Philly is a Lesbian City

Photo by Think Stock

When Philly makes it onto a national list – it’s usually for reasons that make us cringe, like being obese, rude and downright ugly. But a new ranking is giving the City of Brotherly Love props for its Sapphic intentions.

In a roundup of the 21 most lesbian cities in the country, Philly ranks 14th.

We get praised for everything from the city’s wildly successful tourism campaign to Sisters nightclub, as well as power couple Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran’s takeover of 13th Street with cool shops and eateries (we’d be lying if we didn’t admit how much we adore Barbuzzo). Other highlights include First Fridays in Old City and Outfest in the Gayborhood. Heck, even Woody’s gets a mention.

Philly’s in good company this time around, too, with the top city being Northampton/Amherst, Mass., thanks to everything from Smithies to roller derby and everyone from Rachel Maddow to Allison Bechdel. No wonder it’s numero uno.

Other cities on the list include New York (Brooklyn could win this one alone), Los Angeles/West Hollywood, San Francisco/Oakland/Berkeley, Cambridge/Boston/Somerville, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Ore. (Have you seen Portlandia?), Washington D.C. (supposedly the home to the biggest lesbian population in the country), Austin, TX, San Diego, Madison, WI, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, Ann Arbor, Mich., Atlanta, Denver, CO, Houston, TX, Ithaca, NY, Miami/South Beach, Fla., and Columbus, OH.

In our own backyard, we also think South Philly’s lesbian community and the scene on East Passyunk makes this town plenty lesbian, even if – as the list says – one may find herself playing the “hipster or gay?” game over and over – and over again.