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Six Black Queer Travelers Share How They Attempt to Locate Community Around the Globe

After my girlfriend and I had to cancel holiday plans to Tanzania back in 2019 because we couldn’t guarantee our safety as an openly Black lesbian couple, I knew I never wanted to feel that despair and helplessness again. These feelings were spurred, not only from a safety standpoint, but also from simply not knowing how to connect with Tanzanian queer communities despite knowing that they very much exist. We constantly kept thinking that there must be something more than a cursory Google of ‘LGBTQ+ rights in Tanzania’ and that there must be other Black queer people who have been faced with this quandary before.

As a result, over the last year and a half, I’ve been working on the Black Queer Travel Guide (BQTG), primarily an app to help Black queer travelers navigate the world as safely as possible, with specific advice, information and local experiences. The project takes into account our whole selves and, while very much in the early stages, we’re building a digital resource that will offer more than white cis gay hotspots; one that takes into account the nuances of visiting the place your parents call home while knowing that your gender and/or sexuality could be the impetus for unprovoked violence.

Beyond an app or an organisation, BQTG is looking to build and develop community links. Last year, I carried out research through a survey on Black queer people and travel. With 93 participants, 90% shared that they are interested in connection with other Black queer people when they travel. The remaining question is ‘how?’ — one that we hope to answer with BQTG over the coming years.

Despite having this desire to connect, there are a whole host of reasons as to why finding other Black queer people on our travels can be tricky. I spoke to six Black queer people about why that is, alongside their personal experiences with travel and attempting to locate community around the globe.

A.I.D.

For A.I.D., the destinations they choose are often influenced by familiarity. “I’m a fairly infrequent traveler, usually choosing destinations that I’m familiar with (because I’ve been before) or know someone who lives there that can show me their version of the area.”

With Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as their main resources, the Black non-binary queer creative seeks out accounts, people, collectives and events that centre Black queer and trans folks. “In preparation for a now Covid-derailed trip to the West Indies that was planned for 2020, I had searched for and reached out and connected with some queer people living on the island I was visiting on through Twitter.” While finding these accounts online is relatively easy, they’ve found that the more challenging part is attempting to start a relationship with a stranger online in a way that isn’t overbearing or invasive.

Mila*

Traveling up to four times a year, holidays are all about simultaneously connecting with a new space and disconnecting from day-to-day hubbub for Mila. “Living in a small, predominantly white city in Canada – travel is how I remain connected with my friends as well as with more of a global Black and racialized communities. As someone that’s an immigrant as well, the journey of migration and being mobile keeps that drive in me to keep connecting.”

While the likes of Twitter and even Airbnb activities have been useful for scouting out what’s available in her chosen destination, Mila admits that locating other Black queer folks has been tricky. “It hasn’t been the easiest because most times, I don’t know where or how to start.”

Jed

Bad experiences with a solo trip at 16 coupled with the fears that come with being a Black queer trans man mean that Jed’s relationship with travel has been nothing short of complicated. “I started transition in my mid-twenties and had a fear of being detained or humiliated at customs. In 2020, I started traveling again – first to Europe with friends and then to Morocco by myself.”

This renewed zeal for exploring the globe has also sparked Jed’s interest in finding other Black LGBTQ+ folks when the world opens up again. “I’m excited to do it in the future. In Marrakesh, it seemed that the wealthier creative people felt free to be queer but I didn’t see any Black people among them.”

“I’m quite ignorant on what’s out there, however I’m not so sure it’s easy to find Black queer community while traveling simply because in many countries around the world queer people are not tolerated and therefore do not celebrate their community as openly on social media as we might do in the UK,” he adds. “It seems you’d need to know where to go or already have a connection to find Black queer community while traveling in a lot of places. I could be very wrong, of course.”

Christania

A bonafide explorer, Christania has been traveling since she was 2 years old, after her family relocated to Nigeria for a few years. “I was born in Jamaica so I prefer warmer climates and particularly enjoy traveling to hot countries where the pace of life is a lot slower and calm compared to the rat race in the UK. I went to Cuba with my partner in 2019 and having no internet access for 10 days was absolutely glorious.”

When it comes to holiday research, Christania turns to Google. “I usually Google the life out of the destinations that I want to visit,” she shares. “I purposely seek out travel blogs/Instagram profiles by Black women. I used to check Facebook groups as well to hear about the experiences of Black queer women in different countries.”

Finding Black queer communities on her travels has proved quite easy and Christania puts this down to the accounts she follows. “I follow non-UK/US Black queer people on social media. Once I find one person, I’m able to go down a bit of a rabbit hole and find the information I’m after.”

Imale

Being pushed outside their comfort zone is how Imale describes traveling, with Black majority countries being their favorite destinations. “I’m also open enough to venture as far as China to see just how different ‘different’ can get.”

Normally taking one big holiday to an African country alongside city breaks within Europe to change things up, Imale’s big holiday is normally decided off the back of rigorous research on YouTube and social media. “I have discovered that going to art events will turn up one or two queer people who are then welcoming into their world — I have connected with some amazing queer people in Zambia and Rwanda this way.”

Though Imale’s inventive arts world tactic has yielded success, it has only been as a result of recently changing their approach. “I think the difficulty lies in the fact that homosexuality is still criminalised in a lot of countries — for the purposes of safety, community members tend not to be as visible unless you are already a member of that community.”

Sadé

A lover of traveling, the queer non-binary photographer headed out on holiday at least twice a year before the pandemic. “I love city breaks but also warm coastal areas where the beach is easily accessible. I also love visiting places where there are stark cultural differences however these places are usually homophobic and/or racist.”

Much like many Black queer folks, Sadé’s main travel guide has been google ‘____ LGBT+ laws’ or trawling Twitter for peoples’ experiences. “I’ve never found a queer Black LGBT community abroad although I would love to, just like here you kinda need to know someone to get you in/know where the hotspots are. My partner and I went on our first holiday together last year to Lisbon, Portugal and the only Black queer people we found on the trip were a lovely older couple who took this photo of us.”

“I’m excited to use the Black Queer Travel Guide in future to help navigate new holiday destinations and also hopefully to connect with black queer communities abroad.”

As more of the population gets vaccinated and we begin cautiously looking ahead to the world opening up again, that world needs to prioritize Black queer travelers. The Black Queer Travel Guide project is well underway, with a web app now live and demonstrating the first stage of what will eventually become an easily downloadable phone app. We’re also still fundraising on the Black Queer Travel Guide’s GoFundMe page to help get the project off the ground and begin commissioning Black queer creatives and writers, alongside applications for grants which will no doubt take up much of our year.

With the growth of Black queer-led initiatives and projects, an exciting and more accessible future lies ahead for Black queer and trans folks and Black Queer Travel Guide plans to be a part of that.

PHOTOESSAY: Meet Me in The Keys

Last month, intrepid photographer Robin was included in a media research trip to the Florida Keys courtesy of LGBTQ Free to Be in the Keys and on behalf of the Florida Keys and Key West; now she’s including you on her journey through the magic of photography. Read with a key lime pie in hand for the full experience from home.

Key Largo

After a van ride from the airport in Miami, we arrived in Key Largo where our trip officially began. Shortly into our trip I would realize one of my fellow travelers was Dan from The Real World Season 5 Miami! And if you remember that, congratulations, you’re as old as I am and you deserve a vacation. Maybe to Key Largo! It’s here in Key Largo at Mrs Mac’s Kitchen that I tried alligator for the first time (it tastes like chicken) and was introduced to casual but quirky feel of this quaint collection of surfside towns.

Playa Largo Resort and Spa

If you’re looking for a resort that you literally don’t have to leave on your vacation, Playa Largo Resort and Spa is the place for you. There are multiple restaurants, bars, sports equipment rentals, a dock with boats, a giant pool and a beach with comfy lounge chairs and hammocks hanging under tall palm trees all within the resort’s extensive property. When we arrived we all had a drink at the front desk and checked into big, beautiful rooms that overlooked the pool and in the distance, the ocean.

Sol at Playa Largo Resort and Spa

I dined here on my first night after a very long flight and drive. Sol is a standalone beachside seafood restaurant on the property of Playa Largo; it’s a really lovely spot on the second floor where you still dress casually, sit back and enjoy the views. The fish was delicious and fresh. I would recommend arriving right before sunset.

Morning snorkel excursion with Rainbow Reef Dive Center, Key Largo

I cannot recommend this tour enough. A friendly crew who happily let us blast Lady Gaga took us on an extensive tour of one of the best snorkeling spots in the US. We went all the way to Molasses Reef, where we snorkeled around watching schools of fish darting in and out of swaying anemones. It was a mesmerizing and peaceful activity and only mildly terrifying when the barracuda swam by with their very pointy underbites. Pro tip: if you get seasick on a stationary boat bouncing up and down on waves like MOST of our group, down some dramamine before you hit the water! Or… strangely… eat an apple. Our crew had them on hand.

Key Largo Conch House

Conch House is a sweet, colorful spot with an outdoor patio and coy ponds. They’re famous for conch fritters, conch bisque and a selection of other affordable seafood. I didn’t get to try them, but the Key Lime Macadamia Pancakes also sounded incredible. Conch House had the second best key lime pie we had in The Keys, despite topping its pie with whipped cream as opposed to meringue.

Islamorada

Islamorada feels like a quiet sister of Keys while still embodying the general friendly openness this area is known for. We visited not one, but TWO breweries sandwiched between art galleries and beachy cottages. Islamorada is known for sport fishing and a host of other water activities and sports; and if you enjoy tossing dead fish at live fish, you can stop by Robbie’s Marina and feed the terrifyingly large tarpons.

Amara Cay Resort

Amara Cay is a sweet, no-frills resort that’s simple but elegant, right on the water in Islamorada. The pool and pool bar were a nice relaxing spot right next to a beach with lounge chairs that overlooked the ocean and hammocks hanging between palm trees. Everyone at Amara Cay was incredibly friendly and welcoming and the staff gifted us extremely overwhelming plates of cheese and fruit when we checked in. The best part was hanging out at the bar by the pool in the evening watching the sunset.

Florida Keys Brewing Co

Florida Brewing Company is a cozy brewery and bar with an outdoor garden where you can sit back in a brightly-colored adirondack chair and leisurely sip a beer like you’re in your own backyard. The brewery and bar are nestled in a neighborhood filled with tiny pastel-painted art galleries. If you can, do a tasting there and try some beer from their very extensive selection.

Painting The Keys

This activity is mostly geared toward wine moms, but like… aren’t we all a little bit wine mom? Painting the Keys was an activity they offer in the garden of the Florida Brewing company. There is something very calming about sitting down and putting paint on canvas to make a shitty re-creation of palm trees against a sunset, but that could have also been the effect of the beer. Below is the journey of my painting. Please don’t judge me, I was just doing what I was told.

Islamorada Distilling

Originally a distillery and now also a brewery, Islamorada Distilling offers a selection of rums, gin and beer that were delicious and refreshing. Try their most popular beer Coconut Key Lime Ale which was originally made by hand toasting coconut. If you prefer a sweet cocktail, try the Key Lime Pie Martini! On our way back home, the Key West airport was selling Islamorada Beer and we couldn’t resist.

Atlantic’s Edge at Cheeca Lodge & Spa

This was by far the best meal on the trip. The food was incredible. The very youthful chef brought us the most beautifully presented plates of inventive and thoughtful food I’ve had in awhile. The fish was so fresh and there were gold flakes on the sushi. GOLD. This is the kind of meal I want to eat every day.

Key West

The official motto of Key West, the queerest of The Keys, is One Human Family and you can tell walking the friendly rainbow crosswalked streets that it is a place that has for a long time been dedicated to acceptance and loving your neighbor. Key West was even the first town to elect a gay mayor back in 1983! On an evening stroll in Key West you will run into drag queens giving out flyers to shows and cabaret-style karaoke bars. And while some of these shows are geared towards the many straight cis folks pouring off cruise ships onto the islands, there still is a general queer vibe in the town. There are all male clothing optional guest houses, a gay bar named Maryellen’s where they have vibrator races, and the Key West Business Guild where you can pop in and talk to Frtizie about the many gay-friendly businesses to support around town.

Alexander’s Guest House Key West

Alexander’s is a perfect balance of a boutique hotel and a traditional B&B. It felt like at any time you could pop in for their homemade buffet breakfast or roll up to happy hour at the pool while still being able to have privacy and autonomy over your experience. If you’re like me and you prefer to be caffeinated before small talking with strangers, you can grab a muffin and a to-go cup and politely wave on your way out! They have great bikes you can rent, a gorgeous pool and jacuzzi, a clothing-optional sundeck and comfortable, clean, and chic rooms and shared spaces.

Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory

This place is magical. If you’ve never met a button quail, you need to drop everything you are doing and go meet one. Maybe also take photos and crawl around on the ground a bit saying things like “I love you so much, my little button,” until the people at the Butterfly Conservatory ask you if you’re ok and your friends think maybe you dropped a contact lens. Walk through as many times as you want and watch the thousands of butterflies, flamingos, and other magical creatures move around you and if you’re lucky, land on you as you try very hard to play it cool.

Sunset Sail with Blu Q Charters

Blu Q Charters was originally an all-male clothing-optional sailing company, but recently they have opened their very gay Sunset tours to other folks and I for one am grateful because it meant we could all go out on the water with some gays and some wine and take in the sights from a catamaran.

Southernmost Food Tour with Key West Food Tours

This was a highlight for many of us! Our guide took us to some really amazing spots including an incredible Cuban breakfast at El Siboney, fantastic drinks at The Speakeasy Inn & Rum Bar and delicious fried conch fritters at Mangoes while learning about the history of the island as we walked.

Jet Ski Tour with Barefoot Billy’s

This two hour tour takes you around Key West from the choppy waters of the Pacific Ocean into the calm turquoise Gulf of Mexico. The journey was incredibly beautiful and exhilarating as we were flying across the water at 60-70 miles per hour to try and keep up with the guide in front. They did station someone towards the back of the group for those who wanted to take their time and leisurely take in the sights.

Key Lime Pies I Tried and Liked

Before I list them, I need you to know what I feel is important in a key lime pie. This does not reflect the feelings of my fellow travelers, these restaurants, or any actual key lime pie connoisseurs.

  • Good key lime pie has to be pale yellow. If you give me a green key lime pie, I will throw it in your face and no one wants that (except me, because I’ve always wanted to throw a pie in someone’s face)
  • It must be the right balance of sweet and tart
  • The pie has to have a graham cracker crust and that crust must be taste and appear homemade
  • Meringue. None of this whipped cream nonsense, don’t be lazy!
  • The pie must have the proper texture, which means it cannot be too soupy or too thick. It should fall in that happy medium texture between cheesecake and a thick pudding.

8. Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen (Key Largo)
7. LaTeDa (Key West)
6. Key Lime Shop (Key West)
5. Harpoon Harry’s (Key West)
4. Cheeca Lodge (Islamorada)
3. Bagatelle (Key West)
2. Key Largo Conch House (Key Largo)
1. Blue Heaven (Key West)

Blue Heaven’s Key Lime PIe

Out of all ten key lime pie slices I consumed on this trip, this was my absolute favorite. Look how beautiful these little babies are. They are at least 60% meringue, which apparently is hard to make because most of the key lime pies we tried on the island came with a side of whipped cream, which… what a waste. 11/10 would eat Key Lime pie here every day.

Weekender: Miami and Miami Beach Pride

Welcome to Weekenders, a new travel column where we talk about fun queer-friendly weekend trips for gal pals and girlfriends and everything in between! Weekenders isn’t about visiting big cities, it’s about that small town two hours from a big city or that city you didn’t know was a cool city. (With this exception, which is a big city, because it was a press trip!)

drawing by Rory Midhani

In April I had the delightful opportunity to leave Minneapolis, the charming and also ice-bound city where I live, to visit sunny, gorgeous Miami for the occasion of Miami Beach Pride. Along with a group of other LGBT media professionals — Journalists! Influencers! Editors! Roxy, deputy editor at Diva, which we love! — I got to explore Miami and Miami Beach’s incredible cityscape, culture, food, museums, beaches, and of course Pride.

Hotel Accommodations

EAST

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the EAST Miami might be the fanciest place I’ve ever been inside of. There were macarons waiting for me! The rooftop bar, Sugar, made me feel like a character on the OC, in a good way. The incredible views over Miami were a great way to get acquainted from above with a city I’d never been to before, and also were extremely beautiful!

Surfcomber

After a few days at EAST, we moved to the Surfcomber in Miami Beach, a cute little hotel that boasts Miami Beach as its backyard and also a killer pool to drink a bottle of rosé next to, or inside of if that’s your jam. I cannot believe I am even saying this but they host a free (!!!) happy hour between 4 and 5 in their lobby, in case all that relaxing poolside has worn you out and you need to replenish yourself with other, different wine and adorable tiny snacks. Also notable is that as I was leaving for the airport, I snagged (stole?) a copy of Normal People someone had left on the shelf in the hotel lobby, a book which would later emotionally gut me like a fish. Did the Surfcomber intend this as part of my hotel guest experience? I cannot say, but am very grateful for it.

Museums

Museum of Erotic Art

I cannot report with enough pleasure that the Museum of Erotic Art was one of the first things I saw on my very first day in Miami, and it was a pure joy. Founded by Naomi Wilzig, a Jewish grandmother, the museum was first based on the private collection of erotic art from all over the world she started more than 20 years ago. It houses sculptures and paintings ranging from the conceptual to the very representational, and more kinds of dicks, both artistic and functional, than you can imagine. It also has a very cool and informative exhibit on the Kinsey Institute and foundational research into human sexuality and LGBT sexual identities! Also, again, cannot emphasize enough the volume and diversity of dick-related art.

History Miami Museum

I was so excited that the Queer Miami exhibit coincided with our visit — our group was incredibly lucky to get a tour through it from Steve Rothaus of the Miami Herald, notably the first dedicated LGBT beat reporter in the US. He gave us an incredible perspective and depth of context about the gay history and present of Miami and the surrounding area, including its pivotal role as an early fulcrum of the HIV/AIDS crisis and the seat of Anita Bryant’s cultural war on our community. Selfishly, I was also fascinated to hear Steve talk about his personal history as a reporter, how he had worked with the Miami Herald to ensure that the gay community stories he reported on were treated as urgently and respectfully as any other kind of reporting, and how he worked to win the trust of the gay community during a harrowing and scary time.

