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“The city’s problems with diversity are reflected in Boystown,” noted by Brier, the director of UIC’s gender and women’s studies program, in an interview with WBEZ radio. In the article she wrote for the Chicago Tribune, Schoenberg indicated that there are long-lasting racism and sexism in the Boystown neighborhood against lesbian, transgender, and LGBTQ people of color (Schoenberg, 2020). According to journalist Nara Schoenberg, although Boystown has been an iconic place for the LGBTQ community to advocate inclusivity and equality, there are certain groups that are feeling left out. A petition started by Devlyn Camp on the website is calling for Boystown to change to a gender-neutral name and has collected more than 1400 signatures. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from ĭespite prosperity in the human rights movements, there are some debates about inclusivity that still might be worth addressing. Rainbow elements in the Boystown neighborhood.
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The city installed giant rainbow pillars in the area, which marked the very first time a big city bestowed recognition to a gay neighborhood.įigure 2. In 1997, Boystown was officially recognized as Chicago’s gay district. In an article about gay and lesbian movement in Encyclopedia of Chicago, the author Carl Nash emphasized that Activist’s lobbying and demonstrations directly impelled the Chicago City Council to pass the Human Rights Ordinance in 1988, protecting lesbians, gays, and bisexuals from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations (Nash, 2005).
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LGBTQ residency and booming economic development by gay-related businesses in the North Halsted area helped cement the political clout of the LGBTQ community. As the area continued to attract gay businesses and residents, the street was developing into an LGBTQ identity within a few years.Īs Jackson and Nargis of WBEZ radio noted, the turning point for the LGBTQ community came with the growing populations and property ownership of LGBTQ residents (Jackson, Nargis, 2017). Gradually, medical clinics, gay community centers, and gay bars came and centered in the North Halsted area during the 1970s. According to Tracy Baim, the co-founder, and publisher of Windy City Times, there once were gay areas dispersed across Chicago before the 1960s, yet the discrimination against them pushed individuals and businesses out to the northern side of the city. During the 1960s, homosexuality was still considered as a crime and being gay meant discrimination in one’s personal life and workplace, and even being hospitalized. While Boystown has played a crucial role in the LGBTQ community’s fight for legal equality and social acceptance, the formation of Boystown was due to persecution.