Vox Media's food blog Eater's first
documentary takes a look at the gentrification happening in the
hospitality industry in Chicago's Boystown, America's oldest
gayborhood.
Boystown in Chicago is a
23-minute documentary that explores the rapid changes happening to
Boystown's bars, restaurants and nightclubs.
From the documentary's description:
“On the Northside of Chicago,
sandwiched just east of Wrigley Field and west of Lake Michigan, is
Boystown. Established in the late 1960s as the Nation’s first
official gay neighborhood and one of the only safe spaces for LGBTQ
people to openly live their lives in the entire city. It has become
one of the city's well known areas. Seemingly overnight rent prices
have skyrocketed, resulting in many people in the area being pushed
out. Gay bars have begun to close and are being replaced by trendier
and more mainstream restaurants that cater to all. Programs for LGBT
homeless people have vanished. It is the first government designated
‘gayborhood’ by any US government, and the Pride Parade attracts
over 1 million people annually to its streets.”
“As this community continues to make
great strides towards full equality in the United States – even
under the Trump administration – the future for this neighborhood
that was always a beacon of gay hope may be losing its sparkle.”
Boystown in Chicago is hosted by
Zach Stafford, editor-in-chief of INTO, a new digital LGBT magazine
launched by Grindr, a dating app for gay and bisexual men.