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rfmcdonaldThe neighbourhood centered around the intersection of Church and Wellesley has seen a fair amount of controversy, most recently over suggestions that the neighbourhood is slowly dissolving. Denise Balikisoo's Toronto Star article "Exodus sees Church St. losing its gay village identity" begins with the midnight move of Church Street restaurant Zelda's to a place on Yonge Street.
I have to say, although I really should take advantage of the acclaimed Buddies in Bad Times theatre, since the departure of famed indie bookstore This Ain't the Rosedale Library--also driven out by rising real estate prices--the only thing attracting me to the area are the people. It would be nice, as some quoted in the article noted, if the neighbourhood could attract a more diverse audience, reaching out to younger demographics and more diverse backgrounds. I'd like the gaybourhood to remain vibrant.
Xtra blogger Matt Mills argues that the neighbourhood is still going strong.
That's true to a certain extent, I suppose, but only to a certain extent: archives don't draw mass audiences, and frankly, the people active on Church Street's entertainment scene only constitute a small fraction of the queer people out in the Greater Toronto Area. I tend to think of the gaybourhood as an immigrant enclave: the first generations stay put, but as integration proceeds the diaspora from the ersatz homeland accelerates. There's always going to be queer content to Church and Wellesley, just as there's always going to be a Greek presence in Greektown, but as I understand it Greek-Canadians make up a single-digit percentage of the Greektown population.
Gentrification is a flashpoint in any city, but in the Church-Wellesley village, the exodus of old inhabitants in recent years has political undertones.
Historically, the neighbourhood has been a place of comfort for those whose sexuality once made them social outcasts, but in 2009, the very concept of a gay village is in transition.
Rapidly rising housing prices mean Church-Wellesley is hardly the "ghetto" it was in the years before same-sex marriage and other such victories.
And for the young people who could be the neighbourhood's future, the labels "gay" and "lesbian" are just a starting point for self-discovery.
[. . .]
Church St. evokes mixed feelings for Jaques. First drawn there expecting an embrace of non-mainstream expressions of gender and sexuality, Jaques says the village imposes its own boxes.
"Not being rejected was as good a welcome as you were going to get," Jaques says of being a young trans person in the village. She has had ample opportunity to size up the neighbourhood – she lives at the Turning Point youth centre on Wellesley after being kicked out of her father's house two years ago.
Jaques has also attended the Wednesday night trans youth group at the 519 Church Street Community Centre for two years.
Preferring Dungeons and Dragons to bar-hopping, Jaques is tired of people who seem exasperated when she responds "a writer" to the constant question of "what are you?"
"You need some kind of personality beyond being queer," says Jaques, who prefers to spend free time at Sketch, an arts centre for youth at Queen and Spadina. "Honestly, on Church, there isn't a whole lot to do."
I have to say, although I really should take advantage of the acclaimed Buddies in Bad Times theatre, since the departure of famed indie bookstore This Ain't the Rosedale Library--also driven out by rising real estate prices--the only thing attracting me to the area are the people. It would be nice, as some quoted in the article noted, if the neighbourhood could attract a more diverse audience, reaching out to younger demographics and more diverse backgrounds. I'd like the gaybourhood to remain vibrant.
Xtra blogger Matt Mills argues that the neighbourhood is still going strong.
This year The Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives celebrated the opening of its brand new home, a dedicated building in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood. The 519 Church St Community Centre celebrated a fancy new addition. The Church St Fetish Fair, Halloweek and Toronto Pride celebrations drew record crowds. The International Gay and Lesbian Tourism Association held a huge trade show in Maple Leaf Gardens. Scores of gay and lesbian athletes represented Toronto at the World Outgames in Copenhagen.
Pride Toronto is gunning for World Pride in 2014 and stands a good chance of getting it. Woody’s celebrated its 20th anniversary. Xtra celebrated its 25th anniversary. Fab is celebrating its 15th anniversay. Pink Triangle Press, which publishes Xtra and fab, completed an office renovation and continued to grow its worldwide audience of gay and lesbian people.
Visit Church St any night of the week, especially on weekends, to see thousands of queer people from all walks of life enjoying themselves.
All the above, and whatever else I’ve inadvertently left out, is missing from Balkissoo’s story.
Gentrification is a real phenomenon, in no way peculiar to Toronto. It is more expensive to live here than it used to be. This is true of urban centres around the world and various neighbourhoods across Toronto. But change is inevitable. The Church Wellesley neighbourhood is and always has been in a state of flux. Businesses, people and institutions naturally come and go over time. It is the way of things everywhere.
That's true to a certain extent, I suppose, but only to a certain extent: archives don't draw mass audiences, and frankly, the people active on Church Street's entertainment scene only constitute a small fraction of the queer people out in the Greater Toronto Area. I tend to think of the gaybourhood as an immigrant enclave: the first generations stay put, but as integration proceeds the diaspora from the ersatz homeland accelerates. There's always going to be queer content to Church and Wellesley, just as there's always going to be a Greek presence in Greektown, but as I understand it Greek-Canadians make up a single-digit percentage of the Greektown population.
