College Life
The University of Wisconsin
This is the flagship campus of the UW System, and, according to Wikipedia, “is organized into 20 schools which enrolled 29,153 undergraduate, 8,710 graduate, and 2,570 professional students and granted 6,040 bachelor’s, 3,328 graduate and professional degrees in 2008.” So there you go.
The campus is pretty darn LGBT-friendly, though life there is not without its challenges for queer-identified students. Start your time off right by visiting the LGBT Campus Center right away. You can focus your studies on all things queer (you can get a certificate in LGBT studies, major in gender and women’s studies), and attend events like the Ten Percent Society’s dances, the Reel Love Film Festival or the Trans* Monologues.
Madison’s campus is one of the largest in the nation, but it’s mostly centered in the downtown area, at the opposite end of the State Street pedestrian mall from the State Capitol. Unsurprisingly, then, State Street is usually crawling with students during the school year, and tourists during the summer, but generally always a pleasant place to be/shop/eat (except around bar time, 2 a.m., when things can get super dicey/bro-tastic).
Edgewood College
This is a private, liberal arts college founded by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, situated on the Near West Side of town, on its own little cozy, beautiful campus. It’s also where I went for undergrad (2000-2004), even though I’m not Catholic. The queer community there is (naturally) much smaller, but the atmosphere for queer kids has improved dramatically over even just the last decade.
Edgewood is known for its education, nursing, and art therapy programs – as well as its continuing education school.
I’ll just summarize and say: While the administration can be fairly conservative, the nuns are almost all radical, feminist, social justice crusaders – and a bunch of the professors (and department heads, etc.) are queer. I learned a lot while I was there.
Madison College (formerly MATC)
A top-notch technical college with a great transfer program between it and the UW. There’s one main campus downtown and another on the Far East Side. All sorts of folks of all ages go there.
Sports
YOU GUYS, there are so many queer and queer-friendly sports leagues in Madison – if you’re at all inclined to get active you pretty much have no excuse.
Mad Rollin’ Dolls and Mad Wrecking Dolls roller derby leagues
Madison boasts one of the original roller derby revival leagues in MRD, which enters its ninth season this December. The travel team—the Dairyland Dolls—was ranked number 10 in the nation last year. And bouts are just super fun. Interest in derby has grown so much over the last decade that a recreational league, MWD, was begun a few years ago. Anyone can join (whereas getting into MRD involves a highly competitive try-out process during the summer) for one of the seasonal sessions, and there are different levels to suit all comers. (full disclosure: I am a member of MWD).
Madison Gay Hockey Association
This co-ed hockey league also welcomes people of all gender identities and skill levels, and is super rad.
Madison Minotaurs Gay Rugby (for the boy-identified)
Wisconsin Women’s Rugby (for the girl-identified)
Madison Blaze Women’s football!
Health Services
For students, the LGBT Campus Center is the best place to go for recommendations and help. As a student, too, you’ll have access to the excellent UW Health System.
A Woman’s Touch (600 Williamson St.)
This place is pretty much The Best. Run by two ladies with lengthy backgrounds in health and sexual wellness, and a serious commitment to people getting their safe, consensual freak on, A Woman’s Touch is a rad, feminist, sex-positive sex toy and education shop. Shopping here is one of the most pleasant experiences you can have – they give you a piece of chocolate every time you buy something – and I’ve never once felt wigged out while perusing the shelves of naughty books, toys, plush vagina puppets, underthings, etc. Have questions? They can probably answer any of ‘em. It’s a wonderland.
AIDS Network (600 Williamson St.)
A longtime provider of HIV/AIDS prevention and care services in southern Wisconsin. The annual ACT bike ride raises money to support their work.
Activism/Feminism
There are a lot of smaller, less formal groups and organizations in Madison that work toward various LGBT and/or feminist goals. You pretty much need only show up and start talking to people to find them. Some of the larger groups tackling these issues are as follows:
Fair Wisconsin is probably the largest statewide group actively fighting on behalf of LGBT rights. There’s also the Gay/Straight Alliance for Safe Schools, Alianza Latina/Latino works on behalf of Latina/o LGBT youth, and the Wisconsin Women’s Network is a coalition of area organizations and individuals that works to “advance the status of women and girls” in the state.
Family
In terms of the LGBT population, once you get out of college things get much more family focused. There are so, so many queers raising kids here (it’s adorable). But don’t let that fool you – there’s plenty going on for whatever stage of your gay life you’re in.
In terms of your rights in the fair state of Wisconsin, it’s a really mixed bag: An anti-gay marriage amendment sadly passed back in 2006, but we were also the first state in the country to pass a law that banned discrimination in employment, housing, education, etc. based on sexual orientation. Both Madison and Milwaukee also ban discrimination based on gender identity.
Wisconsin also has a domestic partner registry, which offers some (but certainly not all) of the same rights as marriage. We also ban discrimination for any reason regarding adoption rights. You can check out a full list of our checkered history and current situation regarding LGBT rights here.
Wisconsin Rainbow Families
A group dedicated to helping LGBT families make friends, communicate, discover, educate, and organize. They organize regular events for LGBT families, like a water park day and a Halloween bash.
PFLAG Madison (Friends Meeting House, 1702 Roberts Court)
Yay PFLAG! They have the most adorable Farmer’s Market table. More importantly, they’re a great, positive force in the community.
