WASHINGTON – D.C. isn’t just the nation’s capital – it’s the nation’s gay capital, according to the Advocate magazine.
And you don’t have to go far to find another gay center, according to the magazine – Arlington is ranked No. 10 on Advocate’s 2014 list of the gayest cities in America.
The magazine’s criteria are a mix of the serious and the seemingly whimsical, “designed to uncover the hidden factors that give a city its queer cred.” The numbers were then adjusted for population to get a per capita gayness quotient.
The District’s 17 LGBT elected officials weighted heavily in its ranking, while the magazine also cited gay-friendly neighborhoods such as 17th Street, near Dupont Circle, and the Logan Circle area. They were also tongue-in-cheek – we think – when they counted notoriously teary House Speaker John Boehner as a factor: “Bring extra Kleenex if you invite him over for a Nora Ephron flick on movie night.”
Arlington made the list largely thanks to hot spots such as Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant and the Galaxy Hut. They also scored points for having a gay-rodeo association (as does the District).
And both cities made the list despite low scores in the category of “concert appearances by Mariah Carey, Pink, Lady Gaga and The Jonas Brothers.”
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