ABSTRACT
Across America, former gay havens are making way for straights. As ever more straight women and then straight men come to party and ultimately to live in these areas, soaring property taxes and rents have driven many gays (especially young gays) out, if they were not already leaving to settle in newly gay-friendly straight neighborhoods. Families (both gay and straight) have also moved in, introducing the sound of tame baby rattles to a formerly pulsating and vibrant adult-only zone.As the “gay community” increasingly moves online, how much does this decline of a geographically based gay public space really matter?