Neighborhood/Community
This is, for the most part, how the different parts of town break down: Downtown, Near East Side, Near West Side, Middle/Far East, West Side, South Side, North Side – and each has its own unique character and flavor. The South Side tends to get the worst rap, and there are food deserts and crime problems in that area, but there’s also a great community struggling to gain more recognition and assistance from city government, which can sometimes have a myopic view of what all Madison is (surprise! it’s not entirely Caucasian—we have growing Hispanic and African American populations, and a large Hmong community, among others).
Gayborhoods
Madison doesn’t have anything official – for the most part, you’re relatively safe living anywhere in the area. There is, of course, the unofficially and affectionately named “Dyke Heights” behind the Barrymore Theater just off Atwood Ave. on the near-ish east side, where an inordinately large number of lesbian families live. Also many backyard chicken coops (it’s legal to keep them within city limits), and Bad Dog Frida, a lesbian-owned-and-operated pet accessories store. Heck, pretty much the entire near east side is super gay, too. Near west is gay-friendly but much more bohemian-bourgeoisie (see: expensive). You’re going to be OK just about anywhere in the city, though there are somewhat “rougher” spots along the edges—most notably the uber rich ‘hoods on the far west side and Maple Bluff (near north).
OutReach Community Center (600 Williamson St.) is a great central resource for all things LGBT in the Madison area. The center is a place to go just to read up on your queer history, get in touch with all sorts of queer people and organizations, get involved, get referred, and more.
I’d be remiss, too, if I didn’t mention Madison’s own LGBT magazine, Our Lives – which is extremely community focused and a great resource for the people, businesses, and events that make up our cozy, queer family. You can pick up (free) copies of the lovely, full-color publication at most cafes and a few waiting rooms around town, or subscribe (also for free) by mail.
Hair/Body Mod/Tattoos
Whether you’re looking for the latest and greatest in alternative lifestyle haircuts, or the old-school barbershop experience, we’ve got you covered:
Kode (2039 Winnebago St.)
Super LGBT-friendly, also family-friendly, eco-friendly, awesome hair-friendly. Very likely to run into derby girls here, too, if that’s your thing.
Cha Cha Beauty & Barber (912 Williamson St.)
Enjoy the rockabilly vibe, attractive/talented staff, and just step upstairs to Tailor Made for a tattoo while you’re at it.
Thorps (1988 Atwood Ave.)
Hipsters, rejoice! This place is going for that warm, welcoming, old-school vibe and generally hit the nail on the head. More male-identified in their décor/focus, but completely open to all-comers.
Capitol City Tattoo (1349 Williamson St.)
Blue Lotus Tattoo & Piercing (Downtown – 458 W. Gilman St., West – 6713 Odana Rd.)
Steve’s Tattoo (1205 Williamson St.)
Books
We are a lucky, literary people: Madison still has several independent bookstores, for both new and used titles, as well as the awesome, annual, and totally free Wisconsin Book Festival.
A Room of One’s Own (315 W. Gorham St.)
Mon thru Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 12pm to 5pm
I can’t stress enough what an awesome resource this place is: They carry new, general interest fiction and non-fiction but specialize in LGBT and women’s issues books. After a recent move they’re also in a much bigger space, and share it with a local peddler of used titles, Avol’s Books. Room hosts many readings by local and touring authors, open mic nights, poetry readings, and more. It’s also the go-to for rainbow paraphernalia, queer postcards, and a wide variety of queer lady focused magazines and zines.
Rainbow Bookstore Cooperative (426 W. Gilman St.)
Mon thru Thurs 10am-7pm, Fri & Sat 10am-6pm, Sun 12pm-5pm
Because of course a town with as protest-happy and progressive a history as Madison has its own cooperatively run radical bookstore. Lots of great, off-the-beaten path works on the shelves here, as well as tons of zines, newsletters, stickers, and more. You don’t have to be a member to shop there, but it helps (your wallet and the store itself). They host plenty of author talks as well, with a very lefty/liberal bent.
Arts
StageQ
Madison’s queer theatre troupe produces a variety of LGBT-focused plays, some fun and campy, some intense and challenging. Used to be pretty male-centric but has done a good job of expanding and becoming far more inclusive over the years.
QUEERSPEAK (Dutch’s Auto, 202 Regas Rd.)
A monthly open mic night for queer-identified folks and allies. Read poetry, sing a song, do stand-up, rant, whatever. Held on the fourth Wednesday of every month at Dutch’s Auto, 202 Regas Rd.
Dairyland Cowboys and Cowgirls
Got a soft spot for shit-kickers and big ol’ hats, country music and line dancing? Totally gay? This group should be right up your alley. Good times.
Proud Theater
“Proud Theater is a youth theater program designed to foster self-expression and self-empowerment for Madison-area youth. It is open to any youth who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ), or who are the sons or daughters of LGBTQ parents, or allies of the LGBTQ community at large.” It’s also awesome – most of their performances are of scripts written by or contributed to by the youth participants.
Pride
Wisconsin Capitol Pride
Held every year in the mid-sized market Pride month of August, this weekend-long event tends to focus more on the family-friendly stuff: a fairly tame (but fun!) parade around the Capitol, picnics, music, etc. They’ve had some financial problems in the past, but there’s hope that new blood will help improve this event in the future.
Fruit Fest
Real talk: This event, just a few years old now, is fast becoming the unofficially official Pride shindig in Madison – it helps that it actually happens in June, and that organizers have brought in some seriously impressive entertainment. Held each summer in the parking lot next door to Plan B, there’s the daytime street fair, the “Fruit Loop 5k” (the most colorful and queer run I’ve ever seen), Camp Bingo, and lots of live music. Past performers have included Bitch, Erin McKeown, Tiffany (!), Athens Boys Choir, Cazwell, and Girl in a Coma, among others.
