Straight characters who come here for the first time are often in a state of wonder or paranoia towards the locals. Twinks in the midst of their Coming-Out Story will visit the bars here on their first taste of the nightlife. Stories with a predominantly gay cast are often based in this setting. Stories based here tend to feed stereotypes that gay people (particularly the men) do nothing but lounge around pools and have sex all day. These areas might be separate from a big city, and quite affluent due to tourism. The more touristy gayborhoods are often known as "gay meccas," as in, someplace every gay person (.who makes enough money to leisurely travel and has enough interest in the scene) should visit at least once. Religious fundamentalists often preach about the evils of " that part of town," seeing it as a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah, where prostitution and drug abuse run rampant, depraved homosexuals have bare buttsecks out of seedy bathhouses, and where one can't so much as bend over to pick up change without having a Leatherman on top of him like white on rice ( how they know all of this is a different story). You're likely to run into any of the Queer as Tropes archetypes and their friends, see two men hold hands without fear of retribution and meet butch lesbians and manly gays who'll beat the ass of anyone who dares try.ĭue to gentrification, the Gayborhood is often an upscale district, feeding the stereotype that all gay people have money out the yin-yang.
Rainbow flags hang from the streetlights, and the streets are lined with gay bars, boutiques, trendy cafes, and overpriced housing. It's the part of a major city where its LGBT+ community either lives or visits to party.