Midwest Gay Mecca Columbus Ohio

Here is how it looked in photos back in 1973 -

Columbus resident. Born here; most of my family from here back to the early 1900s. I believe Columbus has been reasonably gay-friendly for a long time. Our Pride parade is well-attended and promoted. In my many years of living here, I have heard only one homophobic remark, and that was from an older, Schlitz-and-Cheetohs sort of throwback lady.

I regularly see gay couples--both men and women--walking down the street holding hands or with arms around waists, and no one pays any attention. All good, moving right along, folks. Plenty of trans people here, too--they are left in peace, as far as I can tell.

I hope I'm right about all this. I'm straight, so I may not get the whole picture as it really is.

The OSU alumni were an INCREDIBLE drag on progress and gay acceptance when it came to THE university. As a result, the promise of Columbus, in my opinion, was suffocated in our democratic voting capitol city. It was like advancement came despite our lily livered local governance. Change seemed motivated more by the visibility of beloved out gay weathermen than anything done politically. Columbus should have and could have lived up to it’s reputation. The pride parades were enormous, gay people really did more than their part as upright citizens. Instead Columbus followed the trends instead of setting them and that sucked.

What are the “gay” neighborhoods in Columbus? I may be going to a conference there next year.

Columbus has crime that is completely out of control. The city is Democratic run---and not that great---but the rest of the state is all MAGA. Columbus has plenty of bars, and a bathhouse. But the teenagers running around carjacking and stealing is just getting worse..

R3 Can you name any of those beloved out gay weathermen?

Pride returned in '23 =

Gay Weatherman Marshall McPeek had a bad time for even MENTIONING the LGBT Community. Trust me. Ohio is NOT purple. It is GOP MAGA.

R7, I think R3 might be referring to weatherman Marshall McPeek.

Oh, the earrings!

Oh, the caftans!

Rural Ohio is Crazy Magat. Crazy! Columbus, I think, is okay. You can be gay or trans and pretty safe here. I think.

R7 That hunky black reporter sure is looking good there. Is he one of our own?

NBC did the whole parade but I can't find a single thing from the local ABC channel =

DL Fave/Cutie gay NBC anchor Mark Taylor got the boot a couple of years ago. He would post thirst traps working out at the gym. Super nice guy. Always at the pride parades and friendly. He was replaced by an old white straight man. That wasn't an accident. That was a direction.

I spent 1986-1993 in grad school in Columbus and have visited frequently since. The gay areas then, as now, were German Village and the Short North. Clintonville was primed to turn gay, but it has backtracked.

You can see gay couples walk in public holding hands and so on, but behind their backs, most central Ohioans seethe at them. There is a small nucleus of gayness and acceptance downtown, but it’s surrounded by ignorant bumpkins. There’s good reason people call Columbus “Cowtown.”

The tomatoes, it’s the tomatoes!

R17 LOL!!!

R16, I'm sorry to hear that. I've always wondered if the signs of acceptance (or at least tolerance) I've seen were mostly surface. You are right that Columbus is in many ways a very provincial city.

This guy who i think is in an Uber Driver in Chicago area often uploads his rides. Whenever he travels anywhere he records his drives around the places he visits. This week he uploaded a drive around Columbus.

Is this an accurate look at what Columbus look like? It looks like a perfectly pleasant place. i went through there a few times on a Greyhound bus back in the mid 80s and don't remember the Downtown having so many big buildings back then.

Is that the German Village area and Ohio State campus he goes by in the latter part of the video?

According to OP's video, they already had an Islamic Center in 1979 when this film was made. How progressive!!

Also to try and describe the Columbus area to the relocators coming from the NYC area, Worthington is described in the film as being like Larchmont in Westchester County. Is that comparison still accurate today? I befriended a gay guy in college who liked to throw around that his family lived in Worthington while his father's job, he was a retail/dept store executive. was located in the area. I gathered I was meant to be impressed by this but Worthington held no particular significance to me at that time but i found out later it is/was known in Columbus as being the poshest suburb.

(Found an on-line thread about Appalachians in Columbus area at link)

Plenty of Appalachians everywhere in Columbus. The southern accent is very apparent.

Columbus is devoid of culture. If you want to pretend you're 20 and hang around bars, it's fine. But, if you appreciate the arts and culture, head to Cleveland or Cincinnati.

So it is Sacramento without any of the excitement?

R20 Thanks for posting that.

What are Ohio men like?

In midwest gay mecca Columbus, Ohio all seems to breathe freedom and peace and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.