[MNMike]

Damn typo...thats supposed to say "southern road trip"!

hey there southern forumers....

At the end of January a friend of mine and I are flying down to Austin, then driving to New Orleans. I have spent quite a bit of time in Austin, so I know whats up there, but I have a couple questions that maybe some of you can help me with...

This may sound like a stupid question to some of you...but should two gay men feel concerned driving between Houston and New Olreans? I haven't spent much time outside of cities in this region, and you all know the stigma about treatment of gays in the rural south...any truth to it? Anything we should be aware of in particular? Sorry if it sounds like a dumb question, but better safe than sorry eh?

Secondly...I have been to New Orleans once before, last July. Spent all my time in the French Quarter pretty much, had a great time. I am looking forward to cooler weather this time of the year so I can get in some good site seeing. What areas of the city should I check out that are interesting and SAFE to explore now? After Katrina I am sure there are more areas that, at least for now, the average tourist should probably avoid. How about Uptown and the Garden District, are they doing well now? what should I see there, or elsewhere in the city? I travel often and am comfortable in urban atmospheres, and with "grittier" areas, but New Orleans is kind of a special case right now. While trying to recover from such a major disaster, I am sure there are areas that have some major crime issues that I will want to steer clear of. I look forward to pumping a lil' bit of my money into the NO economy at a time when I know they really need it! I just don't want to be a dumb tourist and end up in a horribly dangerous area by mistake.

If anyone can give me some honest advice and tips,it would be greatly appreciated!
Anything about safety, restaurants, spots that I definately need to see... and the like.

[MNMike]

29 people have viewed this thread, and no one knows anything? Hmmm...

[KB0679]

I don't live in either Louisiana or Texas, so I really can't be of any help. Sorry.

[atl2phx]

i could give you all kinds of advice for travelling between atlanta, charlotte, savannah, charleston and most of the SEC college towns inbetween, but i'm not that versed in the areas between austin and NO. i will say this however, it's generally true in the south that there are three types of locales which directly relate to how well you're received as two gay men: metro's driven by commerce and business (ATL/CLT come to mind) are accepting so long as you're contributing to the local economy AND/OR minding "your business", tier II bastions of culture (i.e. Savannah, Charleson and NO) tend to be accepting so long as you're making an effort to fit in and not trying to "change their culture"....for example, two men dining at peninsula grill in charleson would'nt really turn heads unless they are exhibiting PDA or demonstrating overtly gay stereotypes, and lastly, there are all the other small towns, which much like the rest of america is a mixed bag. small town culture in the south and how gay men are received in augusta georgia may not be much different that how they're accepted in augusta maine....i've found that small towns are small towns with some of the most prejudiced being in places like massachusetts, michigan, california and minnesota, just to name a few.

[Chris Creech]

I actually did a road trip years ago from Atlanta to Austin for the Austin International Poetry Festival. I had some extra time off and thought I'd make an interesting road trip out of it.

Austin to New Orleans - isn't actually all that long a trip. It's a touch over 8 hrs., so you could even do it in a day.

Part of the problem will just be sheer boredom. That area doesn't strike me so much as "backwoods redneck" as just isolated.

But I found it pretty enjoyable, there's lots of little "safe" fast food joints, and chain hotels on the interstates, but also some interesting little small town finds. I actually enjoy exploring those little places like that.

Now I grew up a small town southern boy, and though I'm a gay man, I do find that OTP (outside the perimeter) I do slide a bit more into "good ole boy" mode. Suddenly talking with my old NC accent and throwing lot of "Y'all" and "Howyadoins" around. I never had a problem.

I would avoid putting on a big flowing evening gown and riding on top of the car (ala Priscilla: Queen of the Desert).

[Puddinhead4]

Not gay, but a lifelong New Orleanian...NOLA's got to be one of, if not the, South's most "gay-friendly" places, with a long history of at least "acceptance". In my lifetime it's actually gone from "acceptance" to an understanding (at least by the "officials") that the gay community is so important economically in NOLA that they darned well better be treated pretty much like everyone else, lest they take their disposable income elsewhere. Of course the Quarter needs no special mention here. The Faubourg Marigny, just to the downriver side of the Quarter has a high proportion of gay residents, and thus the restaurants, clubs, and other businesses there cater to a clientele with large representation from the gay community.