Artechouse

Artechouse is a little difficult to explain — is it a museum? Is it more like a theater? Is it an interactive Experience™? They describe themselves as “an innovative art gallery dedicated to showcasing experiential and technology-driven installations and performances.” This April, they were hosting an interactive installation from the French team Adrien M and Claire B, and it was indescribably cool to have the art follow you as you moved through the room, and watch digital representations float and twitch as you blew on them, walked through them, or touched them. Art! It happened to me.

Pérez Museum Miami

I went to the Pérez on my own, on the last day in Miami, and it was the perfect way to close out this trip. It’s beautiful inside and out, an incredibly soothing and uplifting space to be in, with warm wood and glass everywhere and little alcoves with benches and cushions tucked away in corners for when you’re tired from walking. The range of contemporary art in this museum by the water is incredible; I walked through a VR exhibit you interacted with by downloading an app onto your phone to get to this exhibit of Ebony G. Patterson’s …while the dew is still on the roses…

Little Havana

I only got to spend a few hours in Little Havana, which is a pity because the time we did spend there was some of my favorite of the whole trip. We stopped in at Los Pinarenos Fruteria, a landmark institution first opened in 1965 by Guillermina Hernandez and her husband Angel, to enjoy a fresh made watermelon and papaya. We then walked down the street for pastelitos with guava and cream cheese and tiny, super-sweet Cuban coffees before visiting Domino Park and learning more about the history of the neighborhood and its shifting future in a growing city with the ongoing threat of gentrification.

Food and Drag

One thing to know about Miami is that it’s possible to eat virtually any meal of the day with an entertainment backdrop of fully choreographed drag performances, which is something I didn’t even know I might need in my life. We ate dinner at the Palace, where we were serenaded by a parade of drag queens and where one must dance through the crowd indoors to make it to the restroom. I will always hold in my heart the man across the street who came out onto his balcony to twerk to the music, giving us the gift of dance and asking for nothing in return.

Later on, we visited R House , a very cool venue near the Wynwood district that features original art on the walls and truly incredible drag queens who weave between tables doing splits, nbd, for brunch. The entire R House experience is a delirious one, in a great way — bowls of delicious brunch food and pitchers of drinks endlessly reappearing on your table as drag queens twirl and strut around you. Still thinking fondly of the party of maybe 20 people celebrating a birthday next to us; their joy was genuinely infectious and I wish them nothing but happiness in life.

just some casual chit chat at R House

a performer at the Palace hitting her lip sync stride

Wynwood

After brunch at R House, still feeling pleasantly mojito-ed, we were lucky enough to take a tour of Wynwood, technically a business district but more well known for the “outdoor museum” that is the Wynwood Walls. On a speedy little golf cart tour with Pedro AMOS, a Miami native and graffiti artist, we got to see the incredible range of styles and approaches to public art in the area — as well as learn about the fascinating details of who gets what space to work on, how territory is negotiated or shared, and the politics of creating public “outsider” art.

Pride!

Of course, the reason we were in Miami Beach: Miami Beach Pride! This was the first time in my life I had seen Pride on a literal, actual beach, and it was a beautiful and surreal experience. We ate arepas underneath the ferris wheel installed on the beach for the occasion and waited for the parade, marshaled this year by Dennis and Judy Shepard, the parents of Matthew Shepard. Also casually participating in this year’s parade was Gloria Estefan’s daughter Emily Estefan with her girlfriend Gemeny Hernández!

That evening, we headed back to the beach for a party and concert lineup featuring Icona Pop and also a space theme, which I do not understand the reasoning behind but obviously loved! I have never had a frozen mojito before, but I cannot recommend the milieu of Miami Beach Pride at midnight surrounded by some charming young men in chest harnesses enough as the place to try your first one.

before: gays in space

after

I spent five days in Miami and Miami Beach, and it was not nearly enough! Please tell me about everything I missed so I can make sure to see it when I go back!

Weekender: Jamestown, CA and Big Trees State Park

Welcome to Weekenders, a travel column where we talk about fun queer-friendly weekend trips for gal pals and girlfriends and everything in between! Weekenders isn’t about visiting big cities, it’s about that small town two hours from a big city or that city you didn’t know was a cool city.

drawing by Rory Midhani

So, I met a girl a few days after moving back to the Bay Area, and we did the standard lesbian thing and decided to go away for the weekend after dating each other for like five days. When we returned, the first question her best friend asked upon our return was, “So did you break up, or are you engaged?” Neither, actually! I guess we got lucky?

It was a really wonderful, beautiful trip. Honestly it was one of the best “dates” I’ve ever been on! I don’t necessarily recommend going away for the weekend with your brand new lover, but is that going to stop any of you? Of course not.

Jamestown, CA and Big Trees State Park

Driving Distance: 2-3 hours from SF Bay Area.
Trip Length: 2 days, 1 night

Before the trip, I was concerned about spending so much time in a small town, as both of us are women of color and I’m trans. Luckily, nothing even seeming to approach homo- or transphobia happened. It ended up being absolutely magical.

Did you know that only three hours away from the San Francisco Bay Area, you can visit some of the largest, oldest living organisms in the world? As you can see, my over-six-foot self is dwarfed by the Agassiz tree, a Giant Sequoia which is 30 feet in diameter and over 200 feet tall, and probably about 2,000 years old. These incredible living organisms have been alive since Jesus was(?) around! Standing under and touching a 2,000 year old being is a transcendent experience. You have to do it at least once in your life. Add it to your bucket list.

There are also really adorable, quaint little towns nearby: Jamestown, CA and Murphys, CA are Gold Rush-era towns, preserved to look like it’s still the 19th century. They are cute as fuck.

Jamestown is two hours or so from the Bay Area, and is full of antique shops, Gold Rush-themed tourist traps, and cozy restaurants. If you are an antique hunter lesbian or a thrift store lesbian, this will be your new favorite getaway. Especially if you are all of those AND a baked goods lesbian, because there’s a tourist shop that has literally over 1,000 different cookie cutters(!). I didn’t count, but… there were a LOT of them.

Jamestown was quiet and welcoming. I wasn’t misgendered once, we felt completely safe with small displays of public affection, and I didn’t see any of the conservative propaganda that you sometimes expect when you get a few hours outside of a major metro area (even in California — trust me!). In fact, I got a very middle/later-age lesbian vibe. We saw quite a few groups of 50-60-ish year old white-haired white women, often in groups of two, and more than once I got a knowing glance or smile from one of them. I don’t have very good gaydar but it really seemed like a great place for older, artsy/thrifty queer women to go and relax. Note that we didn’t see any other people of color, at all, unless they were white-passing. That being said, we both felt totally safe and comfortable throughout the trip.

Jamestown is proud that it has been used in a number of Western movies, and also has “one of only two remaining, fully operational original shortline roundhouse complexes in the country,” which is cool if you are a train enthusiast lesbian, I think? There were a bunch of charming hotels and bed and breakfasts in town, which I’m sure would be great to stay at as well. One of them is rumored to be haunted! If you’re a ghost chasing lesbian, that’s your preferred place to stay. Also, Jamestown is in Calaveras County, which if you like jumping frogs or are a classic literature lesbian will be a fun treat.

Our AirBnB was charming and affordable. It was on an organic farm run by white neo-hippies, who were so excited to meet us and have us on their property that it was almost unnerving. That being said, the hosts were extremely respectful and basically left us alone the entire time until we went into the main house to ask for breakfast and hiking recommendations.

The farm had chickens and there were horses and cows nearby, and two big round fat cats that lounged around to add to the cuteness factor. Our little barn/cabin was so cozy and comfortable; it had a space heater for cold months and AC for warm, and tea, and some little books about nature and Yosemite and nearby hiking trails. The bed was only full size but it was comfortable enough for sleeping, and sturdy enough for nighttime activities. Plus, because we were isolated from the host’s house we didn’t have to worry about making noise!

We ate in Jamestown Saturday night, at the Service Station, one of a few little eateries that dot Main Street. It featured pretty standard American food: burgers, wraps, salads. The veggie wrap I had was nothing special, but it wasn’t bad either! After heading back to the farm we sat on the porch of our cabin/barn/shack and looked out at the millions of stars that were visible at night because of the lack of light pollution. It was enchanting.

On Sunday, we stopped in Murphys, CA on the way to Big Trees State Park, and had breakfast at Grounds, which is perfect if you really love to eat because they give you so much food. My omelette was massive, and their signature potato pancakes — basically circular hash browns — were delicious.

From Jamestown to Murphys is about 30-40 minutes, and then it’s another 20-30 minutes to arrive at the park. According to our AirBnB host, Murphys is also great if you’re a wine tasting lesbian; we aren’t so we didn’t experience this and can’t vouch for it. It’s also a Gold Rush town that’s almost as adorable as Jamestown, so it’s definitely worth spending some time in.

We also saw these llamas on the way to the park, whose names are Ginger and Cheech (honestly, we asked) and look in this photo like they are about to drop a fire mixtape. They were friendly and let us pet them on the snout, and I want a llama now.

The trees are much bigger than you can possibly imagine if you’ve never seen them in person before. There are two standard hike options in the park — one that’s mostly flat and is about 2-3 miles long (the North Grove) and one that’s longer, steeper, and is about 5-6 miles long (the South Grove). The South Grove is usually closed during the winter, so we thought we wouldn’t be able to hike it — but because of unseasonably warm weather (go California!) it was open!

The South Grove hike was very long but it was well worth it. Although there were a few families and other hikers on the trail, it was mostly empty, and it wasn’t too steep at any point, even for someone who just had surgery 6 weeks before and hadn’t really exercised since then, and as such was way out of shape (me).

Overall, the trip was incredible. Good food, cute thrifting, beautiful scenery, a romantic, secluded place to sleep, and no homo/transphobia in sight. If we had a three-day weekend, we would have stayed longer — there was so much more to do, including Moaning Caverns (I’ve taken students on a field trip there before, it’s amazing), exploring both groves of the park, and maybe hanging out with our hosts and enjoying the huge fire pit on their property at night while taking in the stars. If you’ve lived in SF/Berkeley/Oakland for a while and haven’t ventured out this way, it is WORTH IT. Find a friend or lover with a car and make this your next weekend journey!

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Queer Girl City Guide: Iowa City, Iowa

This guide is written by Ariel Godwin, an Autostraddle community member! The Queer Girl City Guides are compiled and written by volunteer community members who are excited to share their favorite places and experiences with you. They cannot be independently verified by Autostraddle. We also recognize that cities change and venues close with time. Due to team restrictions, these guides may not always be up-to-date as time goes on. Feel free to share your own info about these locations in the comments!

Iowa City: All of our creativity went into the name!

Iowa City is renowned as a hub for famous writers like Kurt Vonnegut, Raymond Carver, and Flannery O’Connor – though when I moved here as a fresh-faced 18-year-old, I mistakenly thought that the University of Iowa’s Writer’s Workshop was actually for undergrads instead of a graduate program. Despite my initial mistake, it became clear to me that the love of writing pervades every brick and cobblestone of Iowa City, and its designation as a UNESCO City of Literature remains an irresistible draw for poets, essayists, and authors of every variety.

To be perfectly honest, my first three years of school in Iowa City disappointed me. Compared to my hometown, Austin, the whole town seemed claustrophobic and uncultured. Since graduating and moving beyond the prescribed borders of campus, though, my opinion has changed. Iowa City’s often overlooked elements include its vibrant DIY arts and music scenes, a thriving bike culture, and activism that does not limit its scope to the white middle-class.

The negative aspects of campus life and my first run-in with Midwestern weather – i.e. somewhere that actually has snow in the winter – colored my first impression of Iowa City, but there’s more to it than your run-of-the-mill college town. It’s small but not small-minded towards queers of all shapes, sizes and sorts – while it may not be as out and proud about supporting LGBT+ women as larger cities like Des Moines, it still shows love for the queer community in small ways that count. I’m now three years a townie and while I know Iowa City still has its faults, I’m happy I live here and glad I get to call it home.

Pride

Iowa City Pride is the summer event of the year, every year – it takes place in late July but I start looking forward to it in May. While you might expect it to be a small affair in a quiet town, the reality is a multi-block, day-long celebration. Even with the majority of students out for the summer, Iowa City Pride has been packed every time I’ve attended, with everyone from baby gays to queer elders sporting rainbow attire and waving flags.

The parade has expanded from the LGBT community to encompass activist groups like Veterans for Peace; progressive politicians like to march as well, and this year I saw a state senator and candidate for Governor among the parade-goers. This year’s highlight was definitely the brave soul who got up on stilts in a Babadook costume, complete with pink shades and feather boa, and carried signs that said “Still not as scary as racism!” and encouraged HIV testing.

After the parade, the party continued with vendors spread across the Pedestrian Mall offering everything from face-painting to “The Future is Gender Neutral” shirts, bars with rainbow flags across their windows, and performances from drag kings, drag queens, and burlesque dancers. New this year was the Dark and Lovely Lounge, a dedicated space for LGBT+ people of color. Organized by Kendra Malone, a Diversity Resources Coordinator at the University of Iowa, the Lounge featured musical performance, creative writing sessions, and conversations titled “Working Class, Buddhist, Queer, Black and Female in Iowa: The Challenges of Leadership” and “Beyond protecting and serving: Police as allies of the LGBTQ community.” It’s heartening to see the celebration of Pride extended to everyone, not just white, cis gay men. As joyous and affirmative as it is, I hope Iowa City Pride continues to take steps towards welcoming diversity and being more inclusive every year.

The Night Belongs to Lovers

So where’s a queer girl to find friends and hookups in Iowa City? Well might you ask. Although the city is gay-friendly generally, there’s not many specific places for women-loving women. Instead, you kinda have to seek out the spots where you’re more likely run into a lady who happens to be gay, at which point you can awkwardly toe around each other’s boundaries, feel out the vibe, maybe tentatively bring up a shared interest in Steven Universe – you know, go through all the usual quirks and whimsies of dating.

Image via Studio 13 on Facebook

Studio 13
13 S Linn St

Iowa City’s only gay bar, Studio 13 is tucked into the brick wall of an alleyway, right around the corner from the colonial style facade of the nearby Yacht Club. The neon-lined entrance welcomes visitors for drinks, dancing, karaoke, and more. Studio 13 serves as a kind of catch-all for the whole LGBT umbrella and the sole hub for queer activity – which can be a mixed bag for queer women in particular, as the demographic seems to skew towards gay and bi men. On drag king nights, however, queer ladies are out in force: the drag kings bring an awesome, friendly atmosphere to their performances and I always feel at home there.

Too bad the same can’t be said for every other night. Due to Studio’s reputation for being a wild, glam nightclub, straight people regularly go there to take up room, host their bachelorette parties and in general treat Studio like more of a strip club than a safe space. It sucks to see the only gay club in town treated as a “destination” bar, but it’s still my favorite place to dance. As far as queer party havens go, you could do far worse.

Queer Girl on Campus


The University of Iowa, in general, has an unsurprisingly liberal vibe across campus – it’s part and parcel of trying to welcome as many students of as many diverse backgrounds as possible. There are always exceptions (one time a guy at a College Republicans booth tried to hook me by yelling “Nice jacket!” which, seriously?) but I’ve found that UI’s progressive values aren’t just lip service – women and LGBT+ people are actually treated with respect.

Even better, there are a ton of campus orgs that welcome queer ladies. Gamma Rho Lambda is a relatively young chapter dedicated to diversity: despite their sorority designation and their name (GRL! Get it?), they accept pledges regardless of their gender identity or sexuality. Low on gendered language – members refer to each other as “siblings” rather than sisters – and high on acceptance, Gamma Rho Lambda is easily the most friendly and welcoming sorority I’ve seen, and I know several alumni who consider it a second family.

If Greek life isn’t your style, you might find a home at Spectrum UI, the all-inclusive LGBTQ student org – with the distinction of being the first of its type in the entire country. With weekly meetings at the LGBTQ Resource Center or the general student union, Spectrum’s events of note include Alternative Prom and their annual Drag Ball. Another org, Trans Alliance is specifically aimed at the transgender and non-binary communities; they host a yearly Trans Week of Action and have a focus on education and activism.

LGBT Resource Center
125 Grand Avenue Ct

Located just on the west side of the river, the LGBTQ Resource Center is a cozy little cottage that hosts events for both UI students and the community, as well as being a general-use safe space. Stepping inside feels as inviting as grandma’s house, and it’s versatile enough to accommodate events such as a trans art exhibition, a “Queer @ Work” discussion panel from recent grads, and board game nights hosted by the trans-inclusive fraternity. You can reserve the space for UIowa organizations, or for non-campus events for an added $50 fee. Even when not hosting events, the LGBTQRC’s homey atmosphere welcomes queers of all stripes to come in and hang out, study, or just get away from the world for a while. A library and kitchen round out the safe space and are open for use by queer students and community members alike.

Women’s Resource and Action Center
230 N Clinton St

The Women’s Resource and Action Center is a feminist activist group, sponsored by the University of Iowa, that spearheads Iowa City’s yearly Take Back the Night event. Offering support to campus and non-campus residents alike, WRAC not only shares their own great services (including bystander intervention training, free counseling/therapy, and the Sojourner Truth Library), but they also train volunteers in group facilitation, then allow those groups to host meetings in their stately headquarters at Bowman House. Some previous groups hosted by WRACtivists include a lesbian book club and TransVerse, a support group for trans folks and allies that continues to keep up community on their Facebook page. WRAC is committed to inclusivity with gender neutral, accessible restrooms and a sign on the door that says “all genders welcome.”

Excitingly, WRAC is a contributor to the UI Women’s Archives, an amazing collection of documents about the experiences of Iowan women going back to the suffrage movement. One section is dedicated to the Iowa Women’s Press, a print shop running from 1973 to 1985 which produced gems such as “The Greasy Thumb Auto Mechanics Manual for Women” and “Spinster, a lighthearted lesbian [card] gayme.” The Women’s Archives were toured as part of another WRAC event, the inaugural Iowa City Feminist Reunion, which gathered activists who worked from the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and onward. The Reunion culminated in a softball game between two teams, the Bluestockings and the WRAC Rats. If that doesn’t speak to what an awesome and long-lasting resource WRAC has been, I don’t know what does.

Spectrum UI
125 Grand Avenue Ct

The first established LGBT student organization in the country, Spectrum is open to any University of Iowa students who fall under the queer umbrella. Its events run the gamut and there’s an offering for everybody: kink workshops, National Coming Out day booths, Multicultural Potlucks, volunteer opportunities for Trans Week of Action, and informational meetings on studying abroad while LGBT have all been hosted through Spectrum’s sponsorship. Their yearly traditions include Alternative Prom and Rainbow Graduation, which honors LGBT students in the graduating class. For newcomers just starting to find their place in Iowa City, it’s a great place to meet fellow queer students, network, and make friends.

