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Why are there so many gays in Columbus?

Home ▸ Archive ▸ Serious Business ▸ Why are there so many gays in Columbus?
Little Danny's avatar

Little Danny

Senior Member

4,288 posts
Nov 2, 2010 7:41 PM
Let me preface my post with the famous quote from Seinfeld "Not that there is anything wrong with it". I'm not here to judge the lifestyle, condone or condemn it....

I am just curious. I grew up a military brat and lived and spent time in every corner of the country. I lived overseas for three years. I have been to San Fran, NY, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Philly, Dallas, Seattle, Boston, Baltimore, you name it. Aside from SF and maybe Miami, I have never seen so many homosexuals collected in one place in all my life. What's more, it is in a city that is not "metropolitan" like some of the cities listed above. Columbus, for all practical purpose, is a small town that has grown into a very large city. There is a reason it is called "Cowtown". What's the attraction to Columbus to that portion of our population?
Nov 2, 2010 7:41pm
Fly4Fun's avatar

Fly4Fun

Senior Member

7,730 posts
Nov 2, 2010 7:42 PM
It's you... they're all here to win your affection.
Nov 2, 2010 7:42pm
se-alum's avatar

se-alum

The Biggest Boss

13,948 posts
Nov 2, 2010 7:48 PM
I imagine this thread will be VERY civil....lol
Nov 2, 2010 7:48pm
sleeper's avatar

sleeper

Legend

27,879 posts
Nov 2, 2010 7:58 PM
Columbus contains one of the premier Universities in the country, and with that comes the near evaporation of any ignorance. We accept people for who they are, not who they have sex with.
Nov 2, 2010 7:58pm
Q

queencitybuckeye

Senior Member

7,117 posts
Nov 2, 2010 8:13 PM
Actually (I can't believe I'm saying this) Sleeper is not that far off. There aren't a lot more gays IMO, they're just more open as Columbus tends to be exceptionally accepting.
Nov 2, 2010 8:13pm
S

Steel Valley Football

Senior Member

4,548 posts
Nov 2, 2010 8:17 PM
The answer has to do with benefits I think or something along those lines. Columbus extends some sort of occupational help to the gays, but I'm not sure of the details.
Nov 2, 2010 8:17pm
Little Danny's avatar

Little Danny

Senior Member

4,288 posts
Nov 2, 2010 8:52 PM
I don't buy that OSU is any more tolerant of anyone being gay than anyone else. Universities for the most part are very open minded on the subject compared to the general public. If that were the case, we would see many other major cities with universities with equal representation as compared to Columbus.
Nov 2, 2010 8:52pm
S

sportchampps

Senior Member

7,361 posts
Nov 2, 2010 8:59 PM
i believe columbus has second highest rate per capita behind san fran
Nov 2, 2010 8:59pm
S

Steel Valley Football

Senior Member

4,548 posts
Nov 2, 2010 9:44 PM
The answer is Columbus has very strict worker discrimination laws. That's what a homo I know told my wife on Twitter.
Nov 2, 2010 9:44pm
S

Sonofanump

Nov 2, 2010 10:06 PM
enigmaax;542860 wrote:According to this, Columbus isn't even in the top 101 gay cities:

http://www.city-data.com/top2/c11.html

And to this, its like #12 on the list of mostly major cities:

http://fabulouslyinthecity.blogspot.com/2008/08/gay-america-metropolitans.html

Side note, famously NOT gay is Pittsburgh.

No way that list is accurate, only 3.1% of Key West is gay? I think they put the decimal in the wrong place.
Nov 2, 2010 10:06pm
S

Steel Valley Football

Senior Member

4,548 posts
Nov 2, 2010 10:22 PM
All the homos I grew up with...ended up in ccrunner's butthole!!
Nov 2, 2010 10:22pm
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derek bomar

Senior Member

3,722 posts
Nov 2, 2010 10:26 PM
ccrunner609;542907 wrote:All the homos I grew up with ended up in Columbus

rooming with you
Nov 2, 2010 10:26pm
A

Al Bundy

Senior Member

4,180 posts
Nov 2, 2010 10:48 PM
MLS
Nov 2, 2010 10:48pm
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Nov 3, 2010 12:03 AM
^^ What?
Nov 3, 2010 12:03am
Little Danny's avatar

Little Danny

Senior Member

4,288 posts
Nov 3, 2010 12:07 AM
Al Bundy;542989 wrote:MLS
Funny, I don't know of any Columbus Crew bars in the Short North or Victorian Village (then again I do not know the Short North or VV that well).
Nov 3, 2010 12:07am
Cat Food Flambe''s avatar

