I HEART CHAOS

If you were to try and guess the gayest city in America, Salt Lake City probably wouldn’t be near the top of most people’s lists. I would guess San Francisco or Key West, but nope… it’s the Mormon capital.

Rather than rely on the U.S. Census tabulation of gay and lesbian populations, which inevitably yield San Francisco as No. 1, The Advocate used different measures to establish “per capita queerness” — including a city’s number of teams entered in the Gay Softball World Series, gay bookstores, openly gay elected officials and semifinalists in the International Mr. Leather Contest, which is held every year in Chicago.

“If we were having a more scientific survey, I don’t know that we would choose these as indicators,” Valerie Larabee, director of the Utah Pride Center in Salt Lake City, told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Orlando, Fla., was second, thanks to annual Gay Days at Disney World and “more gay softball teams than you can shake a Louisville Slugger at.” And Knoxville, Tenn., has managed to produce a “robust gay scene” despite being in what the magazine calls a state with a legislature that “has been an unmitigated disaster for our rights.” It ranks eighth, thanks to “gay-affirming churches” and a thriving LGBT club scene.

Here’s the complete list from The Advocate:

1. Salt Lake City, Utah
2. Orlando, Fla.
3. Cambridge, Mass.
4. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
5. Seattle
6. Ann Arbor, Mich.
7. St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minn.
8. Knoxville, Tenn.
9. Atlanta
10. Grand Rapids, Mich.
11. Little Rock, Ark.
12. Portland, Ore.
13. Austin, Texas
14. Long Beach, Calif.
15. Denver
16. Washington
17. New Orleans
18. San Francisco
19. Pittsburgh
20. Salem, Ore.
21. Madison, Wis.
22. Eugene, Ore.
23. Oakland, Calif.
24. Boston
25. Kansas City, Mo.

Via