Posted on 04/24/2006 11:23:54 AM PDT by DBeers
AMERICA'S most famous homosexual community is grappling with a perplexing situation — how to become family-friendly and still retain its legendary spirit of sexual freedom.
The Castro district of San Francisco has been a magnet for homosexuals since the 1967 "Summer of Love", drawing people from across world with its gay pride parades.
But things are changing thanks, in part, to the so-called "gayby boom", the increasing number of same-sex couples becoming parents.
In California nearly 60,000 children are being raised by same-sex couples. In addition, heterosexual families with children are choosing to live there.
The shift has resulted in tension between parents who want the more explicit window displays and posters toned down, and those determined to guard against any censorship.
Clashes between parents and shopkeepers include complaints from a lesbian mother of two about a shop with a sado-masochistic window display.
Others have complained about explicit shop displays and posters that feature naked, sexually aroused men.
"I am happy that people can enjoy a lifestyle that is denied to them back home in Kansas, but there are appropriate standards of behaviour, regardless of your sexual orientation," Jeremy Paul, a father of two boys, told the Los Angeles Times.
Some shop owners say they have removed the most provocative displays.
Mark Walsh, 50, the manager of a gay sex shop called Rock Hard, said: "There are always a few outspoken couples with children, both heterosexual and gay, who expect everything to be prim and proper.
"But this is the Castro, and anybody who moves here knows what they are moving to. We are very sexual people, and we do tend to flaunt it a little … This is the one place in the country where we can all gather and be ourselves and not have to worry."
Some areas of Castro life are adjusting, with children's menus in restaurants and a new gay family float planned for the gay pride parade.
Thom Lynch, the director of the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Centre, said the area was gradually adjusting to its changing make-up.
He had heard of some complaints, including "a woman upset about a Buddhist god with a very large penis".
William Rogers, a city official, said: "Traditionally, the Castro has been about adults, bars, sexual expression and a gay community that has largely focused on adult needs and desires.
"As more lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and queer people have children, there is an inherent tension between preserving that adult community and shifting toward a culture that includes children, and in some ways that means altering the meaning of the Castro to include the needs of children."
Soon to be either AIDS orphans or AIDS patients. God save their souls please
Back in my single days, I went on a weekend-long blind date/double date with a girl in Seattle. Over dinner, she and her friend told me of their co-worker, a lesbian who was impregnated with the assistance of a willing male, a closed bathroom door, and a turkey baster. "Isn't that great!"
She was hot and a tramp, and I used her like Kleenex, but I couldn't wait till our outbound flight.
The problem is that most 'homosexuals' got that way by being molested and that almost all these kids will be molested by the time they are 12. If not by the 'parents', then by the 'parents' friends.
If you think we've seen a plague of 'gay' teen suicide already just wait till these poor kids hit their teen years
Unfortunately, you are probably right.
The queer is the "traditional" homosexual.....
I'm happy to be in Kansas, even if it was in black and white
OMG what a filthy city. I'm so glad I've never been unfortunate enough to be in a place with such vulgarity.
1. It is certainly no surprise that the perverts want to raise fresh new behind into their lifestyle, and
2. Any heterosexual parents who would deliberately take children into a place like San Fransicko should be jailed for child abuse.
I don't think we're supposed to ask 'cause someone might think we're be judgemental, God forbid.
I don't think we're supposed to ask 'cause someone might think we're be judgemental, God forbid.
Well here's one for ya: A couple of weeks ago I read somewhere (here?) about two gay men who both had sex change operations and are now lesbians-with each other! I do wonder if that was made up
I'm proud to be in the older edge of that group! My folks are very leftist and I came to the realization in college that they were outright wrong.
Is it possible to barf and laugh at the same time?
That's what my former roommate believes -- that many of these kids will vehemently reject the lifestyles of those who raised them.
She herself was the daughter of a unwed, boho-type mother and a father she saw only once in her entire life. She refers to him as her "sperm donor."
Wow, Gene Simmons has really let himself go.
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