Now that the establishments that survived are reopening, it might be reasonable to assume that patrons starved for fellowship are going to bring gay bars back stronger than ever. Whether it’s a sprawling megaclub with a massive sound system and an eye-popping light show like the famed Abbey in West Hollywood or a hole-in-the-wall dive with $5 drinks so strong, they’d knock out a horse with two sips, gay bars hold a kind of sacred allure in the LGBTQ+ community.ĭespite a decline in recent years due to a number of factors big and small, including the rise of apps and a greater acceptance of LGBTQ+ people overall, gay bars still hold enormous influence in gay culture: They are places where queer people can (mostly) be themselves, revel in queer culture, and shed for a moment the weight of being a minority in a sometimes alienating and harsh world.ĭon’t Forget Those Who Can’t Celebrate PrideĪs with just about all bars in the United States, nearly all gay spots closed during the pandemic - at least for the type of drinking, dancing, and drag shows people knew in pre-Covid days - leaving many queer people without a designated space for community, fun, and bonding. Whatever the case, the real star of the gay-bar story is the bar itself.
Or maybe they just dance the night away to Rihanna, Britney, Mariah, and J.Lo. It’s a story as old as time: Guy walks into a bar, orders a drink, meets another guy, they hook up, they never speak again.
