They were once the only places where LGBT people could gather in public. The mainstreaming of LGBT people is a positive sign of progress, but something is lost when gay bars close.
And in the nation’s interior, economic and population declines have eroded patron bases. Similarly, bars serving working-class and poor LGBTQ people are more likely to be pushed out by gentrification than bars that serve middle-class and white gay men. Bars serving women and people of color, along with those that cater to men interested in fetishes, kink and BDSM, faced closure rates of over 50% between 20. Not all gay bars face equal risks of closure, however. And in coastal cities, gentrification is blamed for pushing gay bars out of the neighborhoods they helped make hip. The Great Recession also hammered bars and full-service restaurants, pushing some vulnerable establishments to the edge. “Every bar is a gay bar.” In addition, the debut of geolocating smartphone dating and hookup apps like Grindr also heralded an era where cruising for sex – one of bars’ primary offerings – could be conducted anywhere, anytime. “I go wherever I want with my friends,” one former employee of a gay bar told Talking Points Memo in 2015.
In this era of increasing LGBT acceptance, there’s growing competition from straight establishments.
