Gay bars have been closing by the hundreds and as all gay men are highly opinionated (!) we all have our thoughts on why this has been happening. Greggor Mattson took this all one step further when his favorite local watering hole in Cleveland, Ohio closed. He embarked on a journey across the country to paint a much more complex picture of the cultural significance of these spaces, inside “big four” gay cities, but also beyond them. No longer the only places for their patrons to socialize openly, Mattson finds in them instead a continuously evolving symbol; a physical place for feeling and challenging the beating pulse of sexual progress
The story goes that increasing mainstream acceptance of LGBTQ+ people, plus dating apps like Grindr and Tinder, have rendered these spaces obsolete. Beyond that, rampant gentrification in big cities has pushed gay bars out of the neighborhoods they helped make hip. Who Needs Gay Bars considers these narratives, accepting that the answer for some might be: maybe nobody. And yet.
The question that frames this story is not asking whether these spaces are needed, but for whom, earnestly exploring the diversity of folks and purposes they serve today. Loosely informed by the Damron Guide, the so-called “Green Book” of gay travel, Mattson a Professor of Sociology at Oberlin College, logged 10,000 miles on the road to all corners of the United States. His destinations are sometimes thriving, sometimes struggling, but all offering intimate views of the wide range of gay experience in America: POC, white, trans, cis; past, present, and future.
This is a fascinating must-read for all interested in queer history and also those with a stake in the future of our community.
Labels: 2023, book, Greggor Mattson, Who Needs Gay Bars?
