Will Boystown become Rainbow Way?
Neighborhood name change being considered
Will Boystown become Queerville, Legacy Street, New Town or Spectrumville?
Under pressure from a Change.org petition that complains about the gendered nature of the name Boystown, particularly in the context of local incidents of sexism, racism and transphobia, business leaders in Chicago’s most prominent LGBTQ neighborhood have begun the process of considering a name change.
The influential Northalsted Business Alliance board said in a written statement that it had formed a committee to begin outreach to businesses and community members, with the goal of gaining “important perspective” on a possible name change.
“This process will likely take a few months, as we listen to the community feedback and engage in broad-based efforts beyond just a possible name change, but a commitment to learning how to ensure the neighborhood moves forward as an inclusive and welcoming neighborhood for all,” the statement said.
More than 900 people have signed a Change.org petition calling on the Northalsted Business Alliance to stop marketing the neighborhood as Boystown.
Introduced two weeks ago, the petition says that “systemic transphobia, racism, and sexism have plagued our neighborhood for decades, and it begins at the top, with the all-male board of the Northalsted Business Alliance. It begins with the BOYSTOWN signs down our street announcing that this neighborhood is ‘for the boys.’”
The petition comes at a time when Boystown’s power structure is increasingly under fire from transgender people of color:
Speakers at the Drag March for Change, which drew thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters in June, complained that they were denied jobs or steady work at nightclubs and bars because they were Black.
Petition co-author Devlyn Camp, who is gender nonbinary and uses they/ them pronouns, said the neighborhood needs to be more welcoming and inclusive.
“It’s something I’ve been passionate about for a long time,” they said. “I’ve worked in the neighborhood for years, and I’ve seen firsthand how people are treated in the North Halsted area, particularly transgender people of color, particularly women. I’ve been out with friends who are lesbians, and they’ve been told by gay men in the bars, ‘Why are you here? This isn’t your neighborhood.’”
They said they’ve seen transgender women called “horrible names,” sometimes by gay men, sometimes by men from other communities who didn’t seem to understand that Boystown is a diverse LGBTQ space.
“We need something on our marketing, on our flags, that says what you should expect in this neighborhood,” Camp said. “And what you should expect is queer people from all different intersections of queer identity. Not just gay men.”
Northalsted Business Alliance spokesperson Jen Gordon said via email that before the pandemic, the alliance’s diversity and inclusion committee began “a series of seminars for Board members aimed at confronting racial and gender biases.” The committee is working on a new program of seminars and other initiatives that will be available to all business alliance members, she said.
While the Boystown moniker has a rich history that includes Pride Parades drawing 1 million people, popular bars and nightclubs, and the Midwest’s most comprehensive LGBTQ community center, Center on Halsted, awareness of diversity in the LGBTQ community has grown in recent years, leading some to question whether the name is still appropriate.
Camp said the Black Lives Matter protests were among the inspirations for the petition.
“It felt like the moment when people would finally listen to something like this,” they said.
Camp suggests replacing the name Boystown with Legacy Street, a reference to the North Side neighborhood’s outdoor LGBTQ history exhibit, Legacy Walk, which celebrates the achievements of a diverse group of activists and pioneers.
Joe Lewis, co-chair of the newly formed Chicago Black Drag Council, offered a range of options for renaming Boystown, including Queerville, Rainbow Way and New Town.