As to where it's "safe" to go in NOLA post-Katrina...that's a difficult question to answer. One of the problems we're having here is a shakeup in the criminal territoriality; almost all of the public housing projects were shuttered in the wake of the flood, and most remain so now with plans on the board to demolish most of them to be replaced by "mixed-income" developments aimed at "de-concentrating" the city's poverty. This had led to the jumbling up of the various drug dealing networks that had staked out their claims to territory in the areas centered around the projects. In NOLA these are less organized "gangs" like those that may run the drug trade in other cities and more loose banding together of neighborhood thugs to keep thugs from other neighborhoods from horning in on their business. Now these groups find themselves living in the same neighborhoods with groups they'd previously probably shot on sight if they saw them dealing in their territory. Violence has even escalated in the suburban parishes around the city as locals battle transplants for turf.

For the most part, you're still safe if you stick to the same areas everyone advised tourists to visit before Katrina--the Quarter, Marigny, Warehouse District, Garden District, etc. There have been a series of well-publicized crimes that have taken place in places crimes were previously rare--French Quarter, Marigny "Triangle"--but it's not as though there's such a change that I'd feel I was in danger there. In fact, either my wife or I or both of us are in the Quarter just about every Friday...albeit during the daylight hours. But that's just because she's down there doing business; I wouldn't feel threatened there at night, if I stayed pretty much to the Quarter and the Triangle, and didn't venture out across Rampart.

You would, however, be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't at least take a few daylight hours one day of your visit to do the driving "misery tour" of the flooded areas of the city, just to better grasp the scope and breadth of the disaster. Start out in Lakeview near the 17th Street Canal levee failure, then swing through my Gentilly neighborhood (you can pose for photos next to the FEMA trailer we're still living in, if you want....LOL) and head on down to the now-infamous Lower Ninth Ward. You're actually probably safer in the Lower Ninth Ward than you would have been at any time in the past thirty years or so right now, since there's practically no one there. (Actually, I went to school down there, and both my sons currently do so; it's never be quite so dangerous as it's reputation...but then, that's true about lots of places, I guess) Just downriver from the Ninth is the just-as-devastated St. Bernard Parish, where I work. The level of damage, and even more so the vast amount of area that it covers, really staggers visitors. And I'm not sure, because of all the national concentration on the Ninth Ward and the poverty that always existed there, that they grasp just how vibrant most of these neighborhoods were prior to the flood (the "federal flood", as we refer to it), and just how each of these skeletal Lakeview houses was home to an upper middle class family, and how each of those hollowed-out Gentilly structures was likely the "ancestral" home of many a middle class or working class New Orleans family.

By all means, spend most of your time here having fun; showing visitors a good time is still what we do here, and the visitors are needed now more than ever. But take a little time to get a better grasp on just what happened here, and take that knowledge back home with you to share with others. Unfortunately, our future will depend as much on others across the country understanding just what happened here as it will on our own hard work and limited resources.

[MNMike]

now thats exactly the kind of advice I was looking for, thanks puddinhead and chris

[shanthemanatl]

Absolutely nothing to worry about, Mike.

As some of the other forumers have said, you'll probably want to avoid any overt public displays of affection. But this would be true anywhere in small-town America, not just the South.

[Exodus]

Gays should worry more about watching their backs in a lot of innercity neighborhoods than in rural areas. You are correct by using the word stigma when it comes to the south.

[tennreb]

Damn typo...thats supposed to say "southern road trip"!

hey there southern forumers....

At the end of January a friend of mine and I are flying down to Austin, then driving to New Orleans. I have spent quite a bit of time in Austin, so I know whats up there, but I have a couple questions that maybe some of you can help me with...