Activist Women: Sin Mujeres No Hay Revolución

College is full of socially minded activists, and the feminist presence in Iowa City is strong both on and off campus. You can find a group related to most any cause you’re interested in simply by checking the student org list or the nearest poster-plastered telephone pole. I can’t count how many protests, marches and fundraisers I’ve been to since the election – keep an eye whatever travesty just made national or local news, and there’s sure to be an activist response not far behind. While some organizations are sadly short-lived – like the incredible group Radically Organizing Against Rape, or ROAR, which tackled rape and sexual harassment, particularly in the downtown area – others are more persistent. Here’s two groups that deserve special attention for their work.

Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa
940 S Gilbert Ct

The CWJ branch in Iowa City lists its top priority issues as defending workers’ rights to proper payment, safe work, and decent, affordable housing, as well as confronting discrimination and ensuring equal access to community services for all residents. Their “Raise the Wage” campaign helped pass an ordinance that raised the minimum wage in Johnson County from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour – though that was sadly nixed by a recent law passed by the state legislature. They provide information to low-income communities about tenants’ and workers’ rights, and frequently partner with other groups like IASE (Iowa Action and Student Engagement) and the Eastern Iowa Community Bond Project, which donates to bail funds for immigrants detained by ICE.

Let’s Eat Out

Iowa City has such a great food and drink scene that it’s hard to pick out recommendations – you can find anything from steak to sushi just by strolling through a couple of blocks downtown. Fine dining is heavily focused on pork and beef, as you might expect from Iowa, but there are more global offerings as well: Korean, Sichuan, Thai, Indian, and Vietnamese food are all represented, although it’s a shame that there are only one or two of each variety to be found in town. I could go on with long lists of recommendations personalized to every person who asks, but that would probably take too long – so here’s a curated selection of places that you really, really shouldn’t miss.

The Mill
120 E Burlington St

In addition to being a cozy, kitschy townie bar with a great food and drink menu, The Mill hosts so many different events that there’s something for everyone. Their weekly offerings – pub quiz, karaoke and open mic – typically draw a friendly crowd. They also play host to a wild variety of special events – not just shows, although they book great acts (Iowa native Dagmar was a treat, and I’m looking forward to Har-Di-Har’s return), but also fundraisers for No DAPL, Latin dance parties hosted by the CWJ, and a monthly Loteria Night presented by LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa). One time I came for a night of life-drawing put on by the local branch of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School: first burlesque and drag king performers did their acts, then posed for artists to draw them – it was amazing.

Whether you’re holed up inside playing Lord of the Rings pinball in the winter or petting dogs on the patio in the summer, The Mill stays welcoming, and the chill vibes are not to be missed. My recommendations: chicken tenders, veggie burgers or breaded mushrooms for the non-carnivore crowd, and a whiskey sour or specialty cocktail named after a literary figure.

New Pioneer Co-Op
22 S Van Buren St

The New Pioneer Food Co-op (or New Pi, as it’s nicknamed) has been sharing organic and locally grown food with Iowa City since its founding in 1971, and it’s consistently recommended for being an excellent grocery store to this day. They extend their commitment to serving the community in their declaration that every New Pi location is a safe space, including gender identity and sexual orientation in their list of identities that deserve respect and dignity. And as if their inclusive, co-operative values weren’t enough, they also happen to have one of the best bakeries in town – their bread is to die for, especially paired with something from their cheese selection or one of their house-made soups. They also host cooking classes and cool events, like this year’s Co-op to Co-op Bike Ride in which participants biked from the Iowa City location to its sister store in nearby Coralville. Stop in for your locavore needs, take a cup of soup to the benches outside for your lunch break, or just take a moment to admire their south-facing wall’s colorful cow mural.

Farmer’s Market
405 E Washington St, Chauncey Swan Ramp

Every year the coming of spring brings an extra delight to Iowa City: the opening of the Farmer’s Market, which runs from May to October. Hosted in a covered garage with over 100 spots for participants, the Farmer’s Market is a hub of activity from open to close. Not only are actual farmers there to sell their goods, but there are food stands and booths full of prepared food, crafters stocking clothing, furniture, and gifts, and various other types of vendors as well. The food stands merit a visit every time – I’m particularly fond of Maestro Empanadas, which also have a storefront location in nearby Coralville – and you can pick up fresh produce along with farm-raised meat, pastries, handmade textile crafts, jewelry, woodwork, and succulents (I have been raising a particularly hardy specimen since summer of last year and it’s propagated like nobody’s business!). It’s a great place to get a taste of local food in Iowa City, and there is often a musical performance to enjoy while you browse.

Trumpet Blossom Café
310 E Prentiss St

Trumpet Blossom is Iowa City’s sole vegan-exclusive restaurant, and as a result has the largest variety of vegan dishes to sample. They also offer unique cocktails, and you can enjoy your drinks on their patio which is situated by a cute little creek. Trumpet Blossom is a great music venue, and stays open later on show nights. Awesome acts that have played at Trumpet Blossom include the Coathangers, L.A. Witch, and IC native Nora Petran, and the café hosted a Queer Salon Reading during Pride month. The menu is a bit pricey (the cost of keeping everything organic and seasonal), but the food, drinks, and ladypunk-friendly atmosphere is totally worth it.

The High Ground Café
301 E Market St

Only a block away from noted grad student/aspiring writer bar the Foxhead, High Ground is a nice contrast to other coffee shops in that it has a lower-than-average concentration of college kids – or at least, those too young to partake in the café’s alcoholic offerings. The quiet, sunny spot is a good place to do anything from fill out job apps to meet with a promoter of your DIY feminist zine – not that I have experience with either, ahem. Enjoy their offerings of coffee, sandwiches, beer and wine while relaxing on their patio or sitting at the window, listening to a performance at one of their open mic nights.

Date a Girl Who Reads

Did I mention that Iowa City loves writing? It’s in the wind, in the walls, even in our streets – the Literary Walk is a collection of bronze relief panels featuring author quotes about books, writing, and the Midwest, set into the pavement along Iowa Ave. Both the University Library (with its main collection supplemented by the arts and law libraries) and the more intimate Iowa City Public Library are full, welcoming, and close to downtown. While you’re wandering around looking at the illuminating plaques, make sure to stop by these bookshops as well.

Prairie Lights
15 S Dubuque St

Both a bookstore and a coffee shop, Prairie Lights is a great place to catch visiting authors doing live readings or signings – it’s practically a requirement for writers of note to make a stop here if they’re passing through Iowa City. The bookstore plays host to many graduates from the Writer’s Workshop as well, so in any given month you can hear a wide spread of voices both emerging and established. The founders of LGBT youth resource Everyone is Gay, Kristin Russo and Danniele Owens-Reid, visited in 2014 to read from “This is a Book for Parents of Gay Kids,” and authors of every gender identity and sexuality are not only included but invited.

In addition to readings, the store offers warmth and welcome for patrons browsing through its shelves, and a cozy café on the second floor to take the new book you just purchased on the first. The café is a favorite place for people to work, write, or just gaze out the bay windows; you can nibble on a pastry and sip coffee, wine, or beer to suit your taste, which makes it an excellent date spot as well. Their house specialty is the Houndstooth: a mixed drink made of Schlitz and espresso (it’s obviously not for everyone, but I love to recommend it myself).

Haunted Bookshop
219 N Gilbert St

The Northside neighborhood has a lot of well-loved storefronts, but the one I hear recommended most often is the Haunted Bookshop, and the reason why is always: the cats! Haunted Book is home to two bookstore cats who rub up against customers perusing the shelves or lounge on chairs nearby. What could be better than browsing a curated selection of secondhand books while petting a cat? The Haunted Bookshop offers a huge number of titles in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children’s sections, and they are happy to buy used books as long as they fit the selection criteria on their website. I stopped by there this month to offload some of my books before I move houses and their seller was very friendly. (To my disappointment, I could not coax Logan the cat into the cardboard box I brought to carry said books.)

Daydreams Comics
21 S Dubuque St

Iowa City’s local comic book store is smack-dab in the middle of downtown, super convenient for stopping by to pick up your pull list. They have new issues decorating their window display, which looks in on a small but friendly shop stocked with Western comics, manga, graphic novels and other nerdy delights. I nearly died of geek-glee when I saw that Rosario Dawson (ambiguously bi and fresh off the set from her role as Claire Temple) visited in her Iron Fist sweater to have her pic taken in front of the shelves. Daydreams has hosted Alison Bechdel for a signing as part of Mission Creek Festival, and in an interview for the store’s 30th anniversary the owner stated his commitment to showcasing diverse creators that appeal to female customers, such as Kat Leyh (illustrator for Lumberjanes and Super Cakes) and Brooke Allen (also of Lumberjanes). It bucks the trend of excluding women from nerdy spaces and I never feel out of place when I stop by.

Sporty Spice

Being a Big Ten college, U of I is all about that football. And Iowa City is too, in a major way! Football season seems to start sooner and sooner every year. You can join in tailgating on the west side or watch the game at a variety of bars downtown, but if you’re not sports-inclined it’s best to avoid downtown entirely during game days. College bros are in high supply and drunken, rowdy behavior is unfortunately common. Let’s just say if you see a guy walking towards you in half-undone black-and-gold striped overalls, palm raised for a preemptive high-five, turn and walk as fast as you can in the other direction.

Non-binary/ Women/ Trans*/ FemmeBike Night
700 S Dubuque St, The Iowa City Bike Library

The Bike Library is pretty much the personification of Iowa City’s cycling-friendly environment: it offers bikes, tools, and classes for really affordable prices and promotes a culture of sharing and learning. You can stop by to rent a bike for a six-month period, at the end of which you pay a $50 sustainability fee upon return. If you like the bike you can pay to keep it! And if your own bike needs repairs, you can rent the Library’s tools and a space to work on it for $5 an hour. It’s basically the best entry point for new cyclists, and its co-op ethic has to be admired.

Non-binary/ Women/ Trans*/ Femme Bike Night is a twice-monthly event open to all “women-identified and gender non-conforming people,” trans folks explicitly included. Each session involves short instruction on a bike subject (they have had talks on topics from brakes to derailleurs) followed by open shop in which attendants can work on bikes at their own pace. Considering that biking events are often mired by men jockeying to be the best-informed experts on the topic, this event is a great way to learn something new in a safe environment.

Old Capitol City Roller Girls
300 East 9th Street // Coralville

Fortunately, football isn’t the only sport to get excited about in town – there’s also the Old Capitol City Roller Girls! Iowa City’s roller derby league was formed in 2008 and can be seen kicking ass and taking names during home games in the spring and fall. While the team’s practice and matches take place at the Marriott in Coralville (Iowa City’s suburb and about a 15-minute drive from the center of downtown), the Roller Girls welcome team members from Iowa City and represented the league by skating in this year’s Pride parade. They have recruitments biannually for their charter team (the All-Stars) and B-team (the Ped Maulers), in case you’re interested in re-enacting Ellen Page’s plotline from Whip It, and can be found on Instagram and Twitter, where they post upcoming match dates and group pictures of the happy team.

Let’s Get Creative!

Iowa City has a ton of opportunities to appreciate independent artists. No matter your preferred medium – the stage, the paintbrush, or the pen – there’s an event or a venue that will showcase it with style. And it’s not hard to find free admission either! Check out a few of Iowa City’s most prominent creative outlets below.

The Englert Theater
221 E Washington St

Grand, colorful, and historic, The Englert is not just a theater – it’s a performance venue for all. Its auditorium has hosted plays, film screenings, stand-up, and all sorts of community events. During the spring, it produces the much-loved Mission Creek Festival, an annual arts festival featuring music, lectures, and performances from a variety of scenes, as well as quirky favorites like the indie craft fair What a Load of Craft. Last year, Mission Creek’s headliner was Margaret Cho, who tore up the Englert’s well-preserved stage with her comedy act. Other Mission Creek alum include Alison Bechdel, Andrea Gibson, and the writers of Lambda Literary. The Englert’s glam neon sign has also welcomed live shows of the podcast Welcome to Night Vale (during the most recent show, Erin McKeown killed it as musical accompaniment with her rendition of “The Queer Gospel”), and every Halloween they put on a full Rocky Horror Picture Show complete with props, costumed performers, and the requisite bellowing of audience participation lines.

Public Space One
120 N Dubuque St

If the concept of “jack-of-all-trades” had a home, it would be Public Space One. It’s tucked in between two louder storefronts downtown, a deceptively small venue that is open to the public for artistic ventures of all kinds: music, visual art, performance, bookmaking, even cooking. Its facilities include a kitchen, studio, print shop, and gallery; it offers a lending library for art equipment and a free studio residency aimed at non-college students who will use the community space to produce whatever art they choose to create. I’ve seen everything from experimental saxophone to pro-choice poster sales at PS1, whose tastes are as eclectic as the artists it serves.

Its recent initiative, the Center for Afrofuturist Studies, is a residency program that hosts artists of color focusing on “the intersections of race, technology, and the diaspora.” Residents are asked to design youth workshops, which specifically make room for low-income children and children of color. The current season is hosting Rin Johnson and Justin Allen, both of whom were previously published in Lambda Literary.

As a gallery, Public Space One is always interesting; as a service, it is invaluable for ceaselessly promoting independent artists in visible and material ways. Make sure to catch one of their art workshops or stop by while they have an exhibit on display.

Summer of the Arts
325 E Washington St #301

Summer is easily the best season to enjoy community events in Iowa City. Despite the fussy Midwest weather, which can swing from sweltering heat to pouring rain in an hour, it seems like every week brings a new festival to enjoy – mainly thanks to Summer of the Arts, a non-profit org that brings creative, family-friendly programming to Iowa City’s downtown area from May to August. Summer of the Arts puts on Jazz Fest (live performances for a weekend, plus food stands galore) and Arts Fest (booths full of local makers selling their crafts) and Soul Fest and the Free Movie Series and, and, and… If you see a bunch of streets blocked off and a stage taking up the corner of Clinton and Iowa, you’re in for something good, courtesy of the org’s mission of spreading arts and culture around Iowa City.

Riverside Theatre
213 N Gilbert St

While you’re enjoying summer performances, care for some Shakespeare in the park? Riverside Theatre, Iowa City’s resident professional theater company, puts on several plays by the bard every summer at their outdoors, Globe-inspired theater, the Riverside Festival Stage in Lower City Park. The barebones wooden stage nevertheless brings the audience fully into a performance, and it’s a treat to see productions put on under the stars. When not delighting families with Shakespeare in the summer, Riverside also produces and performs shows at their Gilbert St location. Their offerings include an annual monologue show, ROAR!, improv comedy workshops, local playwrights and performers, and off-Broadway shows like 2013’s sizzling Venus In Fur.

The Quire
310 N Johnson St, Zion Lutheran Church

Is there anything better than hearing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” possibly one of the gayest songs of all time, from a chorus of gay, lesbian and trans voices? Probably not. The Quire is a community chorus open to all LGBT individuals, whose performances can be seen in events from gay weddings to Pride. Acceptance is based solely on commitment to rehearsals, which means anyone can join if they’re willing to pay dues and show up. Their two concert seasons are fall/winter and spring/summer, each concluding with a major concert program, but other shows occur year round; they state on their site that they perform for any “events of importance to those who celebrate diversity and respect the civil and human rights of all people,” such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, National Coming Out Day, World AIDS Day, and International Human Rights Day. If you’re into socially aware, LGBT-inclusive chorus singing, make sure to check out their rehearsals on Sunday nights – the first rehearsal date of this season is due to be posted to their website in August.

The Best Date Spots in Iowa City

Now that the comprehensive overview is done, let’s get to the important question: where should you take a cute girl in Iowa City for a first date???

Crepes De Luxe
309 E College St

Catty-corner from the public library and easy to overlook, Crepes De Luxe is an adorable little hole-in-the-wall that serves super-thin French pancakes filled with sweet and savory goodness. The atmosphere inside is cozy kitsch, with sunlight streaming onto cute booths, high tables, and the bar where you can watch them make your crepe. In short, it’s perfect for taking a first date and proceeding to impress her with your pronunciation of L’Ocean (my favorite order – a salmon and swiss cheese crepe drizzled with aioli).

White Rabbit
112 S Linn St

Does your girlfriend love thrifting, supporting independent artists, and/or adorning her room and body with unique, locally made objets trouvés? You’ll have no trouble at all convincing her to come with you to White Rabbit. Their stock is frankly fucking delightful: the women running the store have impeccable taste and a strong feminist bent. (Post-election, their selection of “Resist” and “Not My President!” shirts, pins and postcards soared.) New offerings are on display in the front, so you can browse through floral rompers, denim overalls, or whatever takes your fancy before moving to their offerings of ceramic planters, embroidered pillows, and idiosyncratic art posters. In addition to clothes and home decorations, they have a great selection of apothecary items like candles or body oils which you can sample in-store. Even when I don’t find something to buy in White Rabbit, I love just walking around the store, picking up this enamel pin or that set of vintage shades. With any luck, you’ll find something for yourself or your gal pal to love too.

UI Museum of Natural History
17 N Clinton St, Macbride Hall

Somehow I managed to spend three years at the University of Iowa (and another two as a full-time Iowa City resident) without once making it into the gem that is the Museum of Natural History. Tucked away in an otherwise non-obtrusive lecture hall, the Museum showcases a startling number of taxidermied specimens on the ground floor alone, from wild dogs (of interest if you happen to be dating Sheila from GLOW) to cute critters with weird names (like the long-nosed bandicoot, Perameles nasuta). The further in you go, the more there is to find – the Hall of Birds displays fossils and feathers in addition to over 1000 beautifully preserved birds, while the Hall of Mammals features a giant sloth, a giant panda, and a 47-foot long whale skeleton (!!!). It’s a good way to get lost in the majesty of nature for a couple of hours, after which you can retire with your date to Short’s Burger and Shine across the street, nurse a beer and talk worriedly about how whale fins have finger bones.

For All Your Alternative Lifestyle Needs

HABA Salon
212 E Market St

Sadly, since the departure of the G Spot to Des Moines, Iowa City no longer has a hair salon that both offers alternative lifestyle haircuts and is named after sexual innuendo. (The running joke used to be for people to take pictures in front of the G Spot’s sign with captions like: “I found it!”) In the wake of G Spot’s departure, HABA Salon is a good alternative – their stylist JoAnn specializes in edgy undercuts and bright colors. They have the added advantage of being committed towards sustainable, environmentally friendly practices by recycling materials such as hair foils, clippings, and chemical coloring, and they offer a variety of plant-based and cruelty-free products for sale. From what I’ve seen of the queer ladies who’ve gotten their hair done at HABA, it gets a big thumbs-up from me.

