Jacksonville Second-Top Metro for Same-Sex Couples with Children

[finehoe]

With the passage of the New York Marriage Equality Act, the number of gay couples in the U.S. who are eligible to marry has now doubled.  Approximately 9 million Americans are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) -- slightly less than four percent of the population, according a recent study by Gary Gates of UCLA's Williams Institute. Approximately half of lesbians and gay men are members of same-sex couples, including an estimated 160,000 who are married, according to Gates' research. Nearly one in five same-sex couple households are raising children, compared to about 45 percent of heterosexual couple households, according to figures from the American Community Survey (ACS).

The list below, drawn from Gates' analysis of data from the ACS, shows the 15 metros that have the largest percentage of same-sex couples raising children under 18 years of age. The densest concentrations of such families are not necessarily in the places where you'd expect to find them. Especially surprising are the metros that don't make the cut -- like San Francisco and New York.




http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/06/top-metros-for-same-sex-couples-with-children/241113/?&utm_content=Google+Reader

[Tacachale]

Interesting. The New York Times reported on this in January.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/us/19gays.html

Another interesting note is that same-sex couples raising children are more common in Southern states than elsewhere in the country. This is especially true of Florida, and even more especially true of Jacksonville. Additionally, the community is much more diverse than the stereotype suggests; black and Hispanic couples are twice as likely to be raising children as white couples.

Also interesting is the note that Jacksonville in particular is attractive to gay couples with children because of the proliferation of gay-friendly churches.

[ubben]

Hopefully Alvin Brown will step up and help pass the Human Rights Ordinance giving Jacksonville's gay and lesbian taxpaying citizens long-delayed equal footing. Did you know that in 2011, a person can be kicked out of a restaurant, bar or hotel in Duval County just because they are gay? Jacksonville's religious extremists have kept us way behind the eight ball on this one compared to other Florida cities. Alvin Brown had the gay community's full support, now lets see him return the favor.

http://eqfl.org/jaxequality/

[Jimmy]

Those talks are ongoing, ubben.  A meeting last night laid out the strategy for getting from here to there. 

The Mayor will need to hear from the community - the whole community - on this issue.  We'll need 10 votes in the Council to send it to the Mayor for his signature.

I don't expect that much other than the budget will get the attention of the Council before October.

[RMHoward]

With the passage of the New York Marriage Equality Act, the number of gay couples in the U.S. who are eligible to marry has now doubled.  Approximately 9 million Americans are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) -- slightly less than four percent of the population, according a recent study by Gary Gates of UCLA's Williams Institute. Approximately half of lesbians and gay men are members of same-sex couples, including an estimated 160,000 who are married, according to Gates' research. Nearly one in five same-sex couple households are raising children, compared to about 45 percent of heterosexual couple households, according to figures from the American Community Survey (ACS).

The list below, drawn from Gates' analysis of data from the ACS, shows the 15 metros that have the largest percentage of same-sex couples raising children under 18 years of age. The densest concentrations of such families are not necessarily in the places where you'd expect to find them. Especially surprising are the metros that don't make the cut -- like San Francisco and New York.




http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/06/top-metros-for-same-sex-couples-with-children/241113/?&utm_content=Google+Reader

Yet another list Jacksonville should not be proud to be near the top of.

[Yossarianlives]

This is a great thing for our city to be associated with.  As long as children are being loved and taken care of, our society should embrace whomever takes care of them.. Good for Jacksonville and hopefully a sign for things to come.  More diversity, more acceptance and more celebration of differnces!

Best

[duvaldude08]

This is actually great for Jacksonville. Growing up here, especially in the 80's and early 90's, being openly gay was well accepted here. Fast forward 30 years later, is nothing to see a gay couple walking in the mall, at the store, or down the street holding hands. As quiet as its kept, there is a enormous number of gay citizens in this city. Alot of them stay in the closet or are "dl" because they are afraid of not being accepted. Its past time for us to embrace diversity and stop beating everyone up with religion.

[simms3]

To me Jacksonville is one of the most gay-hostile cities, but that's just me.  I suspect that we are at the top of the list for a variety of reasons:

a) Big family town no matter who you are and where you are in the town
b) There isn't really a "gay scene" so what else do you have to do?
c) Lots of guys with pre-marriages, kids, and then coming out of the closet...so a good chunk of these kids could be "baggage" because the man didn't feel comfortable being gay from the start
d) Super conservative city where if you don't have kids by the time you're 25 you're kind of considered odd...I guess even if you're gay LoL


In fact I don't really see any "gay" cities on the list.  They are all kind of gay-hostile places not known for having large gay populations or scenes.  Atlanta is in the deep south and it is not on the list.  Oklahoma City is on the list.  That should tell you something right there.  It's not that gays don't want to have kids, but it's not like a traditional thing to do.  I mean a third of gay couples have kids?  That's a significant number.  They should do formal studies on why so many of these couples in these cities have kids and what age they are and where they are from because if the reason is purely because they got past the partying stage, got married, and then adopted or had surrogacies then that would be one thing but if there is a story or the kids are "baggage" then that would explain it.

