Key West, USA
Introduction
Key West isn’t the kind of place that you just find yourself in one day. Located at the southern-most tip of Florida (and all of the United States), it’s actually a small tropical island at the end of a chain of small tropical islands. One needs to make a determined effort to get there, but it’s worth it.
A longtime artists’ colony, Key West has always been a gay and lesbian travel haven. Basically, it’s a small town that just beats to its own drum, which means everybody is welcome, no matter what your persuasion or persona. Key West has a lot of “firsts” to be proud of: first American city to vote in an openly gay mayor (Richard Hayman elected November 1, 1983), the first American town to actively advertise to gay and lesbian tourists and the first American city to organise a Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Key West’s official motto is “One Human Family”, meaning “all people everywhere are entitled at birth to equal rights, dignity and respect; and lives that are free from prejudice, discrimination, harassment or violence.” You’ll see One Human Family stickers posted all over Key West.
What’s especially interesting about Key West is how gay it is pretty much throughout the entire city. Gays and lesbians hold city council positions, own tons of popular businesses on Duval St, and rainbow flags are just something you’ll see here and there about town. It’s even estimated that about 30% of local police officers are openly lesbian or gay! Lesbians hang out with straight men, straight women, gay men, artists who could play for both teams, drag queens and just about anybody else they find interesting. Key West is the kind of town that people move to in an effort to escape the formality and pressures of the big city.
As to the local lesbian population, it seems like none of the lesbians who live here were actually born in Key West. Many of them are women who’d created a life (usually in the northern United States or overseas), with careers, homes and families. One day they visited Key West and boom, their life was no longer the same. They sold up everything they owned back home and moved south. As a result, you’ll see that women here tend to be more middle-aged, from their mid-30s to 60s.
There’s no real gaybourhood in Key West, because it really is somewhat gay all over. That said, you’re still more likely to find gays and lesbians higher up on Duval street, anywhere between the 700-1200 blocks. Duval is the main drag of Key West and the lower you get, especially around the 200-300 blocks, it really does get a lot straighter, with drunken guys careening through Sloppy Joe’s or Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. And talking about drinking…. the ladies here sure know how to live it up. Good thing everything is so close so you can walk from one spot to the next without the worry of driving or taxis!
I have to give a big thank you to Rebecca in Key West for showing me everything that’s so great about this town.
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