A new campaign is trying to save the last 15 lesbian bars in the country

by Anagha Srikanth | Nov. 12, 2020 | Nov. 12, 2020

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Story at a glance

Many bars are struggling to remain open after losing business due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Lesbian bars, which were already endangered, are especially at risk.
A new campaign is raising money to help keep these LGBTQ+ safe spaces open.

If you’re not a member of the LGBTQ+ community, you might not fully understand why there are still “gay” and “lesbian” bars. But the reality is that while acceptance of different genders and sexualities has grown in recent years, there are still parts of the country where it’s unsafe to be anything but heterosexual.

At the same time, these safe spaces are dying out. The number of lesbian bars in the United States has gone from about 200 in the late 1980s to as few as 15, according to a new campaign that’s hoping to keep that number from getting any lower.

“These bars are disappearing at a staggering rate and we cannot afford to lose more of these vital establishments to the fallout of COVID-19,” said the campaign website. “Without space, we lose power, validity, communal safety, and access to intergenerational dialogue.”

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The Lesbian Bar Project, sponsored by Jagermeister’s “Save the Night” initiative, is running a four-week campaign to raise money for lesbian bars across the country as they weather the coronavirus pandemic, which has taken a disproportionate toll on the LGBTQ+ community.

“We believe what makes a bar uniquely Lesbian is its prioritization of creating space for people of marginalized genders; including women, non-binary folks, and trans men,” said the campaign website.

In a video, the campaign memorializes what once was and what has been lost over the years for those who frequented lesbian bars.

“I was home,” Elina Street, co-director of the campaign’s promotional video, said in a statement to them. “Now as a proudly OUT filmmaker who has made it my mission to tell and promote queer stories, I want to use the power of filmmaking to illuminate the rich history of these 15 spaces and provide an opportunity for lesbian bars to tell their stories.”

The voice in the background might be familiar as that of Carrie “Big Boo” Black in the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black,” or Lea DeLaria, who was also executive producer of the video along with The Katz Company.

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Co-director Erica Rose said that the project provided an opportunity “to collaborate with other artists, and to elevate the voices of those that deserve to be heard, cherish the memories of the lost spaces but also to project a future of hope and sustainability within our community.”

Since the campaign launched in late October, the organizers noted that there were several bars they may have missed and were looking into Boycott Bar in Arizona, Cash Nightclub and Lounge in Arizona, Wild Side West in California and Babes of Carytown in Virginia. Others have closed, some even before the campaign began fundraising.

All of the proceeds will be split evenly between the participating bars, except Sue Ellen’s in Dallas and Pearl Bar in Houston, which the campaign said opted out of the fund “to allow for more support for the other Bars.”

These are the 15 bars listed on the campaign website:

Wildrose in Seattle

Gossip Grill in San Diego

Blush&Blu in Denver

Sue Ellen’s in Dallas

Pearl Bar in Houston

Herz in Mobile, Ala.

My Sister’s Room in Atlanta

Lipstick Lounge in Nashville

Slammers in Columbus, Ohio

A League of Her Own in Washington, D.C.

Toasted Walnut in Philadelphia