Gayest Cities in America, 2010 

6. New Orleans
With Southern Decadence, the Saints and Sinners LGBT writers conference, gay Mardi Gras krewes, the gay Easter Parade, and 18 gay bars within walking distance of each other in the Quarter, this unsinkable town has a tolerant attitude toward gayness that’s been in place since before the Civil War.

 

5. Madison, Wis.
Madison is often called the Berkeley of the Midwest—the east side is hippie-crunchy, there’s a brand-new gay dance club (Plan B), and heaps of cute blond dreadlocked nuevo organic farmer dudes can be found at the Willy Street Co-op or the Farmers’ Market drinking their own beer from mason jars.

 

4. Bloomington, Ind.
This forward-thinking college town is a magnet city for gays in the Grain Belt. It’s also home to Indiana University, where Miss Gay IU—said to be the first student-sponsored drag competition held on any campus—is in its 20th year. The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction is also here, inspiring the entire town to be heteroflexible.