The Kids Are All Right

Iowa City Bruisers Junior Derby
1930 Lakeside Dr, Grant Wood Elementary Gymnasium // 220 S Gilbert St, Robert E Lee Community Recreation Center

The Iowa City Bruisers, our local junior derby team, takes skaters between the ages of 5 and 17. Much like its senior counterpart, the I.C. Bruisers league emphasizes the values of fitness, confidence, and friendship, and team members of all genders are explicitly welcome. Participation is free, making it an affordable option for parents in the area; their Facebook page invites drop-ins on practice at the rec center and elementary school gym, and they host matches with other junior derby leagues in Iowa City as well.

United Action for Youth
410 Iowa Ave

As a newcomer to Iowa City, I always got curious about my townie friends’ descriptions of growing up here. It’s pretty universally agreed that high school sucks – everywhere – but one place that was spoken of with unanimous appreciation was UAY (United Action for Youth). It’s a non-profit org whose main draw is a youth center where adolescents and children can come after school to receive counseling, take workshops, make creative work, or just hang out and play Crazy Taxi. This year they pulled off a self-described “gay teen mob of awesomeness”, and they’ve also hosted the UAY LGBTQA Youth Summit, featuring discussion panels and activities for local queer teens. It’s a supportive environment for everyone, and its alumni speak of it fondly long after they stop using its services.

Health, Wellness, Recovery and Survival

Image via UI LGBTQ Clinic

UI LGBTQ Clinic
105 E 9th St Level 4, Iowa River Landing // Coralville

The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has a huge presence in Iowa City, which is why the opening of their LGBTQ Clinic in 2012 was such a big deal. Since its inception, the clinic has been recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for its work serving the queer/trans community. The clinic not only offers hormone therapy for trans patients, but gender-affirming surgery and post-op care as well; in 2015, around 80% of their clients were transgender. OB-GYN care, contraceptives, and HIV/STI testing are also available. Their website features a comprehensive list of additional resources for queer and trans Iowans. The only clinic in the state dedicated to LGBTQ care, they are committed to respecting patients of all gender identities and orientations.

Planned Parenthood
850 Orchard St

The Iowa City Planned Parenthood is one of only a couple left standing after Iowa recently defunded family planning clinics across the state. A subset of PP of the Heartland, it offers patients comprehensive care relating to birth control, pregnancy, STIs, and general reproductive health. While abortion services are available at this location, they do not offer trans care – patients are referred to the Cedar Rapids location for hormone therapy. My experience here has always been respectful yet friendly; I come in quarterly for birth control, and the quality of care is consistently high.

Emma Goldman Clinic
227 N Dubuque St

In contrast to Planned Parenthood, Emma Goldman Clinic is an independent women’s health clinic that offers a wide range of services including STI/HIV testing, hormone therapy for trans patients, and OB-GYN care. They’re visited by a hearty number of protesters because they offer abortion services up to 20 weeks, but EGC is a valuable resource for those seeking other types of care as well. They work with non-profits such as the NAF to make their services affordable for low-income patients, have a long history of supporting the local LGBT community, and make an appearance at Pride every year for their commitment to feminist, gender- and sexuality-inclusive health care.

Rape Victim Advocacy Program
332 S Linn St, Suite 100

RVAP is a gender and sexuality inclusive organization offering support to survivors of sexual violence. While they are sponsored by the University, their services (including a 24-hour crisis line, counseling and advocacy, and referrals to other forms of assistance if needed) are available to everyone in Iowa City and several surrounding counties – and all are offered free of charge. They previously hosted a Trauma-Informed Yoga class (which is now privately offered through Benway Holistic Therapies) that is explicitly trans-inclusive and aims to support survivors with gentle teaching, mindful of participants’ bodies and careful not to trigger or re-traumatize. With the risk of campus sexual assault so present and close by, RVAP takes a strong proactive stance against all forms of sexual violence; their website is full of caring, non-judgmental resources, and in the times I’ve had to interact with their staff I found them nothing but helpful and respectful. Since the recent budget cuts to state victim assistance funds, RVAP continues to offer the same services, but their funding is much reduced and they are searching for alternate sources going forward.

Monsoon United Asian Women of Iowa
1700 S 1st Ave Suite 18, Eastdale Plaza

Monsoon is a non-profit specifically aimed at domestic violence and sexual assault survivors in the Asian & Pacific Islander community. With the mission of offering programs that cater to the unique needs of Asian people in Iowa, the organization provides multilingual advocacy, referrals, and community resources. One of their services, IowaARCh, is an online chatline that can be used by survivors of sexual abuse, including dating and domestic violence, stalking, and sex trafficking. The chatline reaches out in particular to people of color and non-binary folks who may feel alienated from mainstream resources. While IowaARCh was recently defunded by budget cuts to the state victim assistance funds, Monsoon is planning to sustain the program through other sources while supporting it with volunteer advocates.

Nisaa African Family Services
1700 S 1st Ave Suite 21 A and B, Eastdale Plaza

Nisaa is another culturally specific resource aimed at African immigrant and refugee communities. Its goals include ending sexual abuse and domestic violence through programs such as community outreach, education, and direct services for the unique needs of African newcomers to Iowa. A youth program is in the planning stage, and Nisaa recently partnered with Monsoon to host Voices Against Violence on Bodies of Color, a spoken word event honoring performances on the theme of survival and healing.

Transformative Healing
1700 S 1st Ave Suite 25 F, Eastdale Plaza

Another organization providing assistance to survivors of sexual violence, Transformative Healing specifically focuses on the LGBT+ community, as well as survivors in the kink or consensual non-monogamous communities – the only agency in Iowa to do so. Services offered include medical advocacy and referrals to housing and other resources that are LGBT+ friendly. For Iowa organizations, they also facilitate advocacy trainings that focus on the needs of LGBT+ survivors. In a truly callous move by the Iowa State Legislature, Transformative Healing was completely defunded after a cut to the state’s victim services fund in April, meaning the organization relies on volunteers and donations now more than ever. Transformative Healing, Nisaa, and Monsoon are all located in the Eastdale Plaza for convenient access to a variety of culturally specific needs.

Queer Community Calendar

Iowa Writer’s House – Rainbow Room
123 S Linn St Meeting Room B, Iowa City Public Library

The Iowa Writers’ House is a relative newcomer to the Iowa City creative scene; it hosts workshops and residencies as well as sponsoring writing groups with different themes. The Rainbow Room is one of these groups, focusing on LGBT literature and writers in a supportive, safe environment. Write-ins for the Rainbow Room occur twice monthly at the always-wonderful Iowa City Public Library, and promise free-writing, prompts, and support for the work of writers at any point in their process.

IC Kings
13 S Linn St

One of the first things I learned about Iowa City’s queer scene was that we are blessed with a drag king troupe. The I.C. Kings perform monthly at Studio 13, and their rotating crew includes such maestros as Hugh Jindapants and Matt Adore. Every time I’ve been, I’ve had a blast holding out bucks in exchange for an air-kiss from handsome, dapper kings who danced and lipsynced their way throughout the bar. The group’s MC, Miss Kitty, is frankly a delight, and shows have themes as varied as “Silver Foxes,” “The Bois and the Bees,” and their notorious “Study A Broad” show in the fall. The I.C. Kings also hold auditions every year, so if you’re willing to venture into the world of spirit-gum moustaches and packed tight pants, look out for their Fresh Meat event!

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

There are certainly a number of Iowa City neighborhoods with prescribed borders and official associations, but the people who run them are far removed from the lives of me and mine. In general, the things to know are that the UI campus dominates a stretch of real estate along the river, and residential areas tend to radiate out from around it: west of the river is mostly populated by med students due to proximity to the hospital, the Longfellow area sports historic housing and parents drawn by the elementary school, and the apartments and housing surrounding College Green Park are where you can find undergrads and Greek life buildings.

Having moved houses every year since I graduated, I’ve been all around Iowa City, and Northside is my favorite of all the neighborhoods I’ve lived in. The houses are historic and quaint, the yards tend to be big and blooming; it’s a sight for sore eyes, especially in the spring. Roughly speaking, the Northside comprises a square from the corner of Jefferson and Dubuque to Brown and Governor. It’s got a fair mix of permanent residents and college students, but is far enough from downtown to be free of rowdy parties, and of the bland clones of overpriced balconied apartments that seem to dominate the blocks south of Iowa Ave, especially South Johnson. (Everyone in IC knows someone who lived in one of these: they tend to be the place of choice for sophomores just leaving the dorms, and should be avoided at all costs.)

Northside might also be the closest we have to a gayborhood, as it’s home to the Brown Street Inn: a gay-owned B&B that flies a rainbow flag from their porch and is known for hosting fundraisers for Emma Goldman Clinic. Best of all, Northside shuts down a few blocks every year for the Northside Oktoberfest, which offers craft beer tasting for the 21+ crowd as well as kid-friendly activities at the adjacent SodaFest. Biased I may be, but whether you want to shop around at cute marketplaces such as Home Ec Workshop, catch a local show at Riverside Theatre, or just sun yourself on the porch, Northside neighborhood is the place to live.

What’s it Like in the City?

Diversity
I hesitate to comment for too long on diversity in Iowa City, because as a white resident I’m shielded from the experiences of POC and immigrants. From what I’ve seen, though, it’s about as welcoming as you would expect a predominantly white, predominantly liberal, small college town to be.

Much of Iowa City’s racial diversity, along with its liberal attitude, can be attributed to the University, but while at college I was witness to racist comments ranging from microaggressions to full-on antipathy towards international students (a large percentage of which come from East and Southeast Asia). The tension in Iowa City has risen palpably since the election, as incidents of xenophobia and racism become more prevalent nation-wide; however, symbols of resistance to this hatred have arisen in Iowa City as well, with many neighborhoods dotted with Black Lives Matter and multilingual Immigrants are Welcome Here signs in their yards.

Due to the city’s relatively small size, low-income housing runs side-by-side with grad student apartments. It’s a tight-knit town – you can hardly cross the street without running into someone you know – so there is a strong sense of community with Iowa City’s elderly, disabled, and low-income residents. Organizations like Shelter House and the Crisis Center help contribute resources to these populations. Even when the city itself tends to disregard vulnerable communities in favor of profits, there is a spirited attempt to make things more welcoming by the people who actually live here.

Safety
Small towns tend to be quiet towns, and in my experience Iowa City is no exception. We are lucky enough to have low rates of violent crime; instead, the main cause for concern is theft. I have had items stolen from every house I’ve lived at in Iowa City. My interactions with the police have never been unfriendly (disclaimer: I’m super white!) but they’re not exactly helpful either – when I reported one of the aforementioned thefts, I got a few responses back from the officer assigned to my case before he dropped off the radar entirely. Regardless of your neighborhood, it’s never a great idea to leave the house without locking up. The same principle goes for bikes: be sure to use a sturdy lock and try not to leave your bike downtown longer than overnight.

Cost of living
Iowa City is one of the more affordable places to live in the Midwest, being neither a large metro area nor entirely overcome by gentrification (yet). The best places tend to be houses or duplexes, with prices ranging from $300 to $600 per room – the lower end is full of old houses with fewer amenities, which can be crappy but worth it for affordability, while the higher end leans toward neighborhoods close to downtown, overpriced and dominated by college kids. I’ve been lucky to hit the middle range for the three years I’ve been living outside the dorms. Whatever you do, avoid renting from Big Ten Rentals or Apartments Downtown, which are notorious for shafting their tenants.

Affordable housing is quickly becoming a rare commodity, however, as more owners have been converting residences to market them to the college population. New developments skew towards more expensive lodgings and have already displaced many lower income tenants, provoking justified outcry from Iowa City residents.

While the Iowa State Legislature recently passed a law prohibiting the raise of minimum wages from the state standard of $7.25, activists have pressured many local businesses to honor the $10.10 minimum; businesses that have committed to paying their workers fairly have blue flyers in their windows to identify themselves.

Queer-friendliness

Overall, Iowa City is a good example of the pros and cons of so-called “Midwest nice.” On its face, there’s plenty of friendliness and LGBT acceptance to go around; in practice, street harassment, racial microaggressions, and lack of institutional protection are still very much a thing. That being said, queer solidarity is strong, and marginalized communities of all types link arms to face their issues together. Though support of this presidential administration’s racist and bigoted policies is inescapable, so are the brave souls resisting them at every turn. Shout out to all the queer/trans comrades in this city offering each other support through these trying times – I see you, I’m with you, and you are invaluable.

Enjoy Iowa City! We’d be glad to have you!

Queer Girl City Guide: Asheville, North Carolina

This guide was written by Annie and Brighde.

QUEER GIRL CITY GUIDE Autostraddle

Annie: I moved to Asheville two years ago and have loved my time in this queer jewel nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. There’s an unofficial slogan of “Asheville: 10,000 Lesbians Can’t Be Wrong” that has rumored origins from a past Indigo Girls concert. When I moved here from a big city I anticipated needing to readjust my expectations of how much stuff would be going on all the time, but so far that has not been the case. Asheville is small, but it is busy!

Most of the city is incredibly dog-friendly and if you or your pup loves to hike or brunch with you, you’ll be blown away by the options. Due to the relatively large presence of LGBTQ folks in Asheville, many of my recommendations below are queer owned/operated! There’s also a sizeable living wage push here in Asheville, and many businesses are Living Wage Certified (they usually have a sticker in the window!).

Brighde: I’ve been living in Asheville for the past three months and I gotta say, I’m into it. It’s a little city full of odds and ends (and some queers) planted in the mountains. Like everywhere else, this place has a complex history and a lot of moving parts, especially so for the LGTBQ community. Overall, my feel is that Asheville is a long-time haven for weirdness and misfits that is undergoing rapid change.

Queers by Moonlight

The Block Off Biltmore
39 S Market St, Downtown
Sun 12pm-3pm
Mon 5pm-11pm
Tues-Thurs 5pm-12am
Fri-Sat 5pm-2am

If you’re downtown and looking to support a great community hub AND have a great time, stop in to “Asheville’s First Eco-Vegan, Social Justice Solidarity Bar.” Excellent musicians grace the stage, community organizing events, and queer dance parties (of the normal or swing dance variety) happen here weekly! They also have lots of anti-oppression and resource literature casually lying around. Check out their online calendar for their current happenings.

The Mothlight
701 Haywood Rd
Bar is open at 5:00pm Mon- Sat

The Mothlight is a venue for local and traveling musicians. They also host HEX, a bi-monthly inclusive and freaky dance party that benefits local organizations. Past benefits have raised money for Tranzmission and Our VOICE.

The Odditorium
1045 Haywood Rd, West Asheville
Sun 12pm-2am
Mon-Thurs 5pm-2am
Fri-Sat 3pm-2am

This is where the queers into punk and metal congregate in Asheville. Live music most nights, dance parties, and weekly Risque Monday burlesque makes this a neighborhood gem. The decor is somewhere between ‘witchy’ and ‘medical oddities museum’. Dog friendly and a great outdoor patio.

O’Henrys
237 Haywood Street, Downtown
4pm-3am

Home of Asheville Drag and the first and oldest gay bar in North Carolina. O’Henry’s is a great spot, reminiscent of a typical gayborhood bar in a larger city. Be sure to check out “The Underground” (the back room) where sweet industrial dance parties happen!

Shakey’s
790 Riverside Drive, North Asheville
2pm-2am

This riverside bar has gone through many iterations through the years and is definitely a dive bar. Although it’s a bit out of the main drag of town, they offer free shuttle rides in the Shakey’s limo. The dance parties here are known to get real queer.

Sporty and Outdoorsy Queers

Asheville Community Yoga
8 Brookdale Rd, Woodfin/North Asheville
Sun 8am-7:30pm
Mon-Thurs 7am-9:30pm
Fri 8am-7:30pm
Sat 8am-5pm

Need a drop-in class to stretch out your travel tension? ACY is all drop-in, sliding scale, donation based and non-profit yoga. The instructors are awesome, and they’ve got a great thrift store (called Zen and Now) that’s definitely worth checking out.

Blue Ridge Roller Girls

They skate at the US Cellular Center downtown February through May. Need I say more?

Blue Ridge Parkway

This is definitely the main attraction in Asheville. The Blue Ridge Parkway winds right through town on its way from the Shenandoahs to the Smoky Mountains. Either direction you choose to head in, you’ll hit amazing waterfalls, gorgeous vistas, incredible hiking trails and incredible mountain top views. The whole parkway is well traveled, but low on cell phone service. While relatively safe, and regularly patrolled by Park Service rangers, it’s not a bad idea to keep in mind that Asheville is a liberal bubble in a conservative part of the country (and many folks you encounter are likely visitors to Asheville, too).

Empyrean Arts
32 Banks Avenue, Suite 108
Class Schedule Online

This alternative movement studio is co-owned by two women and offers classes in pole fitness, aerial arts, dance, flexibility and strength training. Pole and aerial are taught through a gradual skill-building curriculum and instructors work to meet you where you’re at. Overall, it’s a very inclusive and creative space with more body diversity than I’ve experience in other movement-based settings.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The most popular national park in the country is just an hour or so outside of Asheville. There’s beautiful things to be seen here year round, tons of camping and black bear sightings galore. There are incredibly strict rules about dogs in the park, so think about leaving your pup in town for the day if you come up to more freely explore everything the park has to offer.

Second Gear
444 Haywood Rd
Sun-Frid 10am-6pm
Sat 9am- 6pm

Affordable used gear in West Asheville. Check here first for anything you might need, especially for sandals and anything in the breathable shorts department. Plus, they are living wage-certified.

Hungry and Caffeinating Queers

BattleCat Coffee Bar
373 Haywood Rd, West Asheville
Mon-Fri 7:30am-8pm
Sat-Sun 8am-8pm

Battlecat is a daytime coffee shop with a dive bar feel. The porch and yard are great for lounging with your pup sipping on a beverage. It’s hard to go wrong with a place that offers Vietnamese coffee and PBR-mosas.

Dobra Tea
78 N Lexington Ave, Downtown
707 Haywood Rd, West Asheville
Hours vary by location

Dobra is a well known romantic first date or hang out spot for queers in Asheville. Both locations offer cozy floor seating/sunken booths and an extensive menu offering traditional teas and clever herbal blends based on what you’re in the mood for (e.g. “Clear Communication” or “Vulnerabili-tea”).