This may sound like a stupid question to some of you...but should two gay men feel concerned driving between Houston and New Olreans? I haven't spent much time outside of cities in this region, and you all know the stigma about treatment of gays in the rural south...any truth to it? Anything we should be aware of in particular? Sorry if it sounds like a dumb question, but better safe than sorry eh?

Secondly...I have been to New Orleans once before, last July. Spent all my time in the French Quarter pretty much, had a great time. I am looking forward to cooler weather this time of the year so I can get in some good site seeing. What areas of the city should I check out that are interesting and SAFE to explore now? After Katrina I am sure there are more areas that, at least for now, the average tourist should probably avoid. How about Uptown and the Garden District, are they doing well now? what should I see there, or elsewhere in the city? I travel often and am comfortable in urban atmospheres, and with "grittier" areas, but New Orleans is kind of a special case right now. While trying to recover from such a major disaster, I am sure there are areas that have some major crime issues that I will want to steer clear of. I look forward to pumping a lil' bit of my money into the NO economy at a time when I know they really need it! I just don't want to be a dumb tourist and end up in a horribly dangerous area by mistake.

If anyone can give me some honest advice and tips,it would be greatly appreciated!
Anything about safety, restaurants, spots that I definately need to see... and the like.

You shouldn't have any problem traveling. Baton Rouge even has a fairly large gay population. I love to go to New Orleans, but I generally stay away from the quarter as much as possible. Be sure to shop along Magazine Street. Have dinner at Commander's Palace (or lunch, since they have 10 cent martinis at lunch). Drive the entire length of St. Charles and sightsee. Go out to Tipitina's in Uptown and hear a great band. Visit the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the nearby National WWII Museum. Go to the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park. Visit Mardis Gras World and see the floats being made. Eat the gumbo at the Gumbo Shop. Get oysters at ACME. This could go on forever.

[TSmith]

Every visitor to New Orleans, gay or straight, should go to see Rebirth play at the Maple Leaf on Oak St. uptown. It's almost all locals... black and white, and a show you'll never forget. It's as New Orleans as it gets. Eat some local fare that is sold on the curb dirt cheap out of open trailers by some of the locals, then go inside and catch Rebirth Brass Band. You'll get a real feel for how the races interact in this city... unlike what the media likes to focus on. We live together here, and we party together. Make sure you put that on your agenda. It's on Tuesday nights. You'll be glad you did.

[MNMike]

thanks:)

[Bama_75]

Thats a stigma about the south for sure...

Mobile is kewl to visit also.

[alon504]

You shouldn't be concerned...there are plenty of gay people in the South. I know many. My sister lives in Lafayette, LA and has many gay friends and they have a big gay scene there with the gay cajuns. New Orleans is one of the gayest cities in the US, so I know you'll be fine here. If you are thinking about the Southern straight "hick," thing, you're not going to be driving in that area. You would need to be in parts of MS or AL to have those concerns. As far as New Orleans, the city is fine. Do a google on the gay scene in New Orleans, and I'm sure you'll find more than enough information to keep your visit to the city very busy. Have fun!

[DruidCity]

If you are thinking about the Southern straight "hick," thing, you're not going to be driving in that area. You would need to be in parts of MS or AL to have those concerns.

As a "Southern straight hick" in AL, I'm still trying to figure out what it is that my fellow Alabama and Mississippi hicks supposedly do to endanger unsuspecting travellers ? I mean, besides getting drunk in our trailers and shooting at them with shotguns when they stop at a gas station and describe our bucolic landscape as "fabulous" :haha:

[austin356]

As a "Southern straight hick" in AL, I'm still trying to figure out what it is that my fellow Alabama and Mississippi hicks supposedly do to endanger unsuspecting travellers ? I mean, besides getting drunk in our trailers and shooting at them with shotguns when they stop at a gas station and describe our bucolic landscape as "fabulous" :haha:



LOLOL

Druid, I am also a "hick"...... I am living off Hargrove in T-town now, hope I dont turn out knowing you because I got freaked out when I found out that I was living with "Bamagrad".

