A reader writes:
Seattle ranked pretty high in the list of "gayest cities", and I agree that we're a super gay city, but I think the criteria used to determine it aren't necessarily accurate any longer. Drag has been dying in Seattle for years, leather has never been big and The Cuff is more frequently referred to as "The Fluff," as shirtless twinks far outnumber the leather daddies around the pool table. I don't know how we got a point for a gay bookstore. Beyond The Closet closed years ago. Gay bars have closed right and left over the time I've been here and The Pink Zone, which specialized in rainbow flag crap, closed down ages ago. WNBA games do have a lot of lesbian fans, but the only Storm fans I know are all straight women and their daughters.
In the 15 years I've lived here, Seattle seems gayer than ever, but at the same time, aside from the political protections, less obviously gay.
I mean, there are tons of gay couples, tons of gay men, and when I mention my husband, people ask questions like they would of any other spouse. When I mentioned how long we'd been married, a coworker replied, "You've been married way too long to not have kids by now."
When I was in college, an older gay may told me he loved Seattle because "there's no pressure to be gay in a particular way in Seattle." And it's just become more and more like that, which paradoxically means that gay-oriented institutions are fading, particularly as more guys meet their boyfriends (and tricks) online.
So I'll accept our high ranking. I'll agree that the legal protections are great, but I'll also argue that what makes Seattle so gay isn't an explosion of gay culture, but rather that gays are so smoothly accepted into society at large that for most of us, gay culture is superfluous.
The Dish 