Greasing Squeaky Wheels

There is dancing in the streets: yippee ti-yi-ya, yippee oh because PS has “more gay couples” than any other CA city, according to the local media! Wowzer, what a triumph of squeaky wheels being heard, especially in PS, where the LBGT community pretty much calls the shots for the rest of the population. However, the failure of the local media is that it compares "heads of household" stats with total population stats to create a perception that is not statistically valid.

IF the stats were presented differently, in PS, of the total census population of 44,552, 2621 households indicated that they were same sex/married or roommate, which could mean that there are as many as 5,242 homosexual residents of the total 44,552 residents in PS (with presumably 39,310 heterosexuals), but that assumed total number of LBGT could be lower because it is not specified how many people comprise a "household." The newspaper makes an essentially heterosexual community become the LBGT capitol of California by its selective combination of statistical information.

What is mentioned in the closing paragraphs of the article is that statewide there are 110 homosexual households (couples/partners/ roommates) per 1,000 households (11%), which seems to damp the rhetoric of the local headlines that scream with gay pride the highest percentage in the state of gay households (11.5%), as if there is a significant difference between the local and statewide statistics. Publicizing that PS is insignificantly more gay than the rest of the state probably would not endear the local media to the local LBGT community.

The end result of the presentation of the statistics skews the facts to serve the interests of the very small, but extremely powerful LBGT community that not only makes policy in the Valley, but directs public relations and marketing to the rest of the world. Although the rest of the CV also has core gay communities, PS becomes the standard-bearer for all because the skewed stats support positive publicity for the LBGT cause. The highest number of homosexual couples per population becomes a huge world-wide marketing tool for the local LBGT events that literally double the population of the area throughout the season and bring in millions in tourist revenue annually.

On the surface, it seems that PS is cutting off its straight nose to better show off its gay face. The media message is that PS is the place to be if you're gay, but if you're straight, uh, not so much. Because the 11% LBGT population lives, works, and helps supports the city financially, continue to send the gay message, but not at the exclusion of the other 89% of the population that also lives, works, and has money to spend in PS.