Who Needs Gay Bars?: Bar-Hopping through America's Endangered LGBTQ+ Places

by Greggor Mattson

Gay bars have been closing by the hundreds. 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 maybe nobody. And yet... Jarred by the closing of his favorite local watering hole in Cleveland, Ohio, Greggor Mattson embarks 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. From the historical archives of Seattle's Garden of Allah, to the outpost bars in Texas, Missouri or Florida that serve as community hubs for queer youth―these are places of celebration, where the next drag superstar from Alaska or Oklahoma may be discovered. They are also fraught grounds for confronting the racial and gender politics within and without the LGBTQ+ community. 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 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 POC, white, trans, cis; past, present, and future.

Genres: Nonfiction, Queer, LGBT, History, Audiobook, Sociology

448 pages, Hardcover

First published May 30, 2023

Reviews

[Sage Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes you want to find the nearest gay bar and talk to the bartender while over-tipping and relishing in every little detail of the space. Gay bars are often complicated spaces, and Mattson does a wonderful job guiding the reader to consider what makes them complicated while never losing sight of who each bar is really for. I loved his narration. He has the ability to narrate his research in an approachable way, often adding in some humor. The strong narration allows you to understand his perspective, while still allowing you to form your own thoughts about each interview or idea introduced.
I feel really grateful that books like this exist. I’m usually not a huge fan of reading academic writing so I feel like I’ve missed out on understanding the history of queer spaces in a deeper way. Books like this allow anyone to read about research and get something out of it.

[Jared Bogolea · Rating 4 out of 5]

On paper, this seems like it’ll be a fun romp through America’s gay/queer/lesbian bars and how they came to be. This book IS that, but it is also so, so much more. These bars are for-profit nonprofits, lone outposts in red states for LGBTQIA+ people, performance places, nightclubs and so much more.

It also made me question my own inherent biases I’ve been carrying about straight people flocking to queer bars, and to this I’ll say… I was wrong. This book provides a wealth of knowledge and research. It’s occasionally dense, as it is clearly a post-doctorate study, but it is still very engaging and exciting.

As younger generations get more accepting and queerer and less dependent on substances, I think this book will remain interesting to reference and go back to. Heading into a second Tr*** presidency, I’ll be eager to see how the collective’s opinions shift specifically on queer heavy spaces being necessary, and how the presence of straight people and allies being there are being more and more the norm.

But for now, I will say, I will be trying to go out and support my local queer spaces more than I have been. (Even if I don’t really drink anymore). This book opened my eyes and I’m very thankful for that. It’s definitely deserving of 4 stars.

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone who's ever been to a gay bar should read this book - and that very much includes the straights! While I doubt folks will love this book as much as I do, having once been part of the same "nightlife academia" world this author inhabits, it's still great coverage of various gay bars across the country, how they do business and what it all means - with a particular focus on non-coastal bars. Plus, how can you go wrong with a book that ends with a Kylie Minogue quote: "Your disco needs you"?! It's still true, queen.

Structurally the book is divided into seven sections, opening with a key concept Mattson uses throughout: ambiguity. Mattson applies this theme to multiple concepts, but a primary one is that many venues were reluctant to tag themselves as "gay bars" since they prefer to see themselves as "for everyone." The other sections are "gay bar fundamentals," "safe spaces," "lesbian-owned bars," "cruisy men's bars," "how to save a gay bar" and "national monuments." Each section breaks down into short chapters, each of which tells the story of a particular bar. So if nothing else you will hear about a lot of venues you probably didn't know about! (Though whether or not they are still operational in 2024 and beyond is a real question.)

Mattson is a Gen X white gay man from Ohio, but his time in DC and the Bay Area informs his analysis. (Also, he teaches at small, very liberal arts Oberlin College, so that should tell you something.) He takes a very self-aware approach to his identity while interviewing bar owners and bartenders, carefully noting when his own perceptions are at odds with what is being said to him. Mattson also doesn't shy away from the personal - he fully admits that while going out to these spaces was foundational for him when he was younger, as an older guy who likes to go to bed early and has some hearing issues, his personal preferences in what venues he goes out to has changed.

Mattson will share stories when he has past personal experiences with a bar, but not in a way that makes it too much about him - which is appreciated, and hard to do well. (My personal favorite is when he was younger and working as a researcher in a bar and crossed the line too far over into personal and got kicked off the study. As someone who's done participant research in clubs, I can sympathize!) Mattson is also straightforward about how hard driving around bars for the research was on his personal life, and how awkward it is to be typing up notes on a laptop in a bar. This "breaking the fourth wall" is frowned on in most forms of research, but unavoidable and indeed vital when you look at nightlife spaces, and I think Mattson handled the balance between observation and opinion skillfully.

