When the Hippo announced its
impending closing, there was a lot of collective hand-wringing. Many in Baltimore’s LGBT communities saw
this as a disaster and perhaps the final nail in the coffin for LGBT identity. They feel the gay bar will go the way of the
phone booth, record stores, and liberal Republicans.
The soon-to-close Hippo |
To be sure, we have witnessed
the closing of local gay bars with The Eagle in 2012 and the Quest in
2014. The Hippo’s last dance is expected
later in 2015, Grand Central may be up for sale in 2016, while another bar
south of the city is teetering on closing in the very near future. Jay’s on Read, while not technically a gay
bar but popular among LGBT folks, faces an uncertain future.
Bars shut down for a variety of
reasons, but for the most part it’s because of financial considerations
resulting from a falloff in patronage. The most popular reason discussed is that younger
gay people are frequenting straight bars with their straight friends. Baltimore icon John Waters believes that tendency
is why gay bars are eventually going to vanish.
“The coolest gay kids today don’t want to go to a gay bar. They want to go to a hip bar where straights and gays are mixing,” Waters said during a recent WYPR interview .
Grand Central owner Don Davis
agrees. In that same interview Davis observed that gay people are feeling more
comfortable with going with straight friends to a straight bar. He feels the change in “demographics” will
sustain this trend.
There are other factors in play. Men don’t cruise at the bars as they once
did, using phone apps and the Internet to replace hooking up through personal
contact at bars. It’s cheaper since less
alcohol is consumed (or needed) and rejection is less painful. Still others are bored by the bar scene and prefer
alternative sources of amusement.
However, The Baltimore Eagle
didn’t close because leather men and leather women took flight to straight
establishments. The previous owner
passed away and the estate sold the bar.
If the new ownership of The Baltimore Eagle fails to have a controversial
Liquor Board ruling overturned, the bar will remain closed.
The mixing of straights and gays
at bars became more evident during the period when there was a Guerilla Gay Bar
movement between 2009 and 2011. To
provide an alternative to the gay bar scene, monthly outings consisting of an
“invasion” of gays at selected straight bars and clubs around Baltimore were
scheduled with prior notice given to the bar’s management and staff.
The Baltimore Eagle is already closed but for how long? |
The following year marriage
equality passed by referendum in Maryland confirming the increased acceptance
by the straight folks. Nationally, polls
indicate that same-sex marriage is favored by a 3 to 2 margin. Yet, even if those results are accurate, there
are still 2 out of 5 who oppose marriage equality. That’s a significant number, if not the
majority.
Therefore, by no means is our
acceptance universal or complete. A gay
couple in Chelsea in NYC can attest to the fact that there are haters out there
who would do us harm as they were brutally attacked. The Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex
marriage, if favorable as it appears likely, will cause a backlash among many
groups. And the Republican candidates in
the presidential clown car are falling all over each other in an effort to
appeal to their bigoted base by raising the temperature on strident anti-gay
marriage rhetoric.
I don’t believe that the gay bar
will become a dinosaur any time too soon.
Sure, younger gays and lesbians may be frequenting straight
establishments. But do male couples
actually dance at these places, holds hands, or are affectionate? I certainly
would not feel comfortable or safe dancing or being affectionate with my
husband at a straight club. Or, will
these guys dance with their female friends as closeted gay men once did in the
past while out in public?
A gay bar does provide a secure space
where one can be him or herself. You’re
with folks with more common interests, and that’s a boost towards the social
benefits. If you’re holding the hand of
your gay or lesbian partner or spouse in a gay bar, you don’t have to look
around to be sure the person behind you won’t break a bottle over your
head. Of course, it can happen but much
less likely in a gay bar.
Regardless, existing gay bars
need to step it up. Though there will be fewer gay bars around, those remaining
should do well at least in the near term.
It would behoove bar owners to be more innovative and creative to keep
the customers entertained and interested in patronizing their
establishments. They ought to listen to
their customers to see what they would like.
As Don Davis noted on WYPR,
Grand Central offers special events to keep things interesting and exciting in
order for him to compete. He
unapologetically encourages a straight crowd to join in the festivities and stresses
that Grand Central is an “alternative bar” and not a gay bar per se.
It is apparent that further
acceptance by society fueled by the younger generation may ultimately obviate
the need for gay bars or even LGBT organizations. That would be a tangible sign of progress
though we still have a ways to go. Until
then the gay bar will continue to be an integral part of LGBT social life and
will not vanish altogether, at least not yet.
2 comments:
Steve, another great read.
I am very innovative and have a lot of tools. After 48 years of being in and out of the business, I am tired and do not have the spunk at 64 years old that I once had. My problem is finding a great operations manager. Someone who is a hands on and is focused and knows the micros p.o.s. system, someone who knows quick books, someone who knows a little about graphic work, strong inventory controls. A operations manager who can train a staff of 30 and who is there to meet and greet the customers and learn the customer needs. For some reason I keep getting managers who cannot follow direction or even a dress code. I keep getting managers that tell me all they can do, and the end results they have no clue. Managers who just want to sit on a bar stool or hang outside. Managers who have no idea what marketing means or make any approach even when I give them the tools. A manager who does not know how to manage a staff of 30. I am not very good with the hiring a manager beings I have always managed myself. So I have now hired a headhunter to help me find the right manager. It's sure not like the old days when you had staff that would take pride where they work. So many staff and managers just want to come to work and just put in their hours and get their tips or a managers salary and do nothing but make their money. This has do with a lot of the reason I am tired and not sure how much more time I can deal with. When I do a get an exceptional employee. You seem to lose them with them furthering their education or they move on to enhance their skills for a career change. An experience manager who knows what they are doing sure know how to utilize their time and not make their job so difficult. Someone who does not have the expertise just walks around in circles making their job impossible. So if you know someone or anyone who knows the in and outs of managing. I sure would like to interview them.
Central, the Hippo and Jay's have always attracted some straight people. Women especially, but some people bring straight guy friends too. All of which is OK: you know anyone there is comfortable around gay people.
I personally do not enjoy straight venues except for a couple back in Michigan where I'm from that I patronized with my sister and other friends since before I was old enough to drink. I don't go out to "cruise" but if I see someone attractive I want to feel OK admiring him, or even dancing with him. And if my friends and I are in the mood I want to be able to act gay and not worry about what some straight boy thinks of it.
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