Name: Chicago’s signature LGBTQ neighborhood will no longer be marketed as Boystown, following complaints that the name excludes women and nonbinary people
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Chicago’s signature LGBTQ neighborhood will no longer be marketed as Boystown, following complaints that the name excludes women and nonbinary people

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AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 23, 2020 at 3:13 pmThe Boystown banners are coming down.Business leaders in Chicago’s largest LGBTQ neighborhood announced Wednesday that they would stop marketing the area as Boystown, following complaints that the 30-year-old name excludes women and gender nonbinary people.AdvertisementBoystown will be called Northalsted and promoted as “Chicago’s Proudest Neighborhood,” according to a statement released Wednesday by the Northalsted Business Alliance, the local chamber of commerce.The announcement follows an online survey by the Northalsted Business Alliance, answered by 7,900 people.AdvertisementOf those survey-takers, 58% favored keeping the Boystown moniker and 20% said they felt unwelcomed by the Boystown name, according to Northalsted Business Alliance spokesperson Jen Gordon.“It definitely felt like we should be doing something about it,” said Gordon. “If (the name Boystown) was making even a small percentage of people feel uncomfortable, it’s not something we should be using to promote the neighborhood.”The Northalsted Business Alliance began the survey in the wake of a The petition says that “systemic transphobia, racism, and sexism have plagued our neighborhood for decades, and it begins at the top, with the all-male board of the Northalsted Business Alliance. It begins with the BOYSTOWN signs down our street announcing that this neighborhood is ‘for the boys.’” Speakers at the Drag March for Change, which drew thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters in June, complained that they were denied jobs or steady work at nightclubs and bars because they were Black.“This is progress," petition co-author Devlyn Camp said of the name change announcement.“I think it’s fantastic that they’re acknowledging the need for change. My question now is, how will the Northalsted Business Alliance continue to implement systemic change that reflects this -- specifically inside their own businesses?”A rival The “Keep Boystown!” petition says the name isn’t intended to be racist or sexist.Advertisement“Ok, Boystown was created by gay men that wanted a safe space for EVERYONE,” one “Keep Boystown!” supporter commented online.“Don’t come @ me because I remember SideTrax as a single storefront with a (W)eber grill in the (alley) on gravel. ... If you feel threatened, out (of) place, or unsafe (c)reate your own spaces like WE had to 40+ years ago! We opened our own bars, restaurants, hair salons and retail stores. ... Go establish yourselves with your own identities and get back to us.”The Northalsted Business Alliance can’t make a formal name change; that decision lies with city planners, mapmakers and aldermen, the business group said.But the Northalsted Business Alliance, which hosts Pride Fest, is a powerful voice for the neighborhood, and the name change will resonate in public celebrations and outdoor embellishments. Already, the written statement said, plans to remove Boystown banners are underway. Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneSep 23, 2020 at 3:13 pmThe Boystown banners are coming down.Business leaders in Chicago’s largest LGBTQ neighborhood announced Wednesday that they would stop marketing the area as Boystown, following complaints that the 30-year-old name excludes women and gender nonbinary people.AdvertisementBoystown will be called Northalsted and promoted as “Chicago’s Proudest Neighborhood,” according to a statement released Wednesday by the Northalsted Business Alliance, the local chamber of commerce.The announcement follows an online survey by the Northalsted Business...

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Nara Schoenberg

The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are named), it remains the most-read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It had the 6th highest circulation for American newspapers in 2017.

Chicago’s signature LGBTQ neighborhood will no longer be marketed as Boystown, following complaints that the name excludes women and nonbinary people

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