New Orleans Gay History

Contents:

• THERE GO THE GAYBORHOOD

THERE GO THE GAYBORHOOD

New Orleans has always been a cy that champned the arts and celebrated culture, which has fostered a lively gay social scene and drew many LGBTQ artists and performers to the French Quarter, home to Café Lafte Exile, one of Ameri’s olst gay bars. The longt nng gay event, the Fat Monday Luncheon, kicked off 1949, and the olst gay social anizatn, the Steamboat Club, was lnched 1953. Mardi Gras fostered s own gay tradns wh the Krewe of Yuga, the first gay Carnival club formed 1958.

Notable gay lols and rints clud Tennsee Williams, who me here 1938 and wrote “A Streetr Named Dire” om his home at 1014 Dumae St. Gay Pri Contt 1981, long before she me out publicly 1997. A climate of change across the Uned Stat fomented gay activism the early 1970s New Orleans as well, wh groups like the Gay Liberatn Front of New Orleans, a lol chapter of the natnal lbian anizatn, Dghters of Bilis, gay pri events and the foundg of the Tulane Universy Gay Stunts Unn.

The Gert Ste Society, which began 1975, brought together a group of men and women who were stmental velopg an active muny astcture the 1980s: the Louisiana Gay Polil Actn Cc (1980), the State Gay Conference (1981), the New Orleans Gay Men’s Chos and a lol chapter of P-FLAG (both 1982), and the NO/AIDS Task Force (1983). LGBT rights were (fally) regnized by New Orleans Cy Council 1991, wh the passg of a gay non-discrimatn ordance.

New Orleans Gay Pri is one of the largt gathergs of LGBTQ people the Uned Stat. The history of the event dat back to 1971, when the Gay Liberatn Front of New Orleans staged a gay celebratn. The gay pri events New Orleans now take place at the begng of June, and ually durg the first full weekend of the month.

Crowds gathered around hotspots like our French Quarter gay bars tend to skew toward bawdy–but that don’t mean you n’t fd opportuni to enjoy Pri wh your fay. You n also fd our list of gay bars and clubs here. Altogether, ’s the perfect settg for the livelit of gay cultur.

The LGBTQ muny tak the spotlight at ftivals all year long, wh Southern Dence over Labor Day weekend attractg more than 125, 000 revelers to what’s e to be known as Gay Mardi Gras.

Paras, stum, drag shows and themed parti abound durg Dence, then aga they’re a part of the cy’s Pri Ft, Mardi Gras, Halloween ftivi and even Easter, where the Gay Easter Para is one of three the French Quarter.

The Sats and Sners Lerary Ftival tak a more studied approach, brgg the gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and tersex lerati together for three days of spired mgs. While the first official gay Carnival krewe, the Krewe of Yuga, was formed the late 1950s, “Gay Mardi Gras” had been gog on unrground way before then. Though no longer active, Yuga gave birth to other gay Carnival krew, cludg the Krewe of Petroni and the Krewe of Amon-Ra, both of which are still active.

While on the surface Mardi Gras appears to be no more than a party, many say Gay Mardi Gras helped her the Gay Rights Movement the Uned Stat. Here are some of the bt-known gay Carnival balls. Typilly held on the Saturday before Mardi Gras Day, Armei’ missn is to prerve the ctoms of gay Carnival and to help te those who seek to learn more.

One of the olst gay Carnival krew the cy, Petroni was found 1961 and has served as a jumpg-off pot for other krew. Other Gay Carnival Events.