Interactive map shows the gay couple next door

[William769]

The Chicago Tribune recently launched an interactive map showcasing all same-sex partners in the state of Illinois, aggregated from the 2010 census. The number has gone up 40 percent since the year 2000.

This type of interactive mapping has been around for a while – the most common form people see it in is Google maps. But showcasing such personal data seems, for me, more powerful. Mapping out the vote of an income tax policy might be interesting, but those dots aren’t people to me. They’re votes.

The Tribune’s map and others visual displays of data hold strength to me. Perhaps it’s my attachment to the GLBT community, but each dot on that map is a couple – a gay couple – living in the heart of the Midwest. As a born and raise Wisconsinite, I feel a connection to these dots – these households. I almost want to stop by for a tea and thank them for sticking it out in their small town and making it a better place for their fellow gays and lesbians.

I feel it’s this type of data display that can help to change minds. Someone living in tiny Palatine Village probably doesn’t know that more than 100 same-sex couples share that space with them. What’s more, it shows everyone who oppose gay rights – from the small churches and state representatives to some presidential candidates – that gay people are absolutely everywhere and entirely unavoidable.

http://www.365gay.com/news/monday-tech-interactive-gay-marriage-maps-show-the-gay-couple-next-door/

[Behind the Aegis]

1. Just read an article a few weeks back in the "Tulsa World."

Gay couples in OK have increased by 67%! LOL!

[William769]

3. Well I guess the saying from an Officer & a Gentleman is true!

[Behind the Aegis]

7. What saying is that?

I never saw that movie.

[William769]

9. This.

"The only two things from Oklahoma are steers and queers, and I don't see any horns on you boy." (Officer and a Gentleman, An - 1982)

[Behind the Aegis]

14. LOL! Trust me...way more steers than queers here!

They take that shit seriously! True story! When I first moved to OK in 2000, I was driving to work and listening to a morning talk show. These guys were the "Beavis and Butthead" of the morning talkshows. They had some really funny stuff. One day, they did a piece about the stereotype of Oklahomans being into bestiality and "dared" anyone who had "partaken of forbidden carnal knowledge with a beast of the earth" (I think that is about how it was worded) to call in. Not surprisingly, someone did and claimed to have had sex with a cow. They guys were flabbergasted and began to ask more probing questions. The man said it was when he was a teenager and lived on a cattle ranch and he only did it a few times. Now, I was already laughing so hard I was swerving (thankfully, this was a small town so there was no real traffic of any kind). The hosts asked him if it was a female cow, to which the caller responded: "OF COURSE IT WAS! I ain't no fucking (which was bleeped out) faggot (not bleeped out)!!" I was laughing so hard that I promptly drove into a ditch!

[William769]

16. Thats hilarious!

Thanks for sharing.

[DonRedwood]

19. well, really, just 67% more gays were willing to be open this time around.

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. How can I see the map for my area?

[William769]

4. Good luck with that one.

[Shagbark Hickory]

5. Are you saying there's no map or not likely any same sex couples?

[William769]

6. Sorry I looked at your profile & saw where you are from.

Not saying there are none there but probably very few that would acknowledge it in that area.

I honestly don't know where a interactive map could be found for specific locations.

P.S. My hometown would not rate an interactive map.

[Shagbark Hickory]

13. Oh so people have to acknowledge it. I thought the google was just publishing data that it compiles

about its users.

Well phew, that's a relief.

[Hosnon]

17. Gwinnett is for all practical purposes Atlanta.

And Atlanta has a huge out and proud gay community.

[William769]

18. I thought Atlanta was in Fulton County.

:shrug:

[Ruby the Liberal]

8. William, maybe I am missing something here

But the census doesn't capture same-sex marriage (which is also not in play in Illinois at this time).

How do they differentiate between a household with 2 male adults (could be father/son for example) from a same-sex union?

[William769]

10. Same sex partners is not the same as same sex marriage.

I am not 100% sure but on the questionnaire it does ask the sex and one of the options is unmarried partner. Also it shows a check for the relationship you said.

Heres a link to the 2010 census form.

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/pdf/2010_Questionnaire_Info.pdf

[Ruby the Liberal]

11. Ah - gotcha.

I am a single household and never bothered to even look past page 1 of the census when I filled it out.

Thanks!

[William769]

12. Not a problem.

Have a great day!

[readmoreoften]

15. I think the "Search for an Address" function is a bad idea.