Some of us predicted that gay marriage might have this impact on gay culture:
The headline of the lead story in last week’s Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco’s gay newspaper of record, said it all: “Gay families join Easter Egg Roll.”
We’ve come a long way from the Stonewall riot, the sexual liberationism of the 1970s, and “We’re Here, We’re Queer, Get Used to It.” There are unmistakable signs that the emphasis on relationships and families in gay life, politics, and media is having traditionalizing effects on gay culture.
This is evident in the causes and trends that have dominated the gay movement for the past 15 years or so: serving in the military, joining the Boy Scouts, attending services at large gay-friendly churches, and above all, gay marriage.
This development can even be seen in America’s capital of gay sexual liberation, San Francisco. Recent stories in the B.A.R . and the Los Angeles Times document the beginnings of a change in attitudes toward open and explicit displays of sexuality in the Castro. The change is being spurred especially by gay families with children, who want a more family-friendly environment and are chafing at a culture they see as saturated with sex.
Conservatives have long argued that marriage and family help individuals to be virtuous. How odd that if this trend in gay culture continues conservatives will be among the most surprised.
Posted by conor friedersdorf in Uncategorized