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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

How ‘Queer.’ Oxnard a Top Gay City

In a newly released index of the most gay-friendly cities in the U.S., perhaps not surprisingly, Los Angeles tops the list. But also among the destinations is Oxnard. Yes, the small Ventura County city better known for its annual strawberry festival ranks at No. 35 – and no one may be more surprised than city leaders themselves. The coastal city was chosen based on its openness to the LGBT community and recognized as a great place “for families looking to settle down within an easy drive to Los Angeles,” according to Vocativ, a New York global news website. Coinciding with LGBT Pride Month in June, the website released a “Queer Index,” which ranked the best communities out of the 100 most populous metropolitan areas for gay travelers. It takes into account 32 factors including livability indicators such as same-sex marriage laws, rate of hate crimes and availability of hookup opportunities. “With us being a small community, we were certainly surprised to be that far up within the rankings,” said Susan Smith, chief executive of the Oxnard Convention and Visitors Bureau. Smith said that Oxnard does offer various venues for wine tastings and luxury vacation rentals, which she speculated might be of high interest for the LGBT community. But the city has never specifically targeted gays through marketing or promotional campaigns for tourism. “This is an honor that we’re happy with, but we’re a little puzzled by,” she said. “But we consider ourselves to be a welcoming community.” Patrick Flanary, spokesman for Vocativ, pointed out that Oxnard received high scores on LGBT marriage and adoption simply because of California laws. It also came in at No. 7 on the number of people who are “out” and No. 22 on its number of gay couples. Another surpise top city was Des Moines, Iowa at No. 4. “We were delighted and intrigued about the LGBT trends our work revealed,” Flanary said. – Stephanie Forshee

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