The Observation Deck

Having the Gay Games in town demonstrates how far the issue of gay rights have come in my lifetime.

Back in the 1980s, Lakewood had the reputation as being the "gay suburb" of Cleveland.
Urban Legend says that Trivial Pursuit (itself a cultural phenomenon in the mid 80s) had a question about Lakewood being the gayest city per capita.
Local disc jockeys and comedians quickly picked up on the stereotype, and it has held for decades.

I've always wondered how accurate that perception really is.

I moved to Lakewood in 1983, and became involved in local politics and causes during the early 1990s. I never noticed a huge gay movement, even within the local Democratic Club.
MY perception could be skewed by the fact that I have never lived on the Gold Coast.
The widespread stereotype was that the Gold Coast was the hub of the local gay population.

Gay rights remained a hot button issue into the 21st century.
Many of us remember the "Gay Flagpole" kerfluffle of 2003.
It generated huge local media coverage, and was one the biggest topics ever on the old Buzz board.

The election of Nickie Antonio in 2005 seemed to be a turning point...we haven't heard much anti-gay stuff since then.

So my questions to the panel are:

Was Lakewood always as gay-friendly as the region perceived?
Or was that just an empty stereotype?
Also, is Lakewood viewed favorably by the gay community today?

My understanding is that Trivial Pursuit was incorrect, and that the gay enclave was in Cleveland, on the other side of west 117th.

But I doubt there is accurate data, as you can't identify someone as gay (an unfortunate use of a word that means something else) unless they make it an issue. Someone posted here that there was no gay bar in Lakewood, and he apparently felt uncomfortable in any bar other than a gay bar; when I read that I asked myself how the bar patrons would know he was gay.

The Trivial Pursuit urban legend is a hoax. I actually wrote the company at the time and they confirmed no such question was ever asked. I saved the letter for a long time and may still have it. I recall the alleged question included other cities, such as San Fran. At the time, I asked everybody I heard repeat the legend to show me the card. They all said they heard of it, but nobody could produce the card.

There was a strong gay community in the Edgewater/Cleveland neighborhood and eastern Lakewood, with a number of gay bars nearby in Cleveland. I was involved in quite a few investigations with the police department where successful citizens, some prominent, were hesitant to report being victims of crimes. That was a shame. We've come a long way since then.

Here is an infographic on how Lakewood ranks:

http://www.columbusunderground.com/info ... ty-in-ohio

Note that in N.E. Ohio Mayfield Hts has the highest % of same sex couples by far

Mike

This entire post seems troubling to me.

BUT

Not as gay as it used to be, and that is a terrible loss for all of us.

With that said, Lakewood needs more great, responsible, creative, families and people of
all lifestyles.

.