Early Girl Eatery
8 Wall St, Asheville, NC 28801
Mon-Wed 7:30am-3:00pm
Thurs & Fri 7:30am-9:00am
Sat-Sun 8:00am-9:00pm

Early Girl is the cutest lil’ farm to table eatery serving breakfast all day. The menu is seasonal and always has a few vegan and vegetarian options. Hats off to their vegetarian herb gravy that tops off fluffy homemade biscuits.

Edna’s
870 Merrimon Ave, North Asheville
219 Amboy Rd, West Asheville
Hours vary by location

A favorite coffee shop in Asheville for settling in, connecting to the internet for a spell, or sitting with your pup outside (the West Asheville location is especially great for that!). Queer owned business!

Homegrown
371 Merrimon Ave, North Asheville
8am-9pm

Great locally sourced fare, southern comfort foods with a grandma’s cabin feel. The fried chicken here is not to be missed. Great vegan dishes, too!

Hopey & Co
Multiple locations in Black Mountain, Downtown Asheville, and South Asheville
Hours vary by location

Hopey is a discount grocery store and always the first stop for finding essentials like artisan coffee and frozen veggie burgers. Much of their fare is past the expiration date, which is why other groceries aren’t carrying the goods, but it’s still safe to eat. This is food justice in action.

Rosetta’s Kitchen and The Buchi Bar
111 Broadway St, Downtown
Mon-Sat 11pm-11am

That’s right, Asheville even has it’s own kombucha bar. The local women-owned kombucha company, Buchi, is located downstairs. Upstairs you’ll find some seriously amazing food at Rosetta’s (vegetarian and vegan soul food to cure what ails you).

Vortex Doughnuts
32 Banks Avenue, Suite 106
Sun-Fri 7am-5pm
Sat 7am-7pm

These doughnuts are it. Vortex incorporates local ingredients to make the finest vegan and non-vegan doughnuts, with a rotating specialty selection and damn good iced coffee drinks. There is outdoor seating just around the corner.

Healthy Queers

Asheville Acupuncture Clinic
68 Grove St, Suite C-1
By appointment

Asheville Acupuncture Clinic takes appointments via their website, which is easy to use, and a full 50-minute visit costs $50-80 sliding scale. The intake form asks you for your pronouns, which is a breath of fresh air, and both the space and practitioners are very welcoming. I received work from Annie Masaoka and fully recommend working with her! She incorporated body work while the needles were in vs. leaving me to sweat it out on the table. Annie consistently checked in with me for consent, which left me feeling seen, heard, and deeply happy.

Buncombe County Health Services
53 S French Broad Avenue, South Slope
Mon-Fri 8am-5pm

The STD clinic at the county’s health services department provides screening, treatment and follow up 100% free of charge. Appointments are required, but are easily booked a few days in advance. There is a rather thorough intake questionnaire with a nurse — although some people find this to be a bit intense, it does help ensure you’re being tested for the right things and it’s a great chance for a one-on-one walk through with a professional about risks and sexual health specific to you and your life. The family planning clinic on site provides screenings, referrals, birth control, emergency birth control, consultations and treatment for a variety of reproductive-related topics. They specify that they provide services for “men, women, transgender and non-binary individuals.” There is also a vaccination clinic on-site that can provide everything from travel shots and flu shots to HPV vaccines. They accept insurance or offer sliding-scale rates based on income.

Carolina Abortion Fund
No physical office, see website for hotline information

CAF is an incredible organization that offers financial assistance to individuals seeking an abortion procedure in North Carolina (regardless of gender identity). They have volunteers available for both English and Spanish speakers. They have no physical location, but are a great resource for anyone living in North Carolina.

Minnie Jones Health Center
257 Biltmore Avenue
Mon-Fri 8am-5pm

Named after local activist Minnie Jones, The Minnie Jones Health Center — a part of Western North Carolina Community Health Services, Inc. (WNCCHS) — defines itself as a social enterprise whose core principles are equity, solidarity, inclusivity and responsibility. WNCCHS has had a comprehensive and up to date Transgender Health Program since 2007. If you don’t have any health insurance, I recommend you check out this clinic, as much of the costs are sliding scale. However, urgent care is only available for existing patients, thus it’s recommended you preemptively enroll as a patient.

Our VOICE
35 Woodfin St
24 Hour Crisis Hotline
828-255-7576

Our VOICE is a crisis intervention and prevention non-profit that serves Buncombe County through support groups, community programs, and a 24-hour crisis hotline. The hotline is staffed by volunteers that receive LGBTQQIA training so that everyone is welcome to access support and resources. Their website also has a whole page for LGTBQ folks, complete with a resource guide.

Planned Parenthood
68 McDowell Street, South Slope
Tues 11am–7pm
Weds 10am–6pm
Thurs 9am–3pm
Fri-Sat 9am–2pm

Queer friendly. Awesome. Here.

Take Care Herbals
206 Merrimon Ave, Asheville, North Carolina, NC 28801
By Appointment or order

Take Care Herbals centers healing for LGTBQQIA folks, activists and organizers, and underserved populations. Rae is the clinical community herbalist behind the practice, which comprises of an apothecary, a sliding-scale clinic, and community workshops. I am especially fond of their Witch’s Assist tincture and the Working With Our Privilege flower essence. Their blog, found on the Take Care Herbals page, is an incredible resource for folks that writes through topics like herbalism and activism, the commodification of healing, and queer radical health care.

Activist Queers

Tranzmission

Tranzmission exists to “help make the lives of non binary and transgender people safer, healthier, and happier through education, advocacy, and support.” Check out the events calendar on their website for current queer- and trans- friendly happenings, and their support groups around town!

YouthOUTright

Asheville’s local LGBTQ youth outreach and empowerment program. Check out their Facebook page for great queer events and fundraisers (like Queer Prom, Drag Shows and Queer Karaoke!)

Campaign For Southern Equality

This grassroots organization is based in Asheville. CSE is an excellent resource for LGBTQ individuals throughout the South. LGBT rights toolkits are available on their website, with specific legal information pertaining to your area. They spearhead many legal challenges across the south for LGBT equality.

Trendy Witchy Sexy Queers

Grail House Movie Theater
45 S French Broad Ave
Showtimes available online

The Grail is a locally-owned independent movie theater, complete with a concession stand offering local treats. Some of their theaters have the usual seating options, while others house comfy couches.

Incantation Tattoo
594 Emma Rd
By Appointment

This is a queer-owned, queer-run tattoo shop. They do really great work, especially with witchy fine-lined designs.

Victory Blvd Tattoo
872 Haywood Rd
Sun 1pm – 6pm
Mon 12:30pm – 10pm
Tues – Fri 10am – 12am
Sat 12:30pm – 12am

Victory Blvd in West Asheville has a long-running and highly respected history in town, specializing in Americana style tattoos. Emily Morel is the resident tattoo darling to visit here. With a decade of tattooing experience under her belt, she’s wonderfully professional, talented and sweet!

VaVaVooom
57 Broadway St
Sun-Thurs 11am-6pm
Fri-Sat 11am-9pm

A bright and artsy all-ages and woman-owned sexy store. Great selection of lingerie (and local designers of comfy yoga clothes and fancy vintage upcycled gowns and accessories!). Head to the back of the store for the bedroom accoutrements like lube, toys, and a great selection of crystal toys for the queers that are both witchy and feeling sexy.

Raven and Crone
555 Merrimon Ave
11am-7pm

“A practitioner owned and operated old age metaphysical store.” I love everything about this place – the logo, the kitty behind the counter, the name and just being in the magical space. Pop in for a reading or to ask questions you may have about pursuing your witchy dreams! The in-store reading library and tea bar are a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

Villagers
278 Haywood Rd, West Asheville
Sun 1pm-5pm
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm

Asheville is well known for its homesteading and wild foraging communities. Many a queer here pines after ‘some land just outside of town’ to call their own. Villagers (a woman-owned, soon to be worker-owned business) is an excellent resource for the modern homesteader. It’s an invaluable hub for supplies and knowledge useful to gardeners and foragers. The pottery, kitchen supplies, and herbs are perfect for all with the DIY spirit (and gifts!). An excellent place to adopt a baby succulent. The classes offered all year long at Villagers are top notch for anyone looking to live a little closer to nature.

The Herbiary
29 N Market St, Downtown
Sun-Thurs 10am-6pm
Fri-Sat 10am-7pm

The Herbiary is the sister of the Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. They offer a huge selection of herbs and herbal remedies along with classes for the budding herbalist.

Smarty Pants Queers

Firestorm Books & Coffee
610 Haywood Rd
Tues-Sun 8am-9pm

A “collectively-owned radical bookstore, vegan coffee shop and community event space” that is not to be missed! Firestorm is an important hub for queer folks in Asheville that always has community events happening and an excellent selection of queer books and zines. They are highly dedicated to anti-oppression work and offer one of the best sober spaces around. Firestorm is an important anchor for queer folks in West Asheville, providing a sense of home and community.

Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe
55 Haywood Street
Sun 9am-7pm
Mon-Sat 9am-9pm

This queer-woman owned bookstore is a total gem. Though not technically a gay bookstore or a women’s bookstore, it feels as comfortable as one. Part of their history reads “…where important literature…is available to all, where censorship has no place, where respect and service are practiced daily, where women feel safe, where all are welcome, and where books are the stars.”

Downtown Book and News
67 N Lexington Ave
Sun-Thurs 9am-7pm
Fri-Sat 9am-9pm

Run by the same team as Malaprops Bookstore/Cafe, but all used books! Perfect for queers on a budget.

Battery Park Book Exchange
1 Page Ave, #101
Sun-Wed 11am-9pm
Thurs-Sat 11am-11pm

This beautiful two-story bookstore is frequently featured in ‘not to miss bookstores’ lists nationally. The whole place is covered in giant gorgeous throw rugs and packed wall to wall with vintage and rare books. It’s dog friendly inside and is also known as ‘the champagne bar’ around town — they have a seriously amazing list of literary-inspired champagne cocktails.

aSHEville Museum
35 Wall St
Sun-Thurs 10am-10pm
Fri-Sat 10am-11pm

In such a lady-centric town, I love that we have a women’s museum. Exhibits include photography, spoken word, history, and current events, and women’s stories both local and global. Sliding scale entry fee.

Well Played
58 Wall St, Asheville, NC 28801
Sun 11am-10pm
Mon- Wed 2pm-10pm
Thurs-Fri 2pm-1am
Sat 11am-1am

Well Played is a board game cafe that starts out at $5 per person to access their gaming library. The flat fee covers as many hours in a day that you can play, and their library is full of classic favorites and the hottest new games. The space is a great place to gather for competitive and/or collaborative play and their menu has cute snack options like animal crackers and grilled cheese. Also, bring a sweater because they keep it cool!

Queers With Dogs

Asheville might be one of the dog-friendliest towns in America. There are dogs in almost every bar, on every patio, in all the parks, and in all the Subarus. Your dog will love all the hiking available but will need to be on a leash most trails (note: dogs aren’t allowed to hike at all in Smoky Mountain National Park due to the high bear population). In town, any place that has a kitchen that prepares food can’t allow your dog inside. But other than that, a quick ask at the door of any bar/restaurant/coffee shop/store and people will be happy to let you know where your pooch is welcome. If a place isn’t welcoming of your friendly four-legged friend, throw a rock and find somewhere that is.

Brother Wolf Animal Rescue
31 Glendale Ave
Hours vary by department

Asheville’s finest no-kill shelter with a vegan campus. If you have extra time there are lots of opportunities to volunteer at Brother Wolf, such as their Outwards Hounds Hiking program where pups are taken out on group hikes.

French Broad River Park’s Dog Park
508 Riverview Dr

Large, fenced off-leash dog park for meeting local cutie pie dog owners. I mean, for letting your pup stretch their legs.

Patton Avenue Pet Company
Multiple Locations
Sun 11am-5pm
Mon-Sat 10am-7pm

Fantastic local woman-owned pet stores with treats, kibbles galore, cute dog clothes and collars and anything else your dog’s heart may desire. They focus specifically on ethical, good for the planet and your dog items. The West Asheville location has a small, fenced in off leash dog yard for customers (usually light on cuties, but a good bet if your dog isn’t into the huge dog park scene).

Pride

Brighde: Asheville has two Prides; Stonewall Commemoration Week in June and the Blue Ridge Pride Festival in September. The first of which is put on by Tranzmission and includes community dinners and discussions, film screenings, pool parties, educational workshops, etc. The week feels like it’s by and for the local LGTBQ community, and is especially attentive to how trans folks birthed Pride and the current needs of the trans community. I have not yet experienced the Blue Ridge Pride Festival, but two of the biggest categories on their website’s search bar read “Donate” and “Shop.” My feeling is that it’s much more of a corporate endeavor and marketed as an experience for everyone vs. as a special time for LGTBQ folks. Like a lot of Prides, Blue Ridge has some problematic sponsors, i.e. big banks.

Diversity

Annie: Asheville is a city that has been experiencing gentrification for a long time. The population hovers around 85% white (in short: it’s pretty white, especially compared to the rest of the South). Much of the Black and brown communities are in particular neighborhoods or portions of neighborhoods, and there has been much tension around segregation (particularly related to public housing developments) that increasingly occurs as Asheville becomes more gentrified. To keep an eye on for current information and issues impacting diversity in Asheville, I’d recommend following State Of Black Asheville.

Safety

Brighde: While Asheville is a fairly progressive city, it’s important to remember it’s sitting pretty in a red state. On the weekdays, I feel super safe walking through the city and being cutesy with my lady love. But on the weekends, and especially downtown, I am a bit more hesitant to do so. We’ve got a big tourist economy, which is both a burden and a boon, and that means people from all over flood the city. There are too many people on the street to be able to anticipate or see every threat that might come our way, and it’s can just be plain overwhelming. Personally, I love going out on weeknights and reserving the weekends for staying in or getting outdoors.

Cost Of Living

Brighde: Asheville is an expensive city. From my experience, rent may be half the price compared to cities like Boston, but it’s high-priced compared to the rest of the state. For the young queer, or really LGTBQ folks at any age, my recommendation is to figure out a way to cohabitate. Unless you are a professional paid above a living wage, one bedroom homes are elusive and often not affordable. This might be true everywhere, but in Asheville particularly, people are eager to keep their budgets in check so they have more time to do the things they love. Shack up with a partner(s) and/or some roommates, and it should be easy enough to find people who are LGTBQ themselves, or at least who share your politics.

Gentrification drives the cost of living in Asheville, and there are a lot of people who can no longer afford to stay. The rental occupancy for the city is at 99%, which leaves only 1% of rentals available. Lots of folks look outside the city for housing, but even the neighboring towns are getting more expensive. Since this is such a tourist destination, many owners opt to do Airbnb vs. rent out their spaces, which is a contributing factor. If trying to visit Asheville, I’d suggest staying in a tent or on a friend’s couch. Asheville is beautiful in every season and from every couch.

Thankfully, there are resources and initiatives built into the community that make being alive affordable. This includes different healing modalities at sliding scale prices, free events and educational workshops, free and/or discounted spots for food, etc. Unfortunately, public transportation is a bit of a nightmare and serves as a barrier to those (like me) who are car-less.

Asheville’s Queer-Friendliness

Brighde: As a white cisgender queer newcomer, thus far the city has been friendly. My experiences have ranged from uninformed tolerance to open arms. Spirituality is a big factor when considering the LGTBQ friendliness of the city. I’d say to watch out for gender essentialism and TERFS, especially within the older LGTBQ community and in spiritual settings. If you see an event that is “women-centered” but doesn’t explicitly say it is trans inclusive then it probably isn’t a safe space. Some of these “sacred feminine” spaces also have a fair chance of being grossly heteronormative.

But, THERE ARE RADICAL FOLKS HERE! There might not be a lot of LGTBQ-only spaces, but there are a lot of spaces and groups dedicated to movement building for all, and that’s where to find the love.

P.S. Go to Firestorm.

Laws and Regulations Affecting Queers

Bathroom Laws
The HB2 bathroom bill made national headlines when it was written and passed in 2016. Although the portion of the bill pertaining to bathroom use was repealed in 2017, it is worth mentioning. It is important to know that this law did not at any point apply to private businesses. Shortly after HB2 was passed, the Campaign for Southern Equality and Tranzmission partnered to offer free gender neutral bathroom signs to business, and many businesses have made the switch to show solidarity with the trans community. There are also plenty of places with ‘safe to pee’ stickers on their windows.

Protections for Trans Students
There are currently no policies in place to protect the rights of trans youth in our schools. Reported in an article in the Citizen Times, “Buncombe County’s school board doesn’t have a policy specifically protecting transgender students or clarifying what bathrooms they can use.” This same article describes the journey of a trans kindergartner in our county who was denied access to the appropriate restroom. Tranzmission stepped up and organized a sign-making event in anticipation of the planned protest at an upcoming school board meeting. The hope is to put pressure on board members so that a comprehensive policy is created and set in place.

Discrimination
The state of North Carolina does not prohibit discrimination in private employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Per state law, local municipalities are only allowed to pass nondiscrimination ordinances pertaining to extending orientation and gender identity protection to public employees. Additionally, it is against the law to sue in state court for these forms of discrimination.

Abortion and Reproductive Health
North Carolina ranks as one of the more difficult states to have an abortion procedure. Asheville does have providers in accessible locations (thanks, Planned Parenthood!) but they are still subject to these restrictive state laws. These restrictions include a 72-hour waiting period, being given the state approved information encouraging the patient not to have the procedure, along with a mandatory ultrasound and being offered to view the ultrasound images. Parental consent must be given for minors seeking the procedure. Abortion is only covered under the state’s Affordable Care Act plans and for state employees in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest. The good news is that many organizations offer support services and funding to support folks in this process, like the Carolina Abortion Fund.

Overall Friendliness of Asheville

Annie: Asheville is considered by most people to be a very friendly city. There are many newcomers, and generally, this means many people are looking to make new friends. People who have been here a long time, or are from here tend to be a little grumpy about the ever increasing influx of newcomers, but they generally won’t be rude to your face. There are always lots of events, workshops, festivals, etc going on in the Asheville area and plenty of footholds to meet people.

L,G,B,T, and Q Mingling

Annie: For the most part, communities with specific labels are largely separate if still generally friendly with each other. The large gay and lesbian meetups, respectively, attract slightly older members, while the more diverse younger population in Asheville make up the ‘queer communities’ that inhabit bookstores, co-ops, performance spaces and bars. Because it is a small town, the younger generation of queers here tend to stick together (especially around the anarchist spaces). Though there are some specific events that draw more of one crowd than another, everyone is generally able to get along.

