LGBT Community

LGBTQ stands for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer. Other groups who are often included in the acronymization are questioning (Q) and intersex (I).

San Francisco has been called a "gay Mecca," referring to the city of Mecca, to which faithful Muslims conduct pilgrimages. This is likely due to San Francisco's reputation as a place that is welcoming for people of diverse sexualities and gender identities (including not just gays, bisexuals and lesbians, but practitioners of BDSM, the polyamorous, transgender people, etc.). It also refers to the high concentration of gay men in the population. Some have speculated that one in three men in San Francisco is gay.

Historian John D'Emilio has asserted that San Francisco's reputation as a city with high concentrations of gay men stems in part from gay sailors being discharged from the Navy here after World War II.

The 2000 census revealed that West Hollywood (in L.A.) had a higher concentration of same-sex households than San Francisco.

• Folsom Street Fair
  

• Castro Street Fair
  

• Frameline LGBT Film Festival
  

• SF Pride Parade
  

• Dyke March
  

• Trans March

• National Center for Lesbian Rights
  

• Lavender Youth Recreation & Information Center (LYRIC)
  

• Our Family Coalition for LGBT families
  

• Community United Against Violence
  

• Gay Asian Pacific Alliance
  

• Gay Shame
  

• BABN , Bay Area Bisexual Network
  

• Betty's List, LGBT News & Events
  

• Center for Sex and Culture
  

• Hillgirlz - for San Francisco Queer Women

• The Castro
  

• Gay Bars
  

• The Charles M. Holmes Campus at The Center
  

• James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center
  

• A Different Light Bookstore
  

• 3 Dollar Bill Cafe

• LGBT Politics
  

• Transgender Politics
  

• Bay Area Reporter

"Is San Francisco Still A Gay Mecca?", Lynn Rappaport, San Francisco Bay Guardian, Vol. 39, No. 38, June 28, 2005.

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