While it's fun to learn about the various bars around the less-traveled areas of the country, the last two sections were my favorites. In "how to save a gay bar" Mattson has several chapters about bars with unique ownership structures, which was fascinating to learn about. And in "national monuments" he writes about Stonewall and Pulse, and how these are private spaces (businesses!) that have become public symbols - sometimes not even accurate ones. He demonstrates how the attack on Pulse has been characterized as an attack on gay people, while the specificity of the attack happening on its "Latin Night" has been overwritten. "As much as I felt in my bones that it could have been me that night at the gay club, this stiff-hipped, early-to-bed, whitey-McWhite goof probably would not have been at Latin Night," Mattson writes in one of my favorite lines in the book. Well said, and point taken, my friend.

I'm a big nerd for nightlife scholarship, and even more so when it's about queer community. So this book was a delight to me, from start to finish. However, given that one of Mattson's main points is that gay bars are becoming more "everyone" bars day by day - and indeed, have sometimes always been so when they are "outpost" bars in small towns - this book deserves a wide readership. It's a real question how we preserve the uniqueness of LGBTQ nightlife spaces even as they evolve in this question-mark "post-gay" world.

[Kari Barclay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, which is illuminating about what it means to be queer today. It's about so much more than bars. It's about how queerness lives in U.S. culture amidst capitalism, amidst racism, amidst economic inequality and gentrification, amidst straight friends and the RuPaul-ification of queer culture. It was also just an amazing piece of travel writing that transported me mentally to so many different bars, cities, and towns across the U.S. Raise a toast (alcoholic or not) to the ambivalent feelings Mattson analyzes around gay bars and queer cultures themselves.

[Steve Wolcott · Rating 4 out of 5]

An "inside baseball" look at the current status of gay bars in the United States. Being straight I had to Google a lot of terms and slang. An interesting trip through a world that I knew existed but didn't know much about.

[Vampire Who Baked · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is an absurdly good book, a fantastic explainer on gay bars and queer culture in general, through a well organized and well curated collection of bar-hopping "stories", that can be read as social history, memoir, cultural commentary or travelogue (and often as advertisements for the bars themselves, many of which have since shuttered).

two things i didn't like --

1. uses the word "ambivalent" way too many times, as a nudge-wink motif, but it becomes cringe very quickly

2. the author can be VERY judgemental, in a very "online leftist discourse circa 2015--2021" that is performative without being substantive. like language policing an elderly gay bar owner in deep red rural southwest on behalf of minorities, while acknowledging that the actual minorities there appear totally happy -- it's very presumptuous in a typically "cis white gay man who spends too much time in his bubble" way. maybe read the room next time?

also could use significant editing -- some of the content gets repetitive after a point, maybe some of the chapters could have been combined.

but regardless, this is a fantastic book otherwise. and props for acknowledging that most gay bars can be very exclusionary towards anyone who is not a (at least mildly) hypersexual (at least mildly) scene cis gay man of a particular type.

the other letters in LGBTQIA+ aren't always acknowledged in most of these spaces. if you are not this category of person, you may almost never feel welcome in gay bars, you may not understand them, and you will be decidedly (ahem) ambivalent about their existence. this was a very enjoyable read, and perhaps after this we need some cultural exploration of what other kinds of spaces might exist.

[Shant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well written book, that reminded me of an Anthony Bourdain show. Mattson explored lots of different issues for gay bars, such as the contradictions for running a community oriented place as a for profit business, or being open-minded for criticism you face from the community. I liked the chapters about the Virginia nonprofit ran bar, the bar ran by Paula, as well as the Pennsylvania bar.

[Stef Brundage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Glad this exists but it's horribly uneven. It also paints certain horrid bar owners in a good light and that's bothersome. It lacks a throughline and focus and doesn't do that good of a job at pinpointing what exactly it's trying to say. But the examination is often interesting and has a lot of important viewpoints and asks some valid questions

[Bo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories of local gay bars across the US. Wish there were more in-depth analysis for some of them. Felt I learned something but needed more info to learn more about them. The chapter title served more of a label than a well explored topic/subject.

[Puppet · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's a very repetitive book that makes dull what should be an interesting topic. as the ole saying goes if you have been to one gay bar you've been to them all. just pick one chapter at random to read and it sums up the whole book.

[Jase · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's like reliving my old party days. Most are just interviews with bars and some stories but I have been to many of these places. Not many still around but great to see the transition of bar types over the decades.

[Scott Gundaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely positively loved this book. Can't wait to continue the story with the other books that follow in the series. 🙋‍♂️ ❤ 📖 📚

[DaniPhantom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes you truly appreciate gay bars, not only for the boozy drinks, great convo and shameless dancing and flirting; but also for the sense of community that these places bring to people who feel like they might not be welcome elsewhere.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was unimpressed with this book because I could not find it focus. The author seemed initially to be presenting us with something of academic value but, perhaps due to the haphazard mode of research and data collection that is not what he seems to have produced. Part of it seems to have to do with the institution of gay bars and their rumored disappearance followed by reappearance in morphed conditions and forms. But he lurches off into all sorts of other directions which I found distracting ultimately as listening to someone with 10 very interesting things to say but jumbling them all up so much that it was like listening to a salad. sometimes his information comes from owners and sometimes from random customers or random workers who seem to be who is available on the day he was able to pass through the town. I wish this had been a much better book.