Queer Girl City Guide: Baltimore, Maryland

This guide was written by Sierra Billingslea. It is an update to a previously published QGCG written by Rose.

QUEER GIRL CITY GUIDE Autostraddle

Baltimore is a queer city — from its history of John Waters and Divine to the flourishing trans community and radical fashion of today. Growing up in the rural area around the city, Baltimore was where I first encountered queerness in its lived sense; I went to Baltimore for restaurants, art festivals, and music. Four years ago I moved to Baltimore and what made me stay was a welcoming, open, and eccentric queer community. Although Baltimore is not known as a tourist destination or a LGBTQ vacation spot, the city has an abundance of culture and beauty to offer its visitors and residents.

Queer Reads, Social Justice Courses, and Comics

Red Emma’s/Baltimore Free School
30 W North Ave
Tuesday to Sunday 8:30am – 10pm
Monday Closed

Red Emma’s is a radical socialist cafe and bookstore as well as a burgeoning community center for queer people and other marginalized people. With delicious vegetarian and vegan options, Emma’s is always a good place for a good cheap bite. The co-op goes out of their way to hire trans people of color, disabled people, and formerly incarcerated people. I have been coming to Emma’s since I was in high school, and it was probably my first enlightening experience with something truly radical. Red Emma’s has cultivated not only an excellent cafe and bookstore, but a community of love and support.

Hosted by Red Emma’s, the Baltimore Free School is a grassroots, community-funded project that holds a number of classes from “Yoga for Ex-Offenders” to “Literary Review and Criticism of Multicultural Books.” Classes are held everyday of the week except for Monday.

Normals
425 E 31st St
Sunday to Friday 11am – 6pm
Saturday 10am – 6pm

Normals is a collectively run bookstore and record shop featuring used books and small press titles at reasonable prices. Normals also hosts local musicians and DJs in their performance space.

Bird in Hand
11 E 33rd St
Monday to Friday 7am – 7pm
Saturday & Sunday 8am – 7pm

An offshoot of Artifact Coffee and The Ivy Bookshop, Bird in Hand features a series where authors read their own poetry and short fiction, sell a small selection of books, and provide excellent vegan-friendly fare.

Atomic Books
3620 Falls Rd
Sunday to Tuesday 11am – 7pm
Wednesday, Thursday, & Saturday 11am – 9pm
Friday 11am – 10pm

Atomic books offers an excellent selection of zines, queer comics, and fiction from independent small presses. They stock many of the titles mentioned in Drawn to Comics such as “My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness” and “My Neighbor Jiaojian.” Atomic also contains a small speakeasy in the back where you can get a cocktail, karaoke, or just play Space Invaders.

Treating Your Queer Self (Shopping)

Scrap
925 S Charles St
Thurs & Fri 11am – 6pm
Sat & Sun 10am – 5pm

Scrap is a “donation-based creative reuse store and donation center.” Essentially, imagine your wildest crafty dreams. Stop by Scrap in Federal Hill for cheap reused craft supplies or to donate your old DIY kits. Great for cosplayers, youth organizers, and DIYers.

B. Willow
220 W 27th St
Monday to Saturday 11am – 8pm
Sunday 11am -7pm

B. Willow recently opened in Remington and sells a number of non-flowering plants, succulents, and cacti, as well as terrariums, zinc, and gravel. B. Willow invites you to plant your new little green friend right in the shop and holds classes and workshops.

Bazaar
3534 Chestnut Ave
Tuesday Closed
Monday to Saturday 12pm – 6pm
Sunday 12pm – 5pm

Bazaar has become a Hampden staple over the past few years and is filled with outdated gynecology equipment, teeth, creepy post-cards, taxidermy, airplants, and bumper stickers if that’s your thing. Occasionally they host community events and taxidermy workshops.

Brightside Boutique
732 S Broadway, 1133 S Charles St, 915 W 36th
Monday to Thursday 11am – 7pm
Friday & Saturday 11am – 8pm
Sunday 11am – 6pm

A rapidly expanding Baltimore Boutique with locations in Fed Hill, Fells Point, and Hampden. It’s essentially Urban Outfitters without ripping off artists. Lots of floral rompers, normcore, ironic baseball caps, and cactus everything. I like coming in because the staff are sweet and I can find feminist slogans written in comic sans on clutches and candles. Great for gift shopping or some self-love.

Sugar
1001 West 36th Street
Tuesday to Thursday 11am – 9pm
Friday & Saturday 11am – 11pm
Sunday 11am – 6pm
Monday 11am – 7pm

Queer-lady-owned sex toy store in Hampden on the Avenue. Sugar also hosts events and educational workshops for it’s patrons. Sugar manages to be both tasteful and playful; it has a small but high-quality selection of toys, and a helpful staff mostly made up of queer women who are way too cool for me.

Brightside Tattoo
1130 Light St
Everyday 12pm – 8pm

Brightside Tattoo is located in Federal Hill and offers a diverse range of styles. All of their artists have a good eye and the technical skills to execute most designs. I had my first tattoo done at this shop shortly after it opened and I have yet to find a more hospitable and comfortable atmosphere in a tattoo parlor.

Baby’s on Fire
1010 Morton St
Mon-Fri 7am-6pm
Sat 8am-6pm
Sun 9am-4pm

An adorable queer record store and coffee shop in the Mount Vernon Area. You can see its pride flag waving from across the block if you visit this local shop.

Vegetarian Food & Caffeine Fixes

Bunshop
239 W Read St, 22 Light St
7am – 3am Everyday

The Bunshop is one of Baltimore’s only late night coffee shops (open until 3am) and serves an array of sweet and savory pastries along with ample bench space and outlets. I enjoy the guava and cheese tarte or the rotiboy. Great for a late-night study session or office space.

Dooby’s
802 N Charles St
Monday to Friday 7am – 9pm
Saturday 8am – 9pm
Sunday 8am – 4pm

Doobys is located in the heart of Mt. Vernon and serves global fare. A great place to stop for brunch before going to the Monument or the Walters. Dooby’s has always been extremely successful due to the quality of its food, its location, and the regularity of 9-5ers, but suffers from an identity complex. It began as Korean fusion, the evidence of which is still on the menu, and has since experimented with American fare, baked goods, and a daily changing menu. Dooby’s is always good for a cup of coffee and, if you have a little money to spend, the eggs benedict with crabcakes or any of their Wednesday donuts are a Baltimore-must.

Papermoon Diner
227 W 29th
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday & Thursday 7am – 9pm
Friday & Saturday 7am – 10pm
Sunday & Monday 7am – 9pm

A little expensive and kitschy, the Papermoon Diner embodies the spirit of Baltimore. Laden with knick-knacks, action figures, and scantily clothed mannequins, it’s straight out of a John Waters film. The Papermoon Diner serves breakfast all day along with true dinner desserts.

Land of Kush
840 N Eutaw St
Monday to Saturday 11am – 9pm
Sunday 10am – 8pm

Vegan soul food and a Black-owned business. They do vegan chicken and waffles as well as chicken wings on the weekends. Land of Kush is a great example of the movement in Baltimore and other majority Black cities toward a reclamation of vegan food and health culture.

Blue Moon Cafe
1621 Aliceanna St
Monday to Thursday 7am – 3pm
Friday to Sunday open 24 hours

A great brunch spot downtown serving both creative and classic brunch fare. Get the Cinnamon Toast Crunch French Toast. There will be no regrets, I promise you. If you’re into a salty brunch, the Huevo Rancheros is also a good choice.

Charmingtons
2601 N Howard St
Monday to Friday 6am – 7pm
Saturday 8am – 7pm
Sunday 8am – 5pm

A little pricey, but the coffee and industrial feel are worth it for this Remington hangout. Charmingtons hosts open mics and poetry readings and plays office for many of Baltimore’s remote workers and students.

Sweet 27
123 W 27th St
Everyday 9am – 10:30pm

With global fare and gluten-free pastries, Sweet 27 has large portions and low prices in Remington.

Carma’s Cafe
3120 St Paul St #7
Monday to Saturday 7am – 9pm
Sunday 8am – 9pm

A favorite of grad students and professors, Carma has relaxing outdoor dining and low prices for coffee and pastries as well as breakfast Cubano.

Terra Cafe
101 E 25th St
Monday to Thursday 8am – 9pm
Friday & Saturday 8am – 11pm
Sunday 10am – 7pm

Terra Cafe has a cool vibe, locally sourced foods, and is located in Charles Village — about a 15-minute walk from John’s Hopkins University. Terra Cafe serves soul food with a twist (the fish and waffles are excellent!) and is a Black-owned Business.

Mi & Yu Noodle Bar
1016 S Charles St
Monday to Saturday 12pm – 10pm
Sunday 12pm – 9pm

The best ramen shop in Baltimore. Mi & Yu is a cute counter-serve ramen bar offering a wide selection of ramen as well as bao and duck-fat french fries. I occasionally break from pescatarianism just for the Spicy Duck Bao, though vegetarian options are available.

Nightlife

As in other American cities, queer nightlife has become more broadly defined and less centered around specifically gay bars in recent years. Baltimore still has a few queer-only spots, but here is a list of broader queer(ish) night clubs.

The Attic at Flavor
15 E Centre St #2
Friday & Saturday 9pm – 2am

Located above the restaurant Flavor, The Attic is open every Friday and Saturday to serve Baltimore’s queer ladies. Featuring a lounge, full bar, and dance floor, The Attic is Baltimore’s only club for queer ladies and is run by a local lesbian couple. The Attic does not disappoint and offers an oasis for lgbtq people who are excluded from traditional gay male night clubs. Like its neighborhood, the bar is sleek and a little pricy, but worth it.

The Grand Central
1001 N Charles St
Monday to Saturday 4pm – 2am
Sunday 3pm – 2am

The Grand Central describes itself as an “alternative nightclub” which means it’s a great mix of queer-identified 20-30 year olds and hipsters. Although drinks can run a bit high at times, specials bring them down to a little over $3, which is reasonable for Baltimore. The club hosts a ladies night every third Thursday. Although it looks unassuming from the outside, The Grand Central has quickly replaced Club Hippo as the city’s premier lgbtq club and lives up to that title.

The Crown
1910 N Charles St
Tuesday to Sunday 6pm – 2am
Monday Closed

The Crown is right off of North Avenue and offers a grittier experience than its Mount Vernon counterparts along with Korean-fusion fare. Torn between the artistic influences of MICA and the Station North Neighborhood, The Crown is truly “queer,” while not being exclusively lgbtq. It offers cheap drinks, drag, burlesque, music from EDM to punk, and art shows. The first time I went to the Crown, I watched the movie Alien dubbed over with atonal techno. It’s quickly becoming my favorite club in Baltimore.

The Ottobar
2549 N Howard St
Everyday 5pm – 2am

The Ottobar is a Baltimore staple, especially for those under 21, as it hosts a number of events that are 18+. Its entertainment ranges from live punk bands to Buffy the Vampire Slayer Burlesque and even flea markets. It’s monthly “emo nights” are becoming a favorite of nostalgic college students. I have been going to the Ottobar to see live bands since high school and, as an adult, still appreciate the venue and their upstairs bar.

Parks to Take Your Furry Friend/Date

Druid Hill Park
900 Druid Park Lake Dr.

An expansive park in West Baltimore, features a conservatory, frisbee golf course, as well as the Maryland Zoo. This park hosts the annual pride festival.

Sherwood Gardens
4100 Greenway

A great picnic spot with gardens and annual tulip arrangements.

Wyman Park
2929 N Charles St

A small park in Charles Village, walking paths, a playground, and that occasionally hosts live music.

Patterson Park
27 S Patterson Park Ave.

Patterson Park has playgrounds, live music, sports facilities, and expansive gardens.

Canton Waterfront Park
3001 Boston St.

Canton Waterfront Park has beautiful views of the city and hosts WTMD’s (a radio station out of Townsend University) First Thursday Concerts in the summer.

Queer Ladies on the Silver Screen

The Parkway
5 W North Ave.

A newly reopened 1910 theatre on North Ave, The Parkway is now the main venue for the Maryland Film Festival and shows independent, international, and classic films. Although it is close to the Charles Theatre, The Parkway’s architecture alone is worth a visit.

The Charles
1711 N Charles St.

The Charles (originally the Times Theatre) has been open in Baltimore since 1939 and is an essential for the city’s alternative crowd. Showing independent films, foreign films and anime, the theatre is a wonderful place to spend an evening between North Ave and Penn Station. The space is amazing and homey and the showings range from packed premieres to nearly empty matinees.

Flicks on the Hill
800 Key Highway

Hosted by the American Visionary Art Museum, Flicks on the Hill is free and plays family films on Thursdays in July and August.

Women and Minorities in Media Film Festival
8000 York Rd.

The Women and Minorities in Media Festival is hosted by Towson University, is free for students, and includes female-focused and queer independent films from around the world.

Other Cool Things

The Farmer’s Market under the Beltway
330 Guilford Ave

With free parking, lots of food, and local farmers, the Baltimore farmers market is an excellent way to spend a Sunday morning. Also, the fried mushrooms there are incredible.

Graffiti Alley
The corner of Howard and North Ave

Although not necessarily a tourist destination, Graffiti Alley is located next to Red Emma’s and is featured in a lot of Baltimore club music videos. It’s worth a look and a couple pictures if you are in the area.

Baltimore Art Collective

The Baltimore Creative Alliance hosts a number of workshops and performances through the year as well as galleries.

Artscape

Artscape is usually held in late July and is the largest free art festival in the United States. With bands, installation pieces, theatre, and galleries, it’s worth braving the heat.

First Thursday Concerts by WTMD
Canton Waterfront Park

A free outdoor concert series held monthly in the summer by WTMD. Features big names from various genres and craft beer.

Local Celebrities

Dan Deacon
A local electronic composer and artist that calls Baltimore his home.

Beach House
Beach House, now famous in the indie genre, is Baltimore based and occasionally returns home to do shows at MICA and small venues.

Wye Oak
Wye Oak is an alt band whose lead croons into the mic and who have regular shows in Baltimore.

Rubblebucket
Although it’s from the DMV, the Indie band, Rubblebucket, has been adopted into Baltimore and plays local shows.

John Waters
The famous writer and director of irreverent cult films like Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, and Hairspray (1988). He lives in Baltimore for part of the year and takes fanmail at Atomic Books in Hampden. It’s not unusual to still find posters of Divine around the city, or Waters himself.

The Gayborhoods

Hampden
Hampden and the Avenue have a number of cute boutiques and wonderful restaurants as well as “hons.” This is a wonderful part of town to enjoy some shopping and outdoor dining. In the winter, 34th street is completely covered in tacky (but beautiful) Christmas decorations as well as street vendors with hot chocolate and hot dogs.

Remington
Due to the condos being built in Hampden, many young Baltimoreans are moving south to Remington. Remington is now the “up and coming” neighborhood for some and another loss to gentrification to others. Remington features RHouse and Bar Clavel and boasts a diverse food scene.

Bolton Hill
The home of all the MICA students and host to a huge gay community. Art shows are constantly going on in this area as well as performances and installations. A great area of town to check out if you are into the local arts.

Charles Village
Full of John’s Hopkins students and starter families. A fun, queer-oriented, relatively safe area with lots of coffee shops and book stores.

Highlandtown
A cute artsy area around Patterson park that has a number of excellent restaurants and cute dogs. Visit the Creative Alliance or see the local monuments. Although it has started to become more gentrified, Highlandtown retains its old Baltimore charm.

Mount Vernon
The historic Baltimore Gayborhood. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Anthony Bourdain, John Waters, and a number of American presidents have frequented this area. The architecture is some of the prettiest in Baltimore and the monuments and museums make it a must.

Queer Resources and Organizations

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland
2530 North Charles Street
3rd Floor

The GLCCB was founded in the 70’s and works to provide services and resources to Baltimore’s queer community. These services include case managers and peer navigators to help find housing and other resources for queer people. Until a few years ago, the GLCCB was not a particularly good place for queer people to go to for help, but with a completely new administration and office space, the new GLCCB has proven itself to be a helpful resource for queer people in the area.

Trans Alliance

The Transgender Alliance in Baltimore is a relatively young organization (started in 2015) and aims to bring Baltimore’s trans and queer community together through open events, workshops, and protests. The organization held the Baltimore Trans Uprisings of 2015 and has continuously protested the systematic oppression of transgender people, especially trans women of color. The Transgender Alliance is an in-touch and intersectional organization that works with minimum bureaucracy to improve the lives of trans and queer people in the city.

The Scene

Baltimore’s dating scene is largely based upon what or who you are looking for. Baltimore does not have a lot of transience as it is not thought of as a tourist destination, but the queer community can fluctuate around university schedules. Since there is not a lot of migration in and out of the city, some queer communities can become a little stagnant for dating. However, it’s easy to go on dates with queer people from DC and the DMV and there are several bars geared towards queer people in Baltimore, so it’s easy to find a hookup or long-term partner. As for dating apps, I have had the most luck using Her and OkCupid.

Pride

Baltimore Pride is put on by the GLCCB and is located in Station North, Charles Village, and Mount Vernon. Pride is a huge deal, closing on of Baltimore’s biggest streets for the parade, festival, and food vendors. The parade has a tendency to devolve into a massive party and several of the local bars host drag events, celebrity impersonators, game shows, and other activities. The festival is a more family friendly celebration and is the perfect place to have a picnic while watching the drag competition or listening to live music.

Diversity

Baltimore is an extremely diverse city, with large African American, Korean, Hispanic, and refugee populations. There is also a significant Jewish population, a number of Christian non-denominational, Baptist, Greek Orthodox, and Catholic churches that are for the most part, extremely accepting. While diverse, segregation is a huge problem in the city. Neighborhoods and highways create divisions between white neighborhoods and communities of color as well as dividing the city by class. The queer community in the city reflects its diversity, with a wide variety of economic classes represented as well as a large population of trans and genderqueer people.

Cost of Living

Compared to neighboring cities, Baltimore is cheap to live in, but its proximity to Washington D.C. affects the prices. An average rented room runs from $400-$800 per month, while a 1 bedroom flat is about $900-$1,300. Water, electricity, and gas will probably add up to $20-$30 dollars per month. Food and commodities vary from dirt cheap to high end — it’s just a matter of finding the right deal.

College Life

Baltimore and the surrounding county have a number of colleges, though the city is far from a college town. Maryland Institute College of Art and John’s Hopkins are the most prominent of queerest of the city. Both have created little microcultures around them and attract a lot of queer undergrad and grad students.

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We’re Looking for More Queer Girl City Guides and to Update Our Current Ones!