Cat Food Flambe'

Senior Member

1,230 posts
Nov 3, 2010 12:16 AM
Interesting observation. Even out here in the 'burbs of Hilliard, two of the six houses on my cul-de-sac are occupied by same-sex couples. Frankly, they're best neighbors we have - I'll take them over the hillbilly couple a couple of houses around the corner any day of the week. They get into a driveway-to-front door screaming match at least twice a month, followed by someone peeling out of the driveway, yelling "F--- you, bitch/bastard" at the top of their lungs.

Anyone have stats on education levels in Greater Columbus vs. Cleveland or Cincytucky? Maybe that has something to do with it - is Columbus just more accepting of different lifestyles? As a parallel, look at the racial problems Cincinnati has had in the past decade.
Nov 3, 2010 12:16am
krambman's avatar

krambman

Senior Member

3,606 posts
Nov 3, 2010 12:39 AM
To be honest I don't know why, although I do believe that as others have stated, Columbus has some laws that are very friendly to same-sex couples, and it also likely something that has just built over time. It likely started with a small population and as they gained acceptance it gain a reputation as a gay-friendly city so more and more homosexuals moved into the area. Also, as far as Midwestern cities go, Columbus is pretty progressive and accepting and (until recently) it's had one of the best and most diverse job markets of any major city in this part of the country. I would also be interested to see the percentage of the population in Columbus that has college and post-graduate degrees. Areas with a higher percentage of highly educated tend to be more tolerant and gay friendly.
Nov 3, 2010 12:39am
G

Ghmothwdwhso

Senior Member

534 posts
Nov 3, 2010 1:06 AM
Little Danny;542709 wrote:Let me preface my post with the famous quote from Seinfeld "Not that there is anything wrong with it". I'm not here to judge the lifestyle, condone or condemn it....

I am just curious. I grew up a military brat and lived and spent time in every corner of the country. I lived overseas for three years. I have been to San Fran, NY, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Philly, Dallas, Seattle, Boston, Baltimore, you name it. Aside from SF and maybe Miami, I have never seen so many homosexuals collected in one place in all my life. What's more, it is in a city that is not "metropolitan" like some of the cities listed above. Columbus, for all practical purpose, is a small town that has grown into a very large city. There is a reason it is called "Cowtown". What's the attraction to Columbus to that portion of our population?



Duh.... OSU Football fans.....It's difficult to out number that group.
Nov 3, 2010 1:06am
C

cbus4life

Ignorant

2,849 posts
Nov 3, 2010 2:33 AM
krambman;543214 wrote:To be honest I don't know why, although I do believe that as others have stated, Columbus has some laws that are very friendly to same-sex couples, and it also likely something that has just built over time. It likely started with a small population and as they gained acceptance it gain a reputation as a gay-friendly city so more and more homosexuals moved into the area. Also, as far as Midwestern cities go, Columbus is pretty progressive and accepting and (until recently) it's had one of the best and most diverse job markets of any major city in this part of the country. I would also be interested to see the percentage of the population in Columbus that has college and post-graduate degrees. Areas with a higher percentage of highly educated tend to be more tolerant and gay friendly.

This.

Huge university town, good % of the population with college and post-grad degrees...usually equals a more tolerant environment.
Nov 3, 2010 2:33am
S

sjmvsfscs08

Senior Member

2,963 posts
Nov 3, 2010 3:09 AM
Not sure why, but it's definitely undeniable:

Nov 3, 2010 3:09am
nc52's avatar

nc52

and he comes in the night

419 posts
Nov 3, 2010 3:15 AM
gerbil village????????
Nov 3, 2010 3:15am
Y-Town Steelhound's avatar

Y-Town Steelhound

Underrated

1,388 posts
Nov 3, 2010 6:49 AM
Probably because of the Short North...
Nov 3, 2010 6:49am
se-alum's avatar

se-alum

The Biggest Boss

13,948 posts
Nov 3, 2010 8:00 AM
Y-Town Steelhound;543399 wrote:Probably because of the Short North...
I would say the Short North is a result of the high homosexual population, not so much a cause.
Nov 3, 2010 8:00am
T

Tiernan

Senior Member

13,021 posts
Nov 3, 2010 8:16 AM
Schmidt's Sausage Haus is a major factor
Nov 3, 2010 8:16am