June Thomas in Slate asks, in the light of the most recent victory for same-sex marriage rights for gays and lesbians and greater acceptance across American society, if the gay bar is in danger of disappearing.
It’s an interesting question because as Thomas points out, “gay liberation is the only civil rights movement that began in a bar. The Pride celebrations that take over the streets of America’s gay ghettos every June commemorate the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising of June 28, 1969—42 years ago this week—when the patrons of a Mafia-run gay bar in Greenwich Village protested against a police raid. Stonewall was not the first time that gay people had fought back against police harassment, nor, as we will see, was it the first time that bar raids sparked protests. Bars played this political role because bars were where gay people gathered.”
It’s a really interesting piece.
3 responses
Yeah, no. Not for awhile anyway. Not until you can hold hands in public without getting dirty looks/-phobic slurs/beaten in the head until you’re dead. Until then, queer bars (can) provide a place that folks can do the stuff they see other couples do without repercussions (as well as whatever other creative/kinky/political stuff they are involved with).
I agree with [dave]. It’s also easy (and stupid) for a writer in New York City to call for the end of the gay bar, when gay bars in rural areas still double as community centers and life-saving cultural oases.
I didn’t see the writer calling for the end of the gay bar so much as she was talking about how its importance has lessened in some areas. I suppose you could call her piece blinkered by the fact that she neglects the importance of the gay bar in rural areas, but I never got the impression that she was saying that gay bars should disappear.
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