Friday 412: Velma Was Gay, No More Boystown or Gayborhood, and a Little Shea Coulee (Dean Sage | John Patrick)

John had a rough day at work, Dean couldn't figure out how to record a podcast. Overall, it's kind of lucky we got this out at all. We start off looking at how representation matters in children's entertainment. (And we don't mean the classic "Guess What?" from she who must not be named. AKA J. K. Trolling.) Velma, according to the creators of the most recent Scooby Doo cartoon, was meant to be explicitly gay, and even have a coming out experience as she realizes that boys are not her thing. It's not surprising to anyone who watched the live action movies where there was just a tiny hint of gay undertones. But that's the real point here, we need to not have to do Queer Readings in order to find people like us in the media we consume. From there we move on to a Tale of Two Gay Cities...or at least gay neighborhoods in Chicago (Boystown) and Philadelphia (The Gayborhood.) In the first a petition has been circulating to update the name, as the entire LGBTQ+ community served by this area of Chicago, but only a small group of gay men seem to be 'allowed' to fit in there. This was especially poignant to members of the Trans community, who after years of being ostracized finally got a single crosswalk. But we're observing from afar here, and welcome those who live in this community to reach out and share their stories and perspectives. For us, our hometown is going through the opposite. Rather than trying to make The Gayborhood more inclusive, Philly wants to erase it entirely. First with a name change, and second by buying up gay businesses and turning them into overpriced housing. This is more than just a night-life problem. Gentrification has driven people of color out of their homes and cities and isn't stopping soon. Red-Lining exists, and what we are observing is just a small piece of the issues affecting members of our community, especially black men and women.