LGBT Toronto

Toronto, Canada's largest city, is famous for its long-standing social liberalism, tolerance, anti-discrimination policies and multicultural population. It is home to one of the largest LGBT populations in the Americas.

It hosted World Pride in 2014.

Understand
The Church and Wellesley district is the epicentre of the city's gay community and a major tourist destination. Parkdale and West Queen West are also popular districts featuring many gay bars, clubs, restaurants and other businesses. The annual Toronto Pride Week Festival is one of the largest pride celebrations in the world, attracting over 1 million visitors every year.

History
The portion of the neighbourhood bounded by Yonge, Jarvis, Maitland and Carlton Streets was once the estate of Alexander Wood, a merchant and magistrate who was at the centre of a strange sex scandal in 1810 when he investigated a rape case. The victim claimed that she did not know the identity of her attacker, however she had scratched her assailant's penis during the assault. In order to identify the assailant, Wood personally inspected the genitals of a number of suspects for injury. Amidst rumours and the threat of sodomy charges, Wood, now nicknamed "Molly Wood", went into exile in Scotland for two years before returning to his post in 1812. In 1827 he purchased 50 acres (0.2 km2) of land which included what is now the Church and Wellesley Village. His lands were derisively known as "Molly Wood's Bush" in the early 19th century — "molly" being a slang term then for "homosexual".

Church Street and the area around it has been familiar to the Toronto gay community for many decades. Prior to the 1970s there had been an underground (mostly male) gay scene centred on various bathhouses and bas around the city that were not exclusively gay establishments but were known to be frequented by homosexuals.

From the late 1960s through the early 1980s the focus of Toronto's gay subculture was the Yonge and Wellesley area. The most notable bars for the gay subculture were on Yonge Street (one block west of Church) just south of Wellesley. During the 1970s, the bars were the focus of many attacks by homophobes, especially on Halloween when the tavern held an annual drag contest that had been proceeded by an outdoor promenade until attacks by homophobes hurling eggs and rotten fruit made that impossible.

Church Street, one block east of Yonge, had been a depressed area with low rents and started to become a predominantly gay area as gay-owned bars and other businesses started opening up as an alternative to the straight owned bars on Yonge St. whose owners were accused of being hostile of their gay clientele.

The centre of the gay life in Toronto shifted to Church Street following the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids, an event that galvanized the gay and lesbian community in the city. George Hislop, an openly gay businessman and co-owner of one of the raided bathhouses, ran unsuccessfully for Toronto City Council.

In the 1980s, the 519 Church Street Community Centre became the meeting place for numerous social and political groups and became well known as an LGBT friendly space. A strip of gay bars opened along the street and many LGBT people rented apartments, joined residential co-ops or bought condos close to Church. The area became known as a friendly environment where people could be open about their sexual orientation.

In the 21st century, the role of the Village has declined as many bars and clubs throughout Toronto are now gay-friendly; establishments such as the Drake Hotel, the Gladstone Hotel and the Beaver, although outside Toronto's traditional gay village and not specifically gay bars are popular destinations for young gay and lesbian club-goers.

Many LGBT businesses have closed or moved to other areas due to rent increases, and been replaced by chain stores and restaurants. Many LGBT people can no longer afford to live in the neighbourhood, while others no longer feel it necessary to live near the village as they can be open about their sexuality without as much fear of backlash.

Visitor information

 * Tourism Toronto's guide for LGBT visitors
 * Church and Wellesley Business Association

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 * The West Queen West Art & Design District offers a bevy of art galleries, design shops, coffeehouses, and hip lounges. This neighbourhood along West Queen Street in the city's West End is also sometimes called "Queer West Village". It is also home to the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA).
 * The West Queen West Art & Design District offers a bevy of art galleries, design shops, coffeehouses, and hip lounges. This neighbourhood along West Queen Street in the city's West End is also sometimes called "Queer West Village". It is also home to the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA).