LGBT History: The 1953 gay raid Wa Texas - Out In Jersey

Contents:

•  TEXAS LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
• DO YOU WANNA FUNK WH ME?: A BEGNER’S GUI TO GAY NIGHTCLUBS
• 2003
•  TEXAS LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
•  TEXAS LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS
• LGBT HISTORY: THE 1953 GAY RAID WA TEXAS
• THE 1953 GAY RAID WA
• 2003

 TEXAS LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS

Good advice, but you uld jt do the easy way: fd the bit gay club town.

(By “gay bar”, I mean any bar that ters primarily to gay men or lbians. But if you want to go dance, party, and have a good time, tst me — a gay club is where you should be head.

To be fair, there are straight clubs that play great mic and have fun, nonjudgmental crowds, and there are gay bars that are nothg more than S and M (Stand and Mol) clubs.

DO YOU WANNA FUNK WH ME?: A BEGNER’S GUI TO GAY NIGHTCLUBS

Certa gay/lbian clubs have their target clientele, of urse — wboys and wgirls (The Round-up Saloon Dallas), leather men (La Track Montreal), punk lbians (The Dyke Bar Brighton, UK), and drag queens (1001 Pub Maryl Istanbul), for stance — but what I’m talkg about is your basic glter-ball, all-wele, humpg-on-the-dance-floor dis. This wouldn’t have happened at any of the gay bars town, and we fely would have had a better time, as the doorman was jt the first of numero snooty employe we enuntered, there. If you’ve never been to a gay bar, there are a few thgs you need to unrstand so that you n have the right attu.

First, there are gog to be homosexuals there.

That may seem obv, but ’s amazg how many people enter what is clearly a gay bar and say, “Hey, thar’s a bunch a queers ‘ere. ” And the homosexuals who are there will be dancg wh one another, holdg hands, huggg, and, y, kissg.

2003

A gay bar is one of the few plac where homosexuals n exprs their affectn for one another whout beg subjected to someone’s narrow judgment, or, prumably, riskg harm to themselv, so expect to happen.

I went wh three iends — a lbian and a straight uple — to a gay nightclub a while back, but was separated om them immediately after enterg the crowd club.

 TEXAS LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS

Unlike what you may have seen on Queer as Folk, the overwhelmg majory of gay bars don’t have backrooms and hallways where wild i are takg place. Dg e, particularly the e of ecstasy and other signer dgs, is higher among the gay populatn than the straight populatn, and some gays and lbians equate a night on the town wh a night of high-energy, dg-duced spastic dancg. Havg said all that, why should you go to a gay nightclub?

In my qut for the perfect dance club, I tried, or was dragged to, diss of all varieti, so I know om experience that the bt dance mic is a gay bar. And numero dance masters and producers market their goods to gay clubs specifilly. Sylvter, the late dis diva of the ’80s, was one of the first to target gay dienc, and he tablished a proud tradn of producg multi-layered tracks to which even the most rhythmilly-challenged uld dance.

 TEXAS LBIAN AND GAY BARS, RTRANTS, LODGG, PRI EVENT, BS MAPS

Not so a gay club. Even though he was straight and had a girliend, Ron and I went dancg together often; we both loved to dance, and if no one wanted to go out wh , we knew we uld dance a gay bar whout beg hassled. From gym gods to nerds to fag hags (the latter beg the straight women who hang wh their gay male iends) to straight upl who want to try some place new — don’t matter.

Although, to be hont, the more you look like a er ught the headlights, the more the regulars will look at you oddly, so try not to eak out when you see your first drag queen or gay/lbian uple makg out.

LGBT HISTORY: THE 1953 GAY RAID WA TEXAS

Still, there are a few thgs to keep md before venturg to your first gay bar. And often, gay clubs smaller towns or ral areas are entrance-by-membership-only, to keep out the rednecks and others who want stir up trouble.

THE 1953 GAY RAID WA

When I attend llege the homophobic town of Wa, Texas, gettg to the one gay bar town remd me of enterg a speak-easy durg Prohibn, but once si, the patrons were all nice and easy-gog. Dependg on the cy, the parts of town where gay bars are loted are often rough, and crime rat are high.

Even when loted “nicer” parts of town, gay bars tend to attract n artists, pick pockets, and gay bashers lookg to prey on the weak or dnk. If you would prefer to have bamboo shoved unr your nails to beg around homosexuals, then bt to stay out of gay clubs.

2003

However, if you have no problem wh gay, lbian, bisexual or transgenred people general, they turn will have no problem wh you, so you ought to give the lol gay bar a try. 1977Gay Life WaIn 1977, The Wa Cizen put out a seri of articl tled “Gay Life Wa, ” highlightg LGB people, their liv, and their stggl.

We knew about gays and my nt was a lbian, but people mostly didn’t discs even if they knew or spected who was gay.

One of the anizers, another gay stunt at Baylor, was reprimand for his volvement.