If you live in or are moving to or visiting any of the cities that we have Queer Girl City Guides to, you’ve probably noticed that they’re pretty gosh dang out of date. But not for long!

I’m doing as much work as I can to update them, but I’m just one witch, so that’s where you come in. If you live in a city with an already existing guide, you can fill out this dandy form and help me out! This will make the work a billion times easier and the quality of the work a billion times better.

Excquisito! Restaurant from QGCG: Sao Paulo, 2013 Photo by M.O.S.

We’re also looking for new posts in this series! So if you live in a city without a guide, you can write one! These pay $50 per post! Here’s the kind of cool queer stuff we’re looking for guides to tell readers about in your city:

  • Roller derby
  • Libraries
  • Hair Stylists
  • Queer Friendly Coffee Shops
  • Nightlife
  • Diversity
  • Pride
  • Comic Book Shops
  • Planned Parenthood
  • Tattoo Parlors
  • Ikea
  • Subaru Dealerships
  • Cat Cafes
  • Dog Parks
  • Sex Toy Shops
  • Anything Involving Witches or Dinosaurs

Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro from QGCG: Bellingham, Washington 2016. I’ve been there! It’s good!

The cities we need the most desperately are:

  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Phoenix, AZ
  • Charlotte, NC
  • Ann Arbor / Ypsilanti, MI
  • Detroit / Suburbs, MI
  • Dallas, TX
  • Glasgow (UK)
  • Manchester (UK)
  • Paris (FRANCE)
  • Asheville / Raleigh / Durham, NC
  • Missoula, Montana
  • Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Tucscon, AZ
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • Boulder, CO
  • Omaha, NE
  • Iowa City, IA
  • Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Low Country High Rollers Roller Derby Team from QGCG: Charleston, South Carolina 2014

These are City Guides we already have that need updating:

That’s it! Sounds good? Send your pitches for new Queer Girl City Guides to carmen[at]autostraddle[dot]com!

City Guide Submissions Are Now CLOSED. An update on our City Guide process will be available shortly. Thank you for your patience!

Queer Girl City Guide: Bellingham, WA

Feature image via shutterstock

Here-Queer2-final-640x222

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Welcome to the City of Subdued Excitement: Bellingham, Washington!

BellinghamWAmural

I moved here five years ago to go to college at Western Washington University. Like many Bellinghamsters, I left only to return two months later. People call that the Bellingham Curse. You’ll leave but always come back because no place is as good as Bellingham.

Bellingham is often described as a little version of Portland, Oregon. It sits in a quiet area between Seattle and Vancouver, Canada, and draws people in because of its proximity to those cities, to ski-worthy Mt. Baker, to the nearby bay and lakes, and to hiking destinations. Bellingham has grown a lot in recent years but it still has an environmentally conscious, friendly charm. We have a gazillion great restaurants here, and Bellingham breweries win lots of awards for being super delicious. Bellingham is a city that often feels like a liberal safe haven, but like any city there are still pockets of homophobia, especially in the hands of private landlords and church communities where discrimination is easier to hide or justify. But all in all, the vast majority of people are accepting and friendly, and I feel a sense of community and safety among the queer folks.

The Greatest City In The World

The neighborhoods in Bellingham are roughly divided into North Bellingham and South Bellingham, with some gray areas in between. For the most part, North Bellingham has families and South Bellingham has college kids. Even though Interstate 5 runs straight through the city, people in Bellingham don’t like to drive far and may complain if they have to go somewhere that involves the freeway. Or Meridian Street. Or Sunset Drive.

I’ve spent almost all of my time in South Bellingham and have found it to be a very gay-friendly area, mainly because of its proximity to Western Washington University. Downtown is particularly gay-friendly, although rent on apartments or houses is often more expensive there. Happy Valley, which overlaps the South Campus housing area, is on the cheaper end for apartments. Fairhaven was its own city a long time ago but is rapidly growing into a cute (ahem, gentrified) commercial area. It has a ton of adorable shops, including two independent bookstores, but the houses and apartments down there are crazy expensive or have years-long waitlists. As for North Bellingham, I’ve heard that the Columbia neighborhood and Sunnyland are pretty gay-friendly. Of course, there will be pockets of homophobes anywhere but for the most part, you’ll probably feel comfortable holding your significant other’s hand anywhere in Bham.

(Not Actually The Greatest City In The World)

As a white and cis queer lady, I cannot speak to the specific experience that trans people or queer people of color have in Bellingham. The city is predominantly white, and people of extremely varying income levels are dispersed across the city in close proximity, which I would imagine creates particular tension for trans people and people of color, but I cannot describe specific incidents.

The two main problems I do see in Bellingham, which both intersect with race and class, are homelessness and the cost of housing. People who experience homelessness tend to leave in the late fall and come back again in the early spring when the city warms up. There are attempts to help people experiencing homelessness, like the Lighthouse Mission that provides food and shelter, but an ultimate solution may be out of reach for now because of Bellingham’s second big problem: the cost and availability of housing.

There are new, swanky apartments downtown and in Barkley and in Fairhaven. Meanwhile, there is a housing scramble from June to August, when the students leave or rearrange. The apartments that are available in these months are moderately priced. If you live with roommates, you can expect to pay between $400 and $500 per month for your share of rent. But if you need a place to live from September to May, your pickings are slim. Trying to move outside of the college cycle is stressful because the only places available are gorgeous and expensive. Your best bet if you’re moving to Bellingham in the off-season is probably to get into a college student’s illegal sublet until September.

Veggie Burger In Paradise

Bellingham food is the best food. Every time I have a friend come visit me, I have a hard time not just taking them to food place after food place. Their visit is essentially, “Oh, great, you’re in town! Where do you want to go for dinner? Wait but also dessert. And brunch.” Bellingham is a great city to be vegetarian: almost any restaurant will have more than one vegetarian option, and many restaurants also have vegan choices. Bellingham has quite the brunch scene, which I did not have time to go into here. Really, this list is just a few great places to eat in Bellingham. You can check out reviews of many Bellingham restaurants on this blog.

The Black Drop
300 W Champion St
Monday to Friday: 7am to 7pm
Saturday: 8am to 5pm
Sunday: 10am to 4pm

The Black Drop is a coffee shop downtown with dozens of fun, tasty drinks like the Bee’s Knees (a honey and rose latte) and Fat Elvis (a banana peanut butter mocha). The baristas there are always so friendly and a lot of people go here to study or for OKCupid dates —  plus they host fun events like the Blackout, with karaoke and spiked coffee drinks!

Black Drop

Black Drop

Fiamma Burger
1309 Railroad Ave
Sunday to Thursday: 7am to 9:30pm
Friday and Saturday: 7am to 10:30pm

Fiamma sells a fantastic array of burgers, including a handpacked veggie burger. Fiamma is a hip, inviting restaurant with a rotating variety of fun seasonal drinks and food specials. They also sell beer, cider, and wine and have amazing seasonal drinks. Like any good Northwest restaurant, they have a great salmon burger. But my favorite is the B “Ham” burger, with prosciutto, a sunnyside egg, and shoestring fries.

Fiamma Burger

Fiamma Burger

Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro
1107 Railroad Avenue
Sunday to Wednesday: 11am to 10pm
Thursday to Saturday: 11am to 11pm

Boundary Bay not only brews great beer, but also has a delicious array of food and house-made root beer! Boundary is a warm and welcoming restaurant that has local bands come to play pretty often. It’s the kind of place lots of people go to celebrate graduation or when their parents come to town. As for food, everything I’ve ever eaten there has been incredible, but a lot of my vegetarian friends love their yam enchiladas.

Boundary Bay

Boundary Bay

Leaf and Ladle
1113 N State St
Monday to Friday: 11am to 8pm

Leaf and Ladle is primarily a lunch location. They sell delicious salads, soups, and sandwiches with fantastic meat, vegetarian, and vegan options. Their menu changes pretty regularly with what’s in season, but they have a vegan wrap that is delicious. I also like their turkey and apple panini. Leaf and Ladle is fast and fresh with a chill attitude —  if you are so inclined, they also sell beer and cider to go with your meal.

Leaf and Ladle

Leaf and Ladle

Makizushi
1530 Cornwall Avenue (inside Terra Organic & Natural Foods)
Monday to Friday: 11am to 8:30pm
Closed Saturday and Sunday

Inside what is essentially the food court of Terra is Makizushi, where you can get delicious and fresh sushi for not too much money. It can take a while to get your food, because they make each plate to order, but it’s so worth it. Makizushi doesn’t have its own seating area, but you can eat in the seating area right outside the storefront, which is surprisingly quiet despite being beside a grocery store and is a great workspace with free wi-fi.

Makizushi

Makizushi

Shirlee Bird Cafe

1200 Harris Avenue, Suite 100

Monday to Saturday: 8am to 4pm

Shirlee Bird is a really cute hole-in-the wall cafe in Historic Fairhaven. Their specialty is the waffleini, a panini made of waffles, filled with chutney, cheese, and/or peanut butter. It sounds weird but it’s so good! The atmosphere is really friendly and inviting, and I always feel free to stop in for a quick drink or stay awhile and chat.

Shirlee Bird

Shirlee Bird

Mallard Ice Cream
1323 Railroad Avenue
Sunday to Thursday: 11am to 10pm
Friday and Saturday: 11am to 11pm

Do you want avocado ice cream? How about Earl Gray? Sour cream? White ghost pepper? Rose? Don’t worry, they also have old favorites like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry, plus a host of non-dairy choices that are just as sweet. It’s a fun and colorful hang-out, and it has gender-neutral bathrooms where the doors are painted like a unicorn and unicycle!

Mallards

Mallards

Sit Right Here And Have Another Beer In Bellingham

Okay, but really, beer. People don’t really drink big beer brands here. Beer is such a big deal in Bellingham that it has its own page on the tourism website. This year, Bellingham breweries won 13 awards at the Washington Beer Awards and 2 awards at the World Beer Awards. Bellingham has also been named the city with the snobbiest beer drinkers. Craft beer is a thing people are proud of here. Off the top of my head, I can think of four new breweries that have opened up in the last two years.

If we’re putting really rough distinctions between fanciness of the breweries, I’d say Boundary, Chuckanut, Kulshan, and Aslan are more “drink with your dinner” places, while Wander, The Local, K2, Structures, and Stones Throw are more typical pubs. A number of breweries are dog-friendly, too! Please note that in Bellingham, people wear roughly the same thing to a fancy location as they would to a casual location, and the only real difference is the vibe inside. We like our flannels and leggings, thank you very much.

Aslan Brewing Co. (1330 N Forest Street)

Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro (1107 Railroad Avenue)

Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen (601 W Holly Street)

Kulshan Brewing Company (2238 James Street)

K2, Kulshan’s second location (1538 Kentucky Street)

The Local Public House (1427 Railroad Avenue)

Stones Throw Brewing Company (1009 Larrabee Avenue)

Structures Brewing (1420 N State Street)

Wander Brewing (1807 Dean Avenue)

I Like The Nightlife, Baby!

Bellingham has a nice array of bars downtown that are fairly reasonably priced. I feel comfortable kissing, holding, or dancing with my girlfriend in most bars, although the nightclubs (Glow, the Royal, the Underground, and Rumors) can feel unsafe depending on who’s in the crowd that night.

Rumors Cabaret
1119 Railroad Avenue
Monday to Sunday: 4pm to 2am

Rumors is Bellingham’s only “gay bar,” although they call themselves a gay-friendly alternative nightclub rather than a straight-up gay bar. Rumors is intended for queer folks and straight folks, and a lot of queer women I know don’t feel comfortable there. The recent paint job makes it more inviting, but the vibe inside still feels more focused on gay men than gay ladies. Still, they throw awesome events, especially during Bellingham Pride weekend, and are the only bar with a dance floor on this list.

Rumors

Rumors

Redlight
1017 N State Street       
Open every day, 4pm to 2am

Every time I go into Redlight, I see some queer ladies on a date. So, I’m just going to roll with it and call Redlight a queer lady location. The main room is fairly dark, with candles on the tables.  There’s also the red room, which is lit with red lights and was a meat locker back when Bellingham’s downtown was the industrial area. Redlight has a full bar and a great array of house drinks in addition to local beer, wine, cider, and mead. Plus, they have board games, like Cards Against Humanity and Ticket to Ride, which you may or may not convince your girlfriend to play outside in November.

Redlight

Redlight

Honey Moon Mead & Cider
1053 N State Street Alley
Open Monday through Saturday, 5pm to 11pm

With live music most nights a week and kick-ass mead and cider brewed on the premises, Honey Moon is an awesome place to go on a date or to just chill out with your friends. Honey Moon has live music most nights, and they typically encourage everyone to buy food or a drink in lieu of a cover at the door. Honey Moon used to be a sailboat repair shop, so it has super high ceilings and a secondary pair of doors that they usually leave open in summer to let fresh air in. Honey Moon is a relaxing but fun bar, and people under 21 are allowed in and can eat the amazing food (people over 21 are also advised to try the amazing food).

Honey Moon

Honey Moon

Gettin’ Down On The Farm

Bellingham is a city that cares deeply about the environment and is surrounded by farms. In addition to a myriad of natural foods and local produce markets (the Community Food Co-op, Goods Produce, and Terra Organic Natural Foods to name a few), Bellingham has two weekly farmers markets. Both farmers markets feature live music, with buskers at the Saturday market and frequent performers at the Wednesday market. Even if I don’t buy anything, I love going down to see the hubbub when I have free time.

The Saturday market runs from April to Christmas from 10am to 3pm, with once-a-month winter markets in January, February, and March. The market is downtown at the Depot Market Square and features lots of local produce, lunches, local crafts, coffee, and breakfast. This is probably what most Bellinghamsters think of when they hear “the farmers market.”

Wednesday Farmer's Market

Wednesday Farmer’s Market

The Wednesday market runs from June to August from noon to 5pm. It takes place in Fairhaven, on the Village Green behind Village Books. The Wednesday market is much smaller than the Saturday market, but still brings local produce, lunch items, and local crafts to the table.

I’m Changing My Major To Joan

Bellingham is so much more than a college town, but that’s what brought me and so many others here. I went to Western Washington University, but there are also two community colleges and another four-year college in town.

Western Washington University is a state school offering bachelor’s, master’s, and certificate degrees. Western is a liberal arts school known for its teaching program, and known for the fact that it doesn’t have a football team or sororities and fraternities. It’s relatively queer-friendly, with a floor in one of the dorms just for queer folks. With a population of about 15,000 undergrad and grad students and a relatively (ha) low tuition and small class sizes, Western is considered to be a great bang for your buck.

Northwest Indian College offers bachelor’s degrees, associate’s degrees, and certificates. NWIC is the only accredited tribal college in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and 75 percent of their students come from federally-recognized tribes. They offer degrees in environmental science, early childhood education, Native studies leadership, and others.

Whatcom Community College offers associate’s degrees and certificate degrees and is a good place to get a transfer degree. A lot of students also complete nursing degrees here. I’m told they have a decent-sized GSA and gays feel pretty happy there.

Bellingham Technical College offers more specialized associate’s degrees and certificates in areas like welding, fisheries sciences, culinary arts, nursing, and others.

Sports Go Sports

There are several general interest teams, like the men’s baseball team the Bellingham Bells, and many clubs and teams through the four colleges in Bellingham, but there are a couple queer-lady-focused sports teams.

Bellingham Roller Betties —  This is the roller derby team! They play at the Sportsplex and partner with the local non-profit Pass the Hat, which helps families with medical expenses during a tragedy. You can get in on the action by doing Booty Camp in August and joining the team or by going to see a bout.

Roller Bettys

Roller Betties

Western Washington University women’s rugby —  The rugby team is a club at Western’s campus, so you have to be a student to join the team, or you can go see them from spring to fall at Western’s Wade King Turf field.

Happy, Healthy, Strong and Calm

Bellingham Planned Parenthood is located at 1530 Ellis Street. They’ve recently updated their forms to be much more gender inclusive.

Sean Humphrey House provides housing, counseling, meals, and medical management services to low-income people living with HIV/AIDS.

Tell Your Sister That She’s Gotta Rise Up

Queer Resource Center at Western Washington University  —  Along with a library of LGBT books, videos, and other resources, Western’s QRC provides a safe place for Western students to discuss queer issues. They also throw together a bunch of fun events on campus, such as the ice cream social, dances, discussion panels, speakers, and poets.

Queer People of Color Club at Western Washington University —  This club meets to socialize and to discuss issues specific to being queer people of color. To find out the next meeting time and location, visit the Ethnic Students Center at Western.

Bellingham Pride Families Facebook Page  —  This page is a group for queer parents in Bellingham to offer advice and support on raising kids and on life in general.

Support Group for Parents of Transgender/Gender-Nonconforming Children —  This group meets in the top floor of Fairhaven Bike and Ski Building (1108 11th St, Suite 304) on the second Sunday of every month from 3:30 to 5:30pm.

Take Me To Church

ChurchMural

Being a religious queer person is a unique kind of hard. Like bisexuals, religious queer people have two groups of people telling them they don’t belong in the other group. Bellingham is not a very religious city, but the most homophobia I’ve heard about has happened in religious communities. I go to St. Paul’s and no one cares if my girlfriend and I hold hands during services. May you find peace here or elsewhere, and please leave a comment if you know more information.

Affirming:

Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 1207 Ellsworth Street

Beth Israel Synagogue, 2200 Broadway Street

Center for Spiritual Living, 2224 Yew Street

Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, 2600 Lakeview Drive

Garden Street Methodist Church, 1326 N Garden Street

St. James Presbyterian Church, 910 14th Street

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2117 Walnut Street

First Congregational Church, 2401 Cornwall Avenue

First Lutheran Church, 2750 McLeod Road

The following groups are not accepting religious institutions, and I don’t recommend attending their services as an LGBT person.

Not Affirming:

Campus Christian Fellowship (CCF), Western Washington University

Collide (religious women’s ministry)

First Presbyterian Church of Bellingham, 1031 N Garden Street

The INN (Western Washington University group), 1031 N Garden Street

I’m Feeling Myself

Honey Salon
310 W Holly Street
Tuesday: 9am to 6pm
Wednesday to Friday: 9am to 7pm
Saturday: 9am to 6pm

Honey does a bunch of different services, from haircuts to waxing to color. They’re also a Green Circle Salon, meaning they’re committed to keeping as much of their waste out of the landfill as possible and collect money to help with other environmental efforts.