[Garden guy]

IT's all good now for those wanting children in this state...my partner and i tried for years to go through the state to adopt but our relationship was noted and we were turned down many times..this state and city has been so backward for so many years...now that im older and a bit wornout...kids are fading out of the picture i guess...good luck to all gay parents out there....we're jealous and it's really hard to believe that this state will allow gays to adopt. Three cheers for gay rights in the south.

[duvaldude08]

Jacksonville is definitely changing. In the African American community, being gay is definitely frowned upon. However, over the past few years I have seen surge in straight urban clubs allowing us to use their club for a "gay" night. Which completely baffles me because 20 years ago that would not have happen. It has very successful, at the Skyline on Norwood avenue in particular. Friday's are their busiest nights.

[Bativac]

Jacksonville is definitely changing. In the African American community, being gay is definitely frowned upon. However, over the past few years I have seen surge in straight urban clubs allowing us to use their club for a "gay" night. Which completely baffles me because 20 years ago that would not have happen. It has very successful, at the Skyline on Norwood avenue in particular. Friday's are their busiest nights.

I'm your average white guy, but I work closely with the African American community on several projects in an artistic capacity. What I've noticed is that old prejudices fall by the wayside when people realize there's money to be made. I remember one person I was working with made an off-color comment and I replied, "you know, gay money spends just as well as straight money." Never heard another word from them about it after that.

Maybe not the most noble of reasons to open one's mind, but whatever it takes, right?

[duvaldude08]

Jacksonville is definitely changing. In the African American community, being gay is definitely frowned upon. However, over the past few years I have seen surge in straight urban clubs allowing us to use their club for a "gay" night. Which completely baffles me because 20 years ago that would not have happen. It has very successful, at the Skyline on Norwood avenue in particular. Friday's are their busiest nights.

I'm your average white guy, but I work closely with the African American community on several projects in an artistic capacity. What I've noticed is that old prejudices fall by the wayside when people realize there's money to be made. I remember one person I was working with made an off-color comment and I replied, "you know, gay money spends just as well as straight money." Never heard another word from them about it after that.

Maybe not the most noble of reasons to open one's mind, but whatever it takes, right?

EXACTLY!! I think they finally realize money is money and its kind of like "they are gay, but what the hell theyre not bothering me." Club Christophers has a gay night on Monday as well. It started like two months ago.

[Tacachale]

To me Jacksonville is one of the most gay-hostile cities, but that's just me.  I suspect that we are at the top of the list for a variety of reasons:

a) Big family town no matter who you are and where you are in the town
b) There isn't really a "gay scene" so what else do you have to do?
c) Lots of guys with pre-marriages, kids, and then coming out of the closet...so a good chunk of these kids could be "baggage" because the man didn't feel comfortable being gay from the start
d) Super conservative city where if you don't have kids by the time you're 25 you're kind of considered odd...I guess even if you're gay LoL


In fact I don't really see any "gay" cities on the list.  They are all kind of gay-hostile places not known for having large gay populations or scenes.  Atlanta is in the deep south and it is not on the list.  Oklahoma City is on the list.  That should tell you something right there.  It's not that gays don't want to have kids, but it's not like a traditional thing to do.  I mean a third of gay couples have kids?  That's a significant number.  They should do formal studies on why so many of these couples in these cities have kids and what age they are and where they are from because if the reason is purely because they got past the partying stage, got married, and then adopted or had surrogacies then that would be one thing but if there is a story or the kids are "baggage" then that would explain it.

Well, it is a formal study, and it does discuss those things. The great thing about it is that it challenges a lot of stereotypes about gay people and where they live (including the stereotypes you mention). It challenges the idea that gays are mostly white, well-to-do, and live mostly in "gay cities" in the Northeast or California.

According to the report, gay black and Hispanic couples are twice as likely to be raising children than whites. Additionally, a large portion of children of gay couples are the product of an earlier heterosexual relationship. It's not a stretch to think that growing up going to church is an influence on this, especially churches that are particularly unfriendly to homosexuality, as many Southern churches are (and perhaps especially churches in minority communities).

There are other reasons as well. Gay men that have children, have them at an earlier age than do straight men, and demographics are changing; there are simply a higher proportion of blacks and Hispanics than in previous decades.

As for Jacksonville in particular, I'd imagine it's just got the right mix of traits. It's got the Southern element and a very large minority community, which may influence the phenomenon as I said above. But being in Florida it also has a lot of transplants and diversity, and therefore a strong moderate streak as well, which may make it an attraction. Most of the other Southern cities on that list are similar in that way.

Plus, as you say, it's a good family town for anyone. The NYT names community programs and churches that cater to gay couples raising families as attractions.

[Tacachale]

This is encouraging, but there's still a LOT more to do. It's depressing to think that there are families out there that are restricted from adoption and receiving full health care benefits by state law.

[KenFSU]

This is a great thing for our city to be associated with.  As long as children are being loved and taken care of, our society should embrace whomever takes care of them.. Good for Jacksonville and hopefully a sign for things to come.  More diversity, more acceptance and more celebration of differences!

Absolutely agree.

This is a great category for Jacksonville to be number two in, and really dispels a lot of negative stereotypes people have about the city.

There is, of course, still much work to be done though.