A city of brotherly love? and then some

Wedged between New York City and Washington -- cities with extremely visible gay, lesbian and bisexual communities -- Philadelphia plays the role of the neglected middle child. "The gay community in Philadelphia has its strengths and its shortcomings," said Bob Schoenberg, coordinator of the Program for the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Community at Penn. "The groups of people who are activists is much smaller than it should be, given the size of the city." But while Philadelphia may suffer in terms of the quantity of its gay activists, Ed Hermance, the owner of Philadelphia's Giovanni's Room, the largest gay bookstore in the world, said the quality of the existing efforts rivals many other cities of its size and larger. One example, he said, is the voting guidebook published by the Pennsylvania League of Gay and Lesbian Voters, which clarifies the positions of candidates on every issue and "clarifies a lot of ambiguities." Philadelphia is also hosting the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt this May at the Armory in Center City. Although many say these efforts contribute to the quality of alternate lifestyles, individuals have complained that Philadelphia's gay social scene leaves much to be desired. Philadelphia is "not exactly a hopping gay scene," said Jennifer Manion, College junior and co-editor of the Generation XX magazine. "Not that it sucks, but it's not exactly hopping. It doesn't have a big-city draw like New York and D.C., [which have] a really fun gay scene." Others also noted that Philadelphia gays primarily socialize in private gatherings -- which makes it hard for them to meet new people. "People tend to socialize at private parties and homes," Schoenberg said. "A lot of the social life is not public." Hermance said that one of the highpoints of Philadelphia's social scene is the approximately 150 gay social and political organizations that attempt to unite gays, lesbians and bisexuals through common interests such as sports, hobbies and foreign languages. "I think gay people themselves have a hard time because so much of the public gay world is bars," he said. "But if it's the only social situation, it's not the best place to meet people. [Through organizations] you have a natural way to be with these people instead of trying to make small talk." Hermance also said he thinks that Philadelphia is a little-known tourist treasure for gay individuals. "There's a lot of neat things a lesbian or gay man can do here," he said, citing a tour of Walt Whitman's house, Bessie Smith's house or the Rosenbach Museum and Library.

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