Courttv should make some more "cops" editions with drunk rednecks in trailers of Alabama, they seem eerily similar to those of Washington State, even though they are a whole nation away.

[austin356]

MNMike, may I ask what region of the nation/continent/globe are you coming from?

[austin356]

If you are thinking about the Southern straight "hick," thing, you're not going to be driving in that area. You would need to be in parts of MS or AL to have those concerns.

Alon, why do you exacerbate unfounded stereotypes/stigmas that are not true? Never does a gay man/woman have anything to worry about when traveling in the rural south. The worst thing that could happen would be some redneck in a Denny's that says something stupid, but I have never seen that happen anywhere except Florida.

It is not unreasonable for the OP to have such concerns, but it is unreasonable for southerns to allow such fallacies continue to perpetuate unchecked and actually take part in spreading them. Let me make it clear to everyone, it IS VERY safe to be gay or black or even gay and black in the south. OH wait, Alon lives in fantasy land that is NO (which I would be at right now if not for some unfortunate circumstances), where everyone who lives in Orleans Parish is culturally superior than the rest of the region.

[LSyd]

yeah, the gay problem/hatred seems to be a lot more of a small-town USA vs. regional USA thing (i say this as a straight male based on what gay friends have said.) hit Houston and have some fun, it's a big enough city b/w the two with lots to do that you shouldn't have to worry about much. there's a big area of the quarter, i'm sure you know of it, that is gay-oriented (one of my friends said don't go there unless you want to switch sides, which was just practical advice as his wife is bi.)

-

[DruidCity]

I am living off Hargrove in T-town now, hope I dont turn out knowing you

Most people I know live north of the river and/or have connections to the electrical engineering department at UA.

[SteveD]

I'm a gay man in Atlanta and though single now my previous partner and I traveled all over the south together by car all the time and never once encountered any anti-gay sentiment...big cities, small towns, back roads, arterials, interstates.

Now, neither one of us was the type to hang a giant rainbow flag from our radio antenna or give each other a big sloppy french kiss in public....

[Andrea]

Now, neither one of us was the type to hang a giant rainbow flag from our radio antenna or give each other a big sloppy french kiss in public....

I'd just as soon not see anybody do that, gay, straight or otherwise. That Al and Tipper Gore kiss at the Democratic Convention still gives me the heebie-jeebies.

But then I'm from the older generation.

:yuck:

:haha:

[SteveD]

:previous: Andrea! Tell me where you live!! I'll find me a new boyfriend and we'll come to your front porch and we'll give each other a big sloppy french kiss for you! :jester:

[Andrea]

:previous: Steve, you know how it is with these opposite-sex couples. They're not content to simply be straight, they have to go around flaunting their heterosexuality in public.

[hauntedheadnc]

Some are saying they're straight hicks, but I'm a gay hick up here in Appalachia, albeit in one of the more liberal small cities in the country. The way this question was worded was a little insulting, although no more than most of us here are already used to from people who don't know what things are really like in the South. I'm glad things stayed very civil.

[TSmith]

OH wait, Alon lives in fantasy land that is NO (which I would be at right now if not for some unfortunate circumstances), where everyone who lives in Orleans Parish is culturally superior than the rest of the region.

What the hell is this supposed to mean?

[alon504]

Alon, why do you exacerbate unfounded stereotypes/stigmas that are not true? Never does a gay man/woman have anything to worry about when traveling in the rural south. The worst thing that could happen would be some redneck in a Denny's that says something stupid, but I have never seen that happen anywhere except Florida.

It is not unreasonable for the OP to have such concerns, but it is unreasonable for southerns to allow such fallacies continue to perpetuate unchecked and actually take part in spreading them. Let me make it clear to everyone, it IS VERY safe to be gay or black or even gay and black in the south. OH wait, Alon lives in fantasy land that is NO (which I would be at right now if not for some unfortunate circumstances), where everyone who lives in Orleans Parish is culturally superior than the rest of the region.

