From the Secretary’s Desk – July 5, 2023
What do queers want from queer business?
We have all heard the stats, gay bars are closing everywhere. 36% percent of gay bar listings disappeared between 2007 and 2019. There are reasons that this is a good thing – “The potential causes for the decline in gay bars around the U.S. cited by Mattson are, on their face, positive. Social equality and greater acceptance of LGBTQ people have led to more welcoming attitudes in bars that don’t cater specifically to the community, as well as a greater willingness of queer people to socialize in non-gay venues. There’s also the rise of social media and the prevalence of location-based apps like Grinder and Scruff that allow LGBTQ people to meet virtually.” *
But there are a lot of reasons that number isn’t a good thing. Cis white gay men (not leather) can find welcome anywhere, but for everyone else, that welcome is harder to find. It becomes exponentially harder the more your identity intersects with other marginalized identities.
This is not an attempt to gloss over the bars as they truly were – a place where addiction could flourish, where unscrupulous owners took advantage of a population with nowhere else to go, and police crackdowns. But they were also were our sexuality could be seen and felt without violence, and where cruising could happen in the dark back rooms.
Bars have been historically “our places” – it is where our organizing is done and our community is founded. It is where drag stages where constructed, and gender roles dismantled. How do we carry this force forward into our next iteration as community. Where does queer business bloom?
This is what we at the CPC struggle with constantly. “Will people come to this?” is a question we always have to ask. We exist in that space where we need capitalism to survive, but want to aid our community as much as possible. Low-cost food? Yes. Low-cost rent for private events? Yes. Providing a range of events for our members? Yes. Being successful? We are certainly trying.
We hear that the LGBTQ+ community wants to move away from the bar culture, and we at the club try to make it a space that gathers around food and community and not alcohol. But we do that at our own expense because let’s face it – bar events make a ton of money. We see the local bars making a lot of money from the same people who say they want to get away from bar culture.
This is more than just “support us”. You do that. You show up. You spend your money. You create community and space. This is about what growth looks like for us.
So we ask again – what do queers want from queer establishments?
We hope you will ponder this question.
*source – https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2022/06/gay-bars-decline-nationwide-according-new-study/