large. Today, these neighborhoods can typically be found in the upper-class areas of a given city, like in Manhattan, chosen for aesthetic or historic value, no longer resulting from the sociopolitical ostracization and the constant threat of physical violence from homophobic individuals that originally motivated these communities to live together for their mutual safety.
These neighborhoods are also often found in working-class parts of the city or in the neglected fringe of a downtown area – communities which may have been upscale historically but became economically depressed and socially disorganized. In these cases, the establishment of an LGBT community has turned some of these areas into more expensive neighborhoods, a process known as gentrification – a phenomenon in which LGBT people often play a pioneer role.[4] This process does not always work out to the benefit of these communities, as they often see property values rise so high that they can no longer afford them, as high-rise condominiums are built and bars move out, or the only LGBT establishments that remain are those catering to a more upscale clientele. However, today's manifestations of "queer ghettos" bear little resemblance to those of the 1970s.[2]
- ^ Julia Goicichea (August 16, 2017). "Why New York City Is a Major Destination for LGBT Travelers". The Culture Trip. Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
- ^ a b Eli Rosenberg (June 24, 2016). "Stonewall Inn Named National Monument, a First for the Gay Rights Movement". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019. Cite error: The named reference "GayGreenwichVillage2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Workforce Diversity The Stonewall Inn, National Historic Landmark National Register Number: 99000562". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
- ^ Castells (1983) p. 160.