How gay is England?

[T_i_B]

I'm just wondering what a gay map looks like.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gayrights/story/0,12592,1179316,00.html

Well, we are now officially on the map. The very first gay map of England and Wales, based on information from the 2001 census, shows that lesbians and gays are moving out of the ghetto and gravitating towards coastal towns and the countryside, as well as big cities.

Brighton is the gay mecca of Britain, with 2.5% of all couples there self-defined either as gay or lesbian; there are similar numbers in Islington, Lambeth, Camden and other parts of London, as well as in Manchester, the "gay capital of the north". Relatively high proportions are also found in university towns such as Cambridge, Lancaster, Oxford and Exeter, and in other seaside towns, including Blackpool, Cromer, Bournemouth, Eastbourne, Hastings, Worthing and Penzance. Hebden Bridge, the self-proclaimed "lesbian hub" of the north, also stands out, as do similar "escape areas" in the west of Cornwall and north Wales.

In social, as well as residential settings, gays and lesbians have historically been thrown together with other marginalised groups. The pubs and clubs we used were often illegal shebeens, used by a variety of criminalised groups such as prostitutes, pimps and petty criminals. The end of the evening inevitably saw fights break out between the factions.

However, a 2001 Mori poll commissioned by Stonewall suggested that this is changing, as people from a variety of backgrounds start to live together in a little more harmony. It was found that people who live where there is diversity are less likely to be prejudiced against others. There have been other significant changes in recent years. There is a class of gay men pioneering new trends because of a combination of disposable income, interest in fashion and artistic ability. In Manchester, for example, the arrival of the gay community sparked off the conversion of loft apartments that spawned a whole new trend in interior design. Nowadays, a gay presence in a neighbourhood can push up house prices, whereas 20 years ago the visible presence of lesbians and gays would have meant the area was less desirable to others.

[non sociopath skin]

1. Whatever it looks like, thanks for posting the article.

I was saddened, if not surprised, to see that the area where I live - Wansbeck, in the North East of England - was one of the least gay-friendly areas in the UK (It's also far and away one of the most racist).

I guess the pattern is that the old industrial areas - far away from the Cosmopolitan capital - with their traditional macho culture score badly against the more diverse South on diversity and tolerance.

The Skin

[whirlygigspin]

2. England is sooooooooo gay

even their head of state is a Queen!

[T_i_B]

4. "more diverse South"?

I live in Essex and it's certainly not as diverse as Sheffield, where I grew up. I do see racism and various other bigotries in full swing in many parts of the home counties. You are right that diversity is the best defence against bigotry though IMHO. It's just the the divide in my experience tends to be between town and country, with the big cities being where you get more different people mixing and learning to live with each other.

[shekina]

3. England is 10x gayer than America

And that's just London and Liverpool alone.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

5. England's fairly gay. Scotland, Wales and Ireland, not so much.

English pop culture has contained a large gay component for the last century. The relationship between the audience and gay entertainers has developed over that century to a point where famous gay people are (mostly) as accepted as any other celebrities. Well done, England.

[Droopy]

6. Are gays and lesbians allowed to marry in England?