THERE GOES THE GAYBOURHOOD
STEVE BUSTIN WONDERS WHAT IT IS THAT MAKES A GAY VILLAGE, AND WHETHER THEY ARE ON THEIR WAY OUT
Are gay villages on the way out?
It’s ironic that the gay “village”, sounding like that most rural of settlements, is actually a purely urban beast. Most major cities now boast a gay village, from London’s Soho and Vauxhall, to Manchester’s Canal Street or Brighton’s St James Street.
Some cities have even tried to create a gay village, but most have grown organically from a small cluster of gay businesses (normally bars and clubs) to become a mecca for LGBT people to live, work and party.
“I’ve seen gay villages appear and disperse,” says Josh Rafter, Managing Director of Outlet Property Services, a property agency based in Soho’s Old Compton Street. “When I first started in property, 16 years ago, Earl’s Court was the main gay enclave in London, then people seemed to head to Islington, then Soho came up around the same time and the latest gay village to arrive in London is Vauxhall, although throughout that time there’s also been a big lesbian community living in Hackney.
“What’s interesting, though, is that Soho is no longer really a gay village as it’s just a destination for going out, not for living. It’s only really gay at weekends these days.”
The success of any gay village, Rafter thinks, is dependent on a mix of residential and business usage.
“There has to be a mix of residential and commercial property for a gay village to establish and thrive. You’re looking for a pub or club, maybe a sauna and specialist shops, to drive a community. For example, Vauxhall’s success was driven by the cluster of clubs and retail outlets and now the property developers have moved in.”
Can you create a gay village or does it form, develop and grow organically? Rafter says it has to be organic as LGBT people are too savvy to be cajoled into believing in a gay village. “We know what we want and we’ll follow the trends. We’ve got to want to move there.”
One city is in the process of creating a gay village, however. Liverpool City Council made a decision in 2011 to designate an area of the city
as a gay village, known as the Stanley Street Quarter. Andi Herring is the council project officer with responsibility for the area.
“The community had always been visible in the Stanley Street Quarter. Before 2011 the venues were already there, so in many ways we’re giving official recognition rather than creating it, and we’re looking to see how it can be developed further.
“In consultation with the local LGBT community we’re setting out a plan, a direction for the Stanley Street Quarter. We’re setting out our vision of the brand, with street signs with the rainbow insignia on, so if you’re in the Quarter, you’ll know it’s the gay area.
“You need those types of visual things – venues, flags, street signs etc., to make it clear this is an LGBT safe space. The area has very much a nighttime economy but we wanted it to be seen as somewhere for everyone — but with an LGBT identity. A gay quarter isn’t just about gay people, so we’re creating a destination for people, no matter who they are.”
Is there a danger that this isn’t actually about creating a gay village but just some sort of branding or marketing exercise for a council looking to rebuild a gay-friendly reputation after high-profile homophobic attacks such as the 2008 murder of 18-year-old Michael Causer? Herring disagrees strongly.
“It’s not fair to say it’s just a marketing exercise and it’s certainly not being done for that reason, and it’s not about the council ticking a box. The council wanted to recognise that LGBT people live, work and socialise across the city but that gay life is concentrated in the Quarter.”
So would you want to live in a gay village? To some it’s like coming home, a place where they can be themselves, whereas to others it’s more like a self-serving ghetto.
John Hamilton has lived and worked in Manchester’s gay village for 25 years and run popular LGBT student night Poptastic for the last 18. More recently he’s opened Bar Pop on Canal Street. He sees living in a gay village as almost a rite of passage for young gay people.
“I’d really recommend living in a gay village to someone young. It’s a great place to use as a stepping-stone to being comfortable with your sexuality, to explore who you are as a gay person. It’s party central: you eat, drink and sleep it and I worked here too. I live on the edge of the village now, though — I’ve done my partying and there does come a time when you need to escape that!
“I love working in the village, though. I’ve seen it develop from a couple of venues to an international tourist destination. One of the things that keeps it
“There has to be a mix of residential and commercial property for a gay village to establish and thrive”
fresh is the influx of students every year – you need new blood coming into a village.
“What’s interesting though is that about 80% of people who live in the gay village aren’t from Manchester – they’ve moved here from elsewhere. At Christmas, for instance, it goes dead as everyone goes home. The village does have quite a transient population, but that helps refresh it.
“The other thing that’s changing is that the bars are far more mixed now. You go out to a gay bar not because you’re gay but because you want to go out drinking with your friends, whatever their sexuality. It’s not ‘diluting’ the village, it’s just about social change and acceptance, which I really welcome.”
Not everyone’s as keen on the idea of living in a gay village, however. Matthew Kavanagh lived in Brighton’s gay village for almost 10 years.
“I was based in Kemptown, right in the gay village, but for the last few years I was there I didn’t use the gay scene at all. I loved the community feel and everything being so close but it’s a goldfish bowl and I got sick of seeing the same old faces.
“I also left because the drug scene in the village got completely out of control and I didn’t know any gay men who didn’t do drugs; that was really scary. Everything’s so accessible but that becomes really sad. Now I’m really up for mixed bars and I love having more choice.”
Kavanagh left Brighton last year and moved to London but was careful about which area of the city he chose.
“I live in Stoke Newington now. Somewhere like Vauxhall would not be good for me any more and I don’t think I’ve been into the West End since I moved here. Being gay used to be the main part of my life but as you get older it’s not about that – it’s about being you.”