Is Salt Lake City the 'gayest' town in America?
Mar 24, 2012 16:10:07 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Mar 24, 2012 16:10:07 GMT -5
Is Salt Lake City the 'gayest' town in America? Magazine says Utah capital is tops for its nude yoga and LGBT bookstores
By Michael Zennie
UPDATED: 16:51 EST, 10 January 2012
The Advocate has named Salt Lake City, Utah, the 'gayest' town in America based on an unconventional set of criteria that include the presence of nude yoga classes and LGBT bookstores as well as performances by certain gay-friendly bands.
The magazine, which caters to gay and lesbian readers, said the ranking was meant to highlight cities outside the obvious major gay hubs like New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
'Far-less-oppressive-than-it-used-to-be Salt Lake City has earned its queer cred,' the Advocate says, citing anti-discrimination laws that the city has passed in addition to its active nightlife.
Salt Lake City
Gayest in America: Salt Lake City is more LGBT-friendly than cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco, a magazine says
The ranking might be an unconventional choice for readers who associate the city with the Mormon church, which strongly opposes gay marriage.
Additionally, Utah is continually one of the most politically-conservative states in the country. In 2008, it voted for Republican John McCain by a margin of 28 percentage points.
Salt Lake City itself supported Presidential Obama by only the slimmest of margins.
However, the Advocate claims Salt Lake City has a progressive bent that makes it attractive to gays and lesbians -- possibly more attractive even than liberal cities like Austin, Texas, West Hollywood in Los Angeles and college towns like Northampton, Massachusetts.
Enlarge Pride flag
Let it fly: Supporters say Salt Lake City has progressive laws and a gay-friendly nightlife
Utah Pride Festival 2006 in Salt Lake City
Gay in Utah: Hundreds of people gather each year in downtown Salt Lake City for the Utah Pride Festival
The city played frequent host to gay-friendly bands like the Gossip, the Cliks and the Veronicas and offers nude yoga, a lesbian-owned wine bar called Meditrina and a 'packed' gay nightclub, the magazine says.
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE OUTS AMERICA'S GAYEST CITIES
1) Salt Lake City, Utah
2) Orlando, Florida
3) Cambridge, Massachusetts
4) Fort Lauderdale, Florida
5) Seattle, Washington
6) Ann Arbor, Michigan
7) Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
8) Knoxville, Tennessee
9) Atlanta, Georgia
10) Grand Rapids, Michigan
11) Little Rock, Arkansas
12) Portland, Oregon
13) Austin, Texas
14) Long Beach, California
15) Denver, Colorado
The Salt Lake Tribune pointed out that the city also has am openly gay city councilman, Stan Penfold.
Still, many readers criticized the magazine for the factors it cited as being indicative of a strong gay community. The factors include: the presence of a women's NBA team, semifinalists in recent International Mr Leather gay pageant competitions, the number of chapters of the gay group Imperial Court and the number of teams entered in the Gay Softball World Series.
Those criteria were awarded points, which were then divided by the total population -- allowing small towns to compete with big cities like Atlanta and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Even some gay Salt Lake City natives are somewhat skeptical of the informal survey's results.
'If we were having a more scientific survey, I don’t know that we would choose these as indicators,' Valerie Larabee, the director of the Utah Pride Center, told the Salt Lake Tribune.
'All humor aside, I think that our city has come a long way. If we were to rate the cities that have made the greatest amount of progress over the last 10 years, I think we certainly would rank among the top.'
Orlando, Florida came in second place in the ranking. Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of Harvard University and MIT, came in third.
Orlando, Florida
Runner up: Orlando, Florida, was the second-gayest city in the country, followed by Cambridge, Massachusetts, the magazine said
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084891/Is-Salt-Lake-City-gayest-town-America-Magazine-says-Utah-capital-tops-nude-yoga-LGBT-bookstores.html#ixzz1q4RW31Lu
By Michael Zennie
UPDATED: 16:51 EST, 10 January 2012
The Advocate has named Salt Lake City, Utah, the 'gayest' town in America based on an unconventional set of criteria that include the presence of nude yoga classes and LGBT bookstores as well as performances by certain gay-friendly bands.
The magazine, which caters to gay and lesbian readers, said the ranking was meant to highlight cities outside the obvious major gay hubs like New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
'Far-less-oppressive-than-it-used-to-be Salt Lake City has earned its queer cred,' the Advocate says, citing anti-discrimination laws that the city has passed in addition to its active nightlife.
Salt Lake City
Gayest in America: Salt Lake City is more LGBT-friendly than cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco, a magazine says
The ranking might be an unconventional choice for readers who associate the city with the Mormon church, which strongly opposes gay marriage.
Additionally, Utah is continually one of the most politically-conservative states in the country. In 2008, it voted for Republican John McCain by a margin of 28 percentage points.
Salt Lake City itself supported Presidential Obama by only the slimmest of margins.
However, the Advocate claims Salt Lake City has a progressive bent that makes it attractive to gays and lesbians -- possibly more attractive even than liberal cities like Austin, Texas, West Hollywood in Los Angeles and college towns like Northampton, Massachusetts.
Enlarge Pride flag
Let it fly: Supporters say Salt Lake City has progressive laws and a gay-friendly nightlife
Utah Pride Festival 2006 in Salt Lake City
Gay in Utah: Hundreds of people gather each year in downtown Salt Lake City for the Utah Pride Festival
The city played frequent host to gay-friendly bands like the Gossip, the Cliks and the Veronicas and offers nude yoga, a lesbian-owned wine bar called Meditrina and a 'packed' gay nightclub, the magazine says.
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE OUTS AMERICA'S GAYEST CITIES
1) Salt Lake City, Utah
2) Orlando, Florida
3) Cambridge, Massachusetts
4) Fort Lauderdale, Florida
5) Seattle, Washington
6) Ann Arbor, Michigan
7) Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
8) Knoxville, Tennessee
9) Atlanta, Georgia
10) Grand Rapids, Michigan
11) Little Rock, Arkansas
12) Portland, Oregon
13) Austin, Texas
14) Long Beach, California
15) Denver, Colorado
The Salt Lake Tribune pointed out that the city also has am openly gay city councilman, Stan Penfold.
Still, many readers criticized the magazine for the factors it cited as being indicative of a strong gay community. The factors include: the presence of a women's NBA team, semifinalists in recent International Mr Leather gay pageant competitions, the number of chapters of the gay group Imperial Court and the number of teams entered in the Gay Softball World Series.
Those criteria were awarded points, which were then divided by the total population -- allowing small towns to compete with big cities like Atlanta and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Even some gay Salt Lake City natives are somewhat skeptical of the informal survey's results.
'If we were having a more scientific survey, I don’t know that we would choose these as indicators,' Valerie Larabee, the director of the Utah Pride Center, told the Salt Lake Tribune.
'All humor aside, I think that our city has come a long way. If we were to rate the cities that have made the greatest amount of progress over the last 10 years, I think we certainly would rank among the top.'
Orlando, Florida came in second place in the ranking. Cambridge, Massachusetts, home of Harvard University and MIT, came in third.
Orlando, Florida
Runner up: Orlando, Florida, was the second-gayest city in the country, followed by Cambridge, Massachusetts, the magazine said
Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084891/Is-Salt-Lake-City-gayest-town-America-Magazine-says-Utah-capital-tops-nude-yoga-LGBT-bookstores.html#ixzz1q4RW31Lu