New York City’s Marie’s Crisis began broadcasting show tune sing-alongs on Facebook. Some well-known establishments from big cities have responded to the coronavirus closures by moving their programming online. When one of them closes, whether it’s due to the coronavirus or an owner’s retirement, entire regions are left without an LGBT+ community hub. In many smaller municipalities – from McAlester, Oklahoma, to Lima, Ohio, to Dothan, Alabama – the local gay bar is the only public place that caters to an LGBT+ crowd. They’re also fundraising powerhouses and regularly host events for queer cancer survivors, gender affirmation surgeries or burial fees.īig cities have many gay bars and LGBT+ organisations, but most places only have one or two gay bars.
They’re the training ground of America’s next drag superstars, and the place some parents call for advice about their child’s coming out. Going to a gay bar is still a rite of passage for every LGBT+ person’s coming out.Ī wellspring of modern LGBT+ politics and social life, they’re still hubs for political organising. Today, they are often the only place where they regularly do.
They were once the only places where LGBT+ people could gather in public.