LOL...what a pompous ingorant post. I forgive you.

[Capt AWACS]

Austin and Houston are very "gay friendly" as is New Orleans. May gay friends have no problems there. As for the drive there are a few smaller areas where you don't want to get off the main highway and that is mainly around the TX/LA border Vidor,Texas; Vinton and Sulphur LA. Stay on the highway.

Enjoy your trip to Texas!

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,
Capt-AWACS, Forum Alpha Breeder Male

[larryfla]

i could give you all kinds of advice for travelling between atlanta, charlotte, savannah, charleston and most of the SEC college towns inbetween, but i'm not that versed in the areas between austin and NO. i will say this however, it's generally true in the south that there are three types of locales which directly relate to how well you're received as two gay men: metro's driven by commerce and business (ATL/CLT come to mind) are accepting so long as you're contributing to the local economy AND/OR minding "your business", tier II bastions of culture (i.e. Savannah, Charleson and NO) tend to be accepting so long as you're making an effort to fit in and not trying to "change their culture"....for example, two men dining at peninsula grill in charleson would'nt really turn heads unless they are exhibiting PDA or demonstrating overtly gay stereotypes, and lastly, there are all the other small towns, which much like the rest of america is a mixed bag. small town culture in the south and how gay men are received in augusta georgia may not be much different that how they're accepted in augusta maine....i've found that small towns are small towns with some of the most prejudiced being in places like massachusetts, michigan, california and minnesota, just to name a few.

Nice response. I recently read from a couple of gay guys from Charlotte that said that they had never had a problem until one of them was beaten up in NYC. I guess it is the same everywhere. Glad to see that some people are realizing that the stereotypes placed on the south well outdated.

[larryfla]

Alon, not much thought put into your statement. So, Louisiana is classier and more worldly than Mississippi and Alabama? Wow! That's a good one.

[ajfroggie]

MNMike, may I ask what region of the nation/continent/globe are you coming from?

He's coming from Minneapolis, MN.

Alon, not much thought put into your statement. So, Louisiana is classier and more worldly than Mississippi and Alabama? Wow! That's a good one.

Living near the LA/MS border, I would agree that Louisiana is classier than Mississippi and Alabama.

But also a lot more corrupt.

[Andrea]

He's coming from Minneapolis, MN.

Just out of curiosity, how are things for gay couples driving from Minneapolis to say, Cheyenne, WY or Wichita, KS? (I'm guessing that's rougly the same distance as Austin to New Orleans). Any trouble spots out that way or is that pretty gay friendly territory?

[shanthemanatl]

Just out of curiosity, how are things for gay couples driving from Minneapolis to say, Cheyenne, WY or Wichita, KS? (I'm guessing that's rougly the same distance as Austin to New Orleans). Any trouble spots out that way or is that pretty gay friendly territory?

Gay people do not exist in the Plains. They are simply straight people who have been tempted by Satan to indulge (repeatedly) in sexual immorality.

Just joking, of course. I spent a little time in Wichita when my sister lived there. That seemed to be the firmly-held belief of her little circle of country-club wives, anyhow....LOL.

[larryfla]

He's coming from Minneapolis, MN.



Living near the LA/MS border, I would agree that Louisiana is classier than Mississippi and Alabama.

But also a lot more corrupt.
I guess that is why I have heard Louisiana referred to as America's 3rd world?

[alon504]

I guess that is why I have heard Louisiana referred to as America's 3rd world?

Dude, I don't know what your issue is, but, if you despise Louisiana so much...just don't come here. It's that simple.

[larryfla]

Dude, I don't know what your issue is, but, if you despise Louisiana so much...just don't come here. It's that simple.

I like Louisiana fine. I'm just not stupid enough to compare it in a positive way with Mississippi or Alabama. Maybe Haiti or the Dominican Republic would be more realistic. But I like the place fine. The fishing, eating, music and lots of other stuff is great in Louisiana. But I would never use the words culture or class with the name Louisiana in the same sentence. And, I will go to Louisiana any time I please, Dude. As far as that you can refrain from traveling to Miss. or Ala.

