'Livg joyoly is a radil act': why Ameri's gay bars still matter | Life and style | The Guardian

Contents:

• THE BT GAY BARS AND CLUBS LOS ANGEL
• THE FRAT HOE IS THE LAST GAY BAR STANDG GARN GROVE
• 52 ESSENTIAL GAY BARS AND NIGHTS AROUND LOS ANGEL
• THE 42 BT GAY BARS AMERI
• TRIXIE MATTEL WANTS TO MAKE MILWKEE’S OLST GAY BAR A “NATNAL LANDMARK”
• 'LIVG JOYOLY IS A RADIL ACT': WHY AMERI'S GAY BARS STILL MATTER
• 60 SONGS THAT WILL CLEAR OUT THE BATHROOM AT ANY GAY BAR

THE BT GAY BARS AND CLUBS LOS ANGEL

Micky’s WeHo has long been a staple on Wt Hollywood’s strip of gay nightclubs and bars on Santa Moni Boulevard, known for s open-walled two-story buildg where passersby n see the party ragg om the street.

THE FRAT HOE IS THE LAST GAY BAR STANDG GARN GROVE

Though Sweetwater isn’t officially known as a lbian bar, the humble tablishment has long been the go-to spot for queer women the lol gayborhood, which featur nearly half a dozen gay bars that le Broadway Long Beach. One of Long Beach’s few, if not only, three-level gay bars, Executive Sue boasts a karaoke bar, vio gam, pool tabl for rent, and regular drag shows.

52 ESSENTIAL GAY BARS AND NIGHTS AROUND LOS ANGEL

Dubbed by KCET as Montebello’s bt Lato gay bar, Chi is the sister to Club Cobra, servg as a groundg se for the queer Latx muny the suburbs of East LA.

THE 42 BT GAY BARS AMERI

This historic Spanish flamen and tapas bar Sunset Boulevard, while not a gay venue per se, El Cid hosts some fabulo gay-themed shows that are not to be missed. Consired the world's first and only gay-owned brewery, 's a great spot to grab a pizza or two and make iends at a munal table, while enjoyg the many beers on tap. M., but Shelly Heier and Cris McKnight — “two straight chicks nng a gay bar, ” they quip — are bit the afternoons, gettg the place clean, stocked and ready for historilly nservative Garn Grove — as recently as last Tuday the Cy Council rejected a motn to fly a rabow flag at Cy Hall, but agreed to light up a clock tower the same lors for Pri Month — don’t have the welg reputatn of, say, Laguna Beach, Long Beach or Santa Ana, once boasted as many as 15 gay bars, acrdg to a recent had nam like the Mug, the Happy Hour, DOK Wt, the Upbeat, Rumour Hazz and the Knotty Keg.

“Everybody knows when you’re gog to Garn Grove and you’re gay [that] you’re gog to the Frat Hoe bee that’s the only thg open, gay, Garn Grove, ” said Monique Chantel Dupre, a drag performer featured the “Frat Hoe” documentary, which bowed at the recent Newport Beach Film Ftival.

“I’d known for a while that there was a gay bar a few blocks om my hoe, and I thought was jt so bizarre that there was a church next to , ” she said. “Back the day, [LGBTQ people] didn’t have nowhere to go, so this was a safe place and a safe haven for the gay people to e, ” Heier said. ”The days, their ctomers tend to be majory Lato men, and while they ed to be open 365 days of the year, they’re now closed Tudays bee there isn’t enough apps, social media, latg real tate sts sparked by gentrifitn, and creasg acceptance of the gay muny are leadg to ls patronage of tradnal gay bars, which mt also pete wh the predomantly straight bars’ gay night said that if wasn’t for the fact that she owns the buildg, the Frat Hoe might not still be bs.

TRIXIE MATTEL WANTS TO MAKE MILWKEE’S OLST GAY BAR A “NATNAL LANDMARK”

“We stay open maly bee of our longevy and the history that we have, ” Heier few tradnal gay bars around the unty that rema have bee, many ways, isolated pockets of the LGBTQ muny, acrdg to Lus Hilrbrand, a film and media studi profsor at UC Irve. Orange County Gay Pri last year, said she didn’t know her lol history until she began workg across the unty le — at the LGBTQ Center Long Beach.

Orange County Gay Pri last year and is popularly known as “Johnny Wt Street, ” after Laguna Beach’s famoly gay beach — said he didn’t learn about this queer history until he was olr.

Jonathan Alexanr, a UCI English profsor, said that historilly bars were one of the few plac that gay and lbian people uld meet public spac. Bee cross-drsg and dancg wh same-sex partners was illegal much of the untry before the gay civil rights movement took hold, the bars often had to disguise themselv, explaed Alexanr. Caterg to a mix of mostly Lato, hipster and drag crowds, but wele to all, The New Jalis billed self as, "The Only Gay Bar Downtown" until 2015 when Precct opened down the street.

'LIVG JOYOLY IS A RADIL ACT': WHY AMERI'S GAY BARS STILL MATTER

The Eagle is sh-only which only adds to the nt vibe of unrground gay bars of yore, which is why you may want to ask your girliends to s this one out and meet you for a last ll dance at Akbar afterward. THE OXWOOD INNWhile the days most of our gay bars are nsired gay & lbian, and a lot of them feature lbian-themed nights, The Oxwood Inn is officially the last lbian bar Los Angel proper. BFD at Fubar (via @fubarlosangel) FUBARAs Wt Hollywood's gay bar that is furtht east on Santa Moni Boulevard, Fubar is a sexy nctn of the Boystown mastays back wt and the laid-back hnts out east.

60 SONGS THAT WILL CLEAR OUT THE BATHROOM AT ANY GAY BAR

Ually featur a live performance by drag queen royalty Jackie Beat and promot self as "a big dumb gay party, " which is sometim jt what we queers need. Gold Coast is loted at 8228 Santa Moni Boulevard and Tnks is loted at 8809 Santa Moni SportsbarFor gays who prefer football to Gaga, Gym is a wele alternative. Gym also supports gay sports leagu, helpg to erase our memori of high school douchebags and replace them wh a way to bond and meet like-md gays that go beyond the bar.