Of the four places you mentioned, only one is a gay bar (though Valanni and Tria are both very gay friendly, not least because of the orientations of the male servers). If another "trendy" lounge or two opened, it would only slightly tilt the balance. And in this case, trendy just really means clean, well-appointed, and having somewhat contemporary design.

Damn, man, you need to take your gaydar in for recalibration! I've gotten scorched by the flames as I walk past the "Homo Hut" at times, and there aren't any white boys doing the flaming.

Have you ever seen the movie Paris Is Burning? You, especially, need education in this strata of gay America. No, not everything these kids do is pretty -- you're treated to an incident of shoplifting in the film -- but it's clear that these aren't dangerous thugs but rather lost children who have little to affirm themselves save one another. Would you rather they aped 50 Cent than Manolo Blahnik?

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
“Basically I figure guns are like gays: They seem a lot more sinister and threatening until you get to know a few; and once you have one in the house, you can get downright defensive about them.” --Theresa Neilson Hayden

To be honest, thunda, while you never look less than cute, I've never classed you with the fashion plates.

I think I understand what you're getting at and will return to the subject when there's time, but I've got a train to catch.

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Sandy Smith, Exile on Market Street, Philadelphia
“Basically I figure guns are like gays: They seem a lot more sinister and threatening until you get to know a few; and once you have one in the house, you can get downright defensive about them.” --Theresa Neilson Hayden

Thanks

No, I have neither the money nor the temperament to truly be a fashionista, but I do try to wear flattering cuts, colors, and patterns, and coordinate, etc. But I'm not really talking about people who only leave the house when every article of clothing has an Italian name. I just mean putting a bit of effort into one's appearance - like, enough not to be a schlub.

I'm missing something here, just WHAT was "racist" in sparky's comment?

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"Accept the fact that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue"

BITCH WHACHOOTALKIN 'BOUT CHILE?!

*snap snap snap*

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Buh-bye.

EC you look AMAZING in that little pink hat and matchin scarf!!! Where'd you get em??

Seriously? Maybe, just perhaps, that he's blaming Philly's "always [being] knocked down" on a bunch of "losers" who are "all black?" Because he's calling them "hardly an element of the gay community" because he thinks they "act like animals?" I'm not sure what else you could call it besides racist.

Sounds to me that if you act like some kind of idiot, and follow the crowds of other idiots, you get labelled accordingly, whatever color you are.
Personally if I observed a bunch of rowdy people on the street, I'd look down on them because I don't condone that sort of behavior. Furthermore, if the people repeatedly involved in such behavior, as sparky mentioned, were always black, I'd include that fact, but I hardly think that's being racist. It's merely being descriptive.

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"Accept the fact that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue"

What's wrong with a group of people congregating in the street outside an entertainment venue after an event? Are college students looked down upon when they take over the streets of Center City for their annual graduation bar crawl? What about Eagles fans after a sporting event? People like to socialize, especially young people. Rather than judging kids for being kids, I think the larger concern is the obvious lack of a social outlet for gay teens aptly demostrated by their presence on the streets of the Gayborhood. The scene on 13th Street outside of Okay Pizza is no different than mall rats hanging out at King of Prussia or high school kids hanging out at Denny's at 1am.

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The idealistic are no longer concerned with influencing public opinion and creating a free world of responsible and ethical social choices, but rather imposing opinion through legislation, mandating these ethics, and outlawing choice in what the loudest sample finds offensive.

Ban the Bans. It's a slippery slope between Idealism and Fascism.