[DruidCity]

if you despise Louisiana so much...just don't come here.


I had planned to visit New Orleans this weekend. I'll stay in AL-MS, instead.

[TSmith]

I had planned to visit New Orleans this weekend. I'll stay in AL-MS, instead.
New Orleans is a whole different animal. Just admit it... yall hate Alon504. And Larryfla, Louisiana has a larger economic impact on this country than Alabama and Mississippi combined, X2. That's not third world, my friend. Come on down and have a good time.

[LSyd]

new stupidest thread/flame war ever. this forum really is turning into the problem-laden "vs" days of SSC. :(

-

[larryfla]

New Orleans is a whole different animal. Just admit it... yall hate Alon504. And Larryfla, Louisiana has a larger economic impact on this country than Alabama and Mississippi combined, X2. That's not third world, my friend. Come on down and have a good time.
Facts and figures please?

[larryfla]

I had planned to visit New Orleans this weekend. I'll stay in AL-MS, instead.

You will be much safer.

[MNMike]

Hey, I was away for a while. Thanks for the tips again.

Yes I am coming from Minneapolis...And you know what? Anyone who thinks my question was insulting, especially the way I worded it, is being a bit over sensitive! I was simply asking for honest opinions about rural areas I have never been to. I know we have all (especially if you are gay) heard that southern rural areas are a bit tougher on us than some other areas. Never did I say I believed that(even called it stigma), I even said it was probably a dumb question! When I asked it I hoped to get answers that were honest, and not to have this turn into a "my area of the counrty is superior" kinda thing, and have everyone get defensive! You know what? There are areas where gays need to be more conscious...does that mean everyone living there is a horrible person? NO. Is one of those areas the rural south? I don't know, thats why I asked.

As for the question about gays in the rural midwest...which I honestly do not find insulting in the least by the way...I have not had any trouble. That is what I would expect in the south too, but I have never been outside of cities in the south, so I asked. In general to the west of Minneapolis, population densities drop off to an incredible low, so you don't see much of anyone at all, but I have never felt uncomfortable. I frequently go betweeen mpls, chicago and KC via interstates, and have never felt uncomfortable on those routes either, and I can't think of anyplace in particular to avoid.

As for the cities in the south, I am familiar with the gay scene in Austin and New orleans, so I am good there. Of course the whole trip isn't about the gay scene, but I always like to check it out a little. I will be stopping in Galveston, haven't been there in years...so I look forward to that. I had planned on taking the ferry to the bolivar peninsula...though someone did say not to get off the highway in this area:) I am sure I will do it anyway, and I am sure I will be fine, but I just like to know if I should use more caution than normal. Is that understandable?

Anyway, enough about the gay thing...Anymore tips on where I must eat or go in New orleans, or even Galveston? Places in between? I will be in Austin on the 20th, galveston on the 25th, and in New Orleans From the 26th to the 29th.

[Andrea]

As for the question about gays in the rural midwest...which I honestly do not find insulting in the least by the way...

Gee, I hope not! Sorry if it seemed like I meant to imply anything one way or the other about the rural Midwest. My guess is that these days the U.S. is pretty generic, at least along the interstates, and that people folks out there are no worse than they are in the South.

[MNMike]

NONONO, I didn't think you were implying at all! I was referring to someone else who had said I was being rude for asking that question about the south. I see nothing wrong with asking things like that:) How else are you gonna find out what other peoples experiences have been? Sorry for the confusion!

[TSmith]

Facts and figures please?LSyd has it correct... lets not highjack the thread. I was just referring to GDP by state, which Louisiana is higher than both, and our production and procurement of almost 1/3 of the entire energy supply of the Unted States. Sorry for coming off as a flame... was just being sarcastic.

Both of you... come down and have a good time. As long as you dont try to win turf in the drug trade in New Orleans, you'll be safe. And I dont think anyone on these forums has any aspirations to start a succesful illegal drug operation in New Orleans. You'll be ok.