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Amin Ghaziani, a University of British Columbia sociologist who studies the intersection of geography and LGBTQ identities, says an out-and-proud culture leads to a snowball effect.
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That, in turn, inspires others to come here. “Columbus is seen as kinda the epicenter of LGBTQ life in Ohio, and certainly between the big three cities - Cincy, Cleveland and Columbus," Feingold says. He adds that cultural events like Pride and organizations like Stonewall Columbus earned the city a reputation. “Columbus has been holding, for instance, the Pride Parade since right around 1981, 1982, and other cities in Ohio have just hosted their first Pride festivals in the last few years," Feingold says. He says that the city was, in general, far ahead of the rest of the state. The roots of Columbus’s status as a LGBTQ-friendly city predate Applegate’s move here in the 1990s.Įric Feingold, curator at the Ohio History Connection, works with the Gay Ohio History Initiative. "Most of the employees were LBGT-identified, and that was a really safe space to be every day.” It was all queers, all day long, all the time," Applegate says, laughing. “I got my first job after graduate school at a coffee shop that was really like the Cheers of the LGBT community. WOSU The Short North has historically been Columbus' "gayborhood," and businesses across the district make a point of showing acceptance. I was drawn to knowing there was a community here."Īnd she found that community almost immediately. "I didn’t really care - I didn’t know anything about Columbus. I had no job, I didn’t have an intention to stay, really," Applegate says. "I moved here with that whole purpose in mind. As an out lesbian navigating her identity as a young adult, Applegate says she wanted to be surrounded by other people in the LGBTQ community. “People have been asking this question for the whole 25 years I’ve been here," Applegate says. Those designations may be relatively new, but Julia Applegate from the Institute For LGBTQ Health Equity at Equitas Health says the question is anything but. In 2010, the Gay/Lesbian Index listed Columbus as one of the top 20 “gayest” cities in America. That's a larger percentage than New York City and Washington, D.C., let alone fellow Midwest cities like Indianapolis (4.2 percent), Cleveland (3.7), Cincinnati (3.2) and Pittsburgh (3.0). A 2015 Gallup poll put Columbus in the top 15 of the nation’s 50 largest metro areas with 4.3 percent of its population identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The experience spurred her to ask WOSU's Curious Cbus project, “Why is there such a large LGBTQ population in Columbus?”ĭata backs up Megan’s instinct. People were very openly gay, which was very comforting, too.” "I was looking for a bicycle and all the bike stores had flags everywhere and it was really nice to see that. “There were just pride flags everywhere and 'Make America Gay Again’ flags," Bursey says.
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Megan Bursey noticed something different about Columbus when she visited her girlfriend last December.