Jake’s Barbershop
124 W Holly Street
Tuesday to Saturday: 9am to 7pm

What I love about Jake’s is they charge for haircuts based on hair length, rather than charging for “women’s” and “men’s” haircuts. They also have a bowl for meter change and serve beer while you wait for a haircut. As a woman, I was intimidated to go in there at first, but they are super welcoming to people of all genders and gender presentations.

Old Gold Tattoo Parlor
1222 N State Street
Monday to Sunday: 12pm to 8pm

Old Gold is a classic tattoo shop. They play hardcore music in a way that might be intimidating for some people, but everyone there is super welcoming. A bunch of my friends have gotten tattoos here, particularly from KC Lange, although I’ve heard all of their artists are phenomenal.

Laughing Buddha Body Piercing
1409 Commercial Street
Open by appointment

This Laughing Buddha the only piercing-only shop in Bellingham. They have a great variety of jewelry and work hard to make sure you know about caring for and cleaning your piercing.

Have You Read This Ish?

Bellingham doesn’t have a specifically queer bookstore, but Village Books seems to work to integrate queer books into its stock, particularly in the young adult section. If you’re looking for something to read, there are a couple of alternative publications that come out regularly. One is The Betty Pages, written by Bellingham drag queen Betty Desire. The other is Cascadia Weekly, an alternative newspaper with a good scope on local events and a satiric look on local news. You can find both at various spots around town.

This Business Of Art

Bellingham has a pretty strong art scene, and there are many organizations around town that work to promote the arts, as well as several museums and theaters. Here is a smattering of arts groups around town that are alternative or otherwise too fun to not mention.

Make.Shift is an alternative art and music venue downtown. They’re located at 306 Flora Street and are open from Tuesday to Saturday from noon to 5pm, in addition to special events.

Make Shift

Make Shift

Art Walk is an event in which downtown businesses display local artists’ art and everyone is merry. It happens the first Friday of every month from 6 to 10pm.

The Bellingham Circus Guild is a group that holds events like Vaudevillingham and classes in circus arts.

The Upfront Theater was established by Whose Line Is It Anyway?‘s Ryan Stiles, who lives in Bellingham and who you occasionally run into at the grocery store. The Upfront does improv, stand-up, and many other comedy shows.

B Proud!

Bellingham Pride happens in July to avoid conflicting with Seattle, Vancouver, and even Portland’s Pride celebrations, although unfortunately that makes the event a lot smaller because many college students have vamoosed for the summer. It’s a small but delightful group of events from Friday to Saturday, including a family picnic in Bloedel Donovan Park, dance and drag show at Make.Shift, a festival, and a parade on Sunday. Other businesses get into the action too, including drag shows at Rumors and events at local churches.

Pride Parade

Pride Parade

Bellingham is the best city I’ve ever lived in, and when I move away, I will miss the community and positivity that seems to thrive here. Despite its problems, Bellingham is one of the most queer-friendly cities in Washington, and I’m proud to call it home.

Queer Girl City Guide: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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Baton Rouge, Louisiana

1.5 hours from New Orleans, 1 hour from Lafayette, 40 minutes from St. Francisville, 4 hours from Houston, Texas, and 4 hours from Pensacola, Florida.

BRskyline

Growing up, I hated Baton Rouge. In my teen years, Baton Rouge didn’t have much to offer besides crappy chain restaurants, LSU football games and a high teen pregnancy rate.

After high school, I swore I’d go to college out of state, or at least outside of Baton Rouge. Once I got accepted to the state’s flagship university, I promised I’d leave once and for all after graduation, journalism degree in hand. When I was offered a job in the place I’d spent my entire life trying to escape, I figured I’d better learn to love Baton Rouge.

My job requires me to explore and write about Baton Rouge and its burgeoning food scene, and in doing so, I began to see firsthand how greatly I’d underestimated my hometown, and how much things were beginning to change.

Today, Baton Rouge is as much a travel destination in Louisiana as New Orleans. The city has seen a revival the way many mid-sized cities across the U.S. have in recent years. With a thriving food and beverage scene, a revitalized downtown, and a huge college-aged population, Baton Rouge is best described by the favorite local adage, “a drinking town with a football problem.”

Louisianans, Baton Rougeans in particular, will take any excuse to throw down, and each season brings with it parades, festivals, parties and cook-offs.

In traveling for my job, I’ve come to truly appreciate how unique Baton Rouge is. Despite having lived here my whole life, I always find new things to explore.

Below you’ll find a highly curated list of activities, sights to see, and places to be seen in Baton Rouge from a resident queer. I tried to emphasize the hip and trendy new spots while including not-to-be-missed Baton Rouge classics. Southern hospitality is no joke, y’all. Stop on by. We’d love to have you!

Why the locals love it

Spanish Town Historic District is home to pastel painted old homes with charm, and the neighborhood pride of its residents is unmatched. Photo by Lauren Duhon.

Spanish Town Historic District is home to pastel painted old homes with charm, and the neighborhood pride of its residents is unmatched. Photo by Lauren Duhon.

In the last few years Baton Rouge, like many medium-sized cities, has seen a major come up, with city wide initiatives to remove blight and increase bikeability and green spaces popping up monthly. The city is big enough to have a nightlife, an art scene and a number of events going on to keep locals constantly entertained, yet the pace is slow enough to suit those with families who live in the suburbs and come to the city to play.

While there are no specific “gayborhoods” in Baton Rouge, there are more hip areas where young working professionals and artistic types tend to congregate. Mid City, the Garden District and Spanish town tend to be the most affordable areas with access to all there is to do in Baton Rouge. If you’re a student, there are plenty affordable rent options near LSU and Southern University’s campuses.

The cost of living in Baton Rouge is relatively inexpensive; according to recent data, the cost of living in Baton Rouge is nine percent lower than the national average. The minimum wage rolls in at $7.25 per hour, and the living wage is estimated to be $10.44 per hour. Since I’ve lived on my own, my rent has ranges from $350 per month (splitting a one bedroom apartment) to $650 per month (renting a studio apartment in an attractive part of town).

Unfortunately, Baton Rouge consistently ranks in the top 10 worst-paying cities for women, especially for women of color.

Baton Rouge is a majority minority city, with African Americans representing 54% of the population and whites representing 39%. Locals benefit from the capital city’s diversity in the form of cultural celebrations that become city-wide parties and an eclectic food scene where traditional Southern comfort food, Cajun cuisine, Mexican offerings, Greek and Lebanese fare and Vietnamese creations converge.

Where are the Lesbians at?

It's been said brunch is the gayest meal of the day, and that rings especially true in Baton Rouge. Roll up with your lesbro brunch squad and combine forces with other amigays. Photo by Baylea Jones.

It’s been said brunch is the gayest meal of the day, and that rings especially true in Baton Rouge. Roll up with your lesbro brunch squad and combine forces with other amigays. Photo by Baylea Jones.

The dating scene for lesbians and queer girls in Baton Rouge is small and inextricably linked to the New Orleans dating scene. In fact, Baton Rouge has Pride, but most Baton Rougeans prefer to head to New Orleans’ Pride celebration each year. The close-knit LGBT community results in everyone dating each other’s exes, but that seems to be a national trend. Among straight people, Baton Rouge has a reputation for being a city that likes to couple up, but I’ve found the opposite to be true within the local LGBT community. Your best bet when looking to hook up in Baton Rouge is to use dating apps like Tinder or OKCupid, becoming a regular at Splash or any of the locally owned Coffee Shops or getting involved in local LGBT activism groups.

Does Southern hospitality extend to LGBT people?

Louisiana's Old State Capitol represents architectural opulence and the state's history of corruption. In its corridors, infamous Governor Huey P. Long was shot and killed. Photo by Lauren Duhon.

Louisiana’s Old State Capitol represents architectural opulence and the state’s history of corruption. In its corridors, infamous Governor Huey P. Long was shot and killed. Photo by Lauren Duhon.

On paper, Baton Rouge doesn’t look so good for LGBT people. Conservative elective officials elected by a conservative majority dominate the state and local government in Louisiana, and it can be difficult to see any legislative progress for LGBT people despite the best efforts of some amazing advocacy groups working hard to make changes. Two years ago, Baton Rouge failed to pass an Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a pretty standard piece of legislature most city’s have in place. The ensuing city hall meeting, broadcast live, was a disaster, with local religious leaders debating whether or not anal sex was “natural.” We still have no ENDA.

Louisiana can be ass backwards sometimes, but it’s important to remember Southern hospitality is alive and well.

I can’t speak for everyone, but in my (white, middle class, often straight-passing) experience, people here will go to great lengths to make visitors feel safe and welcome, whether or not they agree with your “lifestyle choices.” At worst, I’ve dealt with some curious stares when my girlfriend and I are physically intimate in public.

For queer people of color and trans people, I imagine the experience isn’t so seamless here.

Because of the discrimination and lack of legal protections for LGBT people in Baton Rouge, the local queer community is hella strong. Anecdotally, a lesbian couple I know who recently moved to the Northeast said they were considering moving back to Louisiana because they miss how strong the community is here. My entire friend group is comprised of Baton Rouge queers, and they’re the most open, welcoming people I know.

Get Involved!

There's lots of work to be done to better the lives of Louisiana's LGBT population. Photo from Equality Louisiana.

There’s lots of work to be done to better the lives of Louisiana’s LGBT population. Photo from Equality Louisiana.

Adversity brings people together and forms close bonds between them, and that’s definitely reflected in Baton Rouge’s culture of activism.

Groups like Equality Louisiana and Capital City Alliance work tirelessly to advocate for LGBT people in Louisiana and Baton Rouge. Many of my friends volunteer with STAR (Sexual Trauma Response & Awareness), and each year HAART puts on fun events to raise money and awareness about HIV/AIDS in Baton Rouge.

Student activism groups feed into adult activism groups, and all activists come together in support of one another. At LSU, Spectrum is the LGBT organization on campus, Feminists in Action is exactly what you’d think and Baton Rouge Organizing formed to connect students and other progressives to already existing advocacy groups.

Where the party at?

I only recently discovered the drunker I get, the more skilled I am at Radio Bar's patio ping pong. Photo by author.

I only recently discovered the drunker I get, the more skilled I am at Radio Bar’s patio ping pong. Photo by author.

Radio Bar
3079 Government St
Mon-Thu: 4pm-2am
Fri: 3pm-2am
Sat: 4pm-2am
Sun: 4pm-12am

Probably the trendiest spot in Baton Rouge, Radio Bar neighborhood bar exists in what used to be an auto shop, with huge garage doors that open up to an outside patio with ping pong tables and a second bar. Pet and queer friendly, Radio Bar allows bar-goers to select bar tunes through an iPhone app, a modern alternative to putting coins in a juke box. On Friday and Saturday nights, the place is packed, but you’re guaranteed to meet cool people and have some good conversations.

Why do all gay nightclubs look so depressing in the daylight? Photo by author.

Why do all gay nightclubs look so depressing in the daylight? Photo by author.

Splash
2183 Highland Rd
Thur-Sat: 9pm-2am

Splash is one of only three gay bars to survive in Baton Rouge. Although I have mixed feelings about Splash, it’s probably the only place in the city we feel 100% comfortable making out in public with each other. It’s the perfect setting for drama to unfold: downstairs — a raised dance floor, three bars, strobe lights and drag shows; upstairs — another bar and lounge area where the lesbians tend to congregate. The shirtless and buff bartenders serve up sugary, weak mixed drinks to the tune of electronic Adele remixes. Also, be forewarned: Louisiana has yet to adopt no smoking policies for bars. If smoking bothers you, skip out on Splash.

Olive or Twist's bartenders can satisfy even the bougiest of drinkers (myself included). Photo by author.

Olive or Twist’s bartenders can satisfy even the bougiest of drinkers (myself included). Photo by author.

Olive or Twist
7248 Perkins Rd
Mon-Sat: 4pm-2am
Sun: 11am to 12am

With one of the best bar programs in town, Olive or Twist continually whips up creative drinks for the craft cocktail aficionados of Baton Rouge. The cozy, comfy cocktail bar offers a decent selection of small plates perfect for sharing. They’re known for their boozy “adult sno-ball” cocktails, made with fresh crushed ice and topped with syrup in King Cake, ice cream sundae and blueberry vanilla flavors. Seating is limited, but they’re looking to expand within the next year.

A Drinking Town with a Football Problem

As the saying goes, "it never rains in Tiger Stadium." Photo by author.

As the saying goes, “it never rains in Tiger Stadium.” Photo by author.

Louisiana State University’s campus (nestled between River Road and Highland Road) consistently tops lists of the most beautiful college campuses in the country, attracting photographers, event organizers and film crews on the regular. More than 30,000 students are enrolled at LSU’s Baton Rouge campus, making up a significant portion of the city’s population. The University is the lifeblood of the city, attracting students from across the Southeast region who often wind up settling in Baton Rouge after graduation. A day well-spent at LSU’s campus involves sunning on the Parade Ground, grabbing homemade ice cream at the LSUAg Center Dairy Store, visiting the live on-campus mascot Mike the Tiger in his multimillion dollar habitat and walking the LSU Lakes. Grandiose sorority and fraternity houses dot the two manmade bodies of water known as the LSU Lakes, where you’ll find college students walking their dogs, jogging or showing off their acroyoga skills. Every weekend during football season, the entire city converges upon LSU’s campus for tailgating, a multi-day booze fueled party where anyone wearing purple and gold is welcome to eat and drink under white tents or off the back of a pick-up truck. If you’ve never been to a Southern tailgate, it’s something you have to see to believe.

Gastro-tourism in the Capital City

The food culture in Baton Rouge, and in Louisiana, cannot be overstated. Gastro-tourism is alive and well here, with tourists flocking in from all over to stuff their bellies full of homestyle Southern fixins and Cajun delicacies. The best places to eat in Baton Rouge are hotly debated and constantly being reevaluated by the city’s legions of food aficionados. As someone who works as a food and beverage blogger, I feel pretty qualified to recommend places to eat and drink.

Louie's Cafe pancakes are stellar, but the locals swear by the Cajun hashbrowns, which bear a resemblance to what Yankees call "home fries." Photo by author.

Louie’s Cafe pancakes are stellar, but the locals swear by the Cajun hashbrowns, which bear a resemblance to what Yankees call “home fries.” Photo by author.

Louie’s Cafe
3322 Lake St
24 hours, 7 days a week

On a recent stop in Baton Rouge, President Obama stopped by Louie’s to grab a bite to eat, and Baton Rougeans were thrilled by his choice. Louie’s has been serving up diner fare to drunk people since the 1940s, and though it’s moved locations a number of times since, it’s retained its signature late-night diner charm and fried food smell. To get the most authentic Louie’s experience, don’t show up before midnight. The waitresses, or Louie’s Girls, as they’re known around here, tend to be heavily tattooed, pierced and very hip. They’ll hook you up with some coffee, Cajun hashbrowns and blueberry pancakes (with Steen’s syrup, of course), but they’ll do it with immense irritation. It’s that kind of place, and it’s wonderful.

Brunch on the patio at City Pork Brasserie & Bar is a Saturday ritual for my girlfriend and me. Photo by author.

Brunch on the patio at City Pork Brasserie & Bar is a Saturday ritual for my girlfriend and me. Photo by author.

City Pork
2363 Hollydale Ave
Mon-Fri: 7am-9pm
Sat: 9am-9pm
Sun: 9am-3pm

Nestled near the Garden District, City Pork Deli & Charcuterie acts as my second home. My girlfriend and I eat here so much we’re considered family. Don’t think Northeastern style deli, though. This new restaurant concept smokes meat, bacon and sausage in house and serves them on delicious sandwiches or packaged behind the counter. Their specials change daily, but you can’t go wrong with the Big Pig, City Pork’s take on a pulled pork sandwich. Each month, they cook a whole pig (called a cochon de lait), break it down and serve it buffet style with sides like creamy macaroni and cheese and spicy smothered greens.

Recently, City Pork has expanded to two new concepts, City Pork Brasserie & Bar (7327 Jefferson Hwy), a more upscale, full-service restaurant, and City Pork Kitchen & Pie (6721 Exchequer Dr), a traditional Southern plate lunch and icebox pie spot. All three are worth checking out.

Within this building lies crispy, golden fried chicken and soulful sides that speak to the soul. Photo by author.

Within this building lies crispy, golden fried chicken and soulful sides that speak to the soul. Photo by author.

Chicken Shack
413 N Acadian Thruway
Mon-Fri: 7am-11pm
Sat: 10am-11pm
Sun: Closed

You better believe the South knows how to fry some chicken, and no one fries chicken in Baton Rouge like Chicken Shack. Located near Mid City, this 80-year-old eatery is home to the hands-down best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten in my life, and that says a lot coming from someone who lives and breathes fried chicken. The small restaurant serves up heaping mountains of deep fried, spicy chicken and soulful sides all day, every day. If you find yourself in town on a Tuesday, take advantage of Chicken Shack’s Tuesday special, two pieces of fried chicken for less than $2.

Magpie's ever changing seasonal menu and quick, friendly service make it one of Baton Rouge's most beloved coffee shops, perhaps second to popular hipster hangout Highland Coffees near LSU. Photo by author.

Magpie’s ever changing seasonal menu and quick, friendly service make it one of Baton Rouge’s most beloved coffee shops, perhaps second to popular hipster hangout Highland Coffees near LSU. Photo by author.

Magpie Cafe
3205 Perkins Rd
Mon-Fri:7am-8pm
Sat: 8am-7pm
Sun: 8am-1pm

Baton Rouge, and the South in general, does not have a reputation for being particularly accommodating to those with dietary restrictions. Vegetarians and vegans often struggle to find decent meals at restaurants here. Magpie Cafe is one of the few places in town where the vegan/vegetarian/paleo/etc. options are just as mouthwatering as the regular menu items, and they’re the only coffee shop in the city doing pour overs. Their menu changes daily and reflects what’s seasonally available, and the baristas know their stuff. For breakfast, go for the homemade “poptarts,” and for lunch, I’m all about the turkey and fig jam panini.

Pinettas

Pinetta’s European Restaurant
3056 Perkins Rd
Mon-Thu: 11am-2pm, 5pm-10pm
Fri-Sat: 11am-2pm, 5pm-11pm
Sun: Closed

For a romantic dinner, Pinetta’s can’t be beat. The Italian/German style eatery has been around since my dad’s college days, and it’s one of Baton Rouge’s best kept local secrets. Tucked away next to a bookstore in the Garden District, Pinetta’s unassuming exterior is easy to pass up. The entryway door is perpetually broken, and the interior is so dimly lit you can barely read the menu without breaking out a flashlight. The place smells distinctly of mothballs, and every surface is covered in a thin layer of dust, but that’s what makes it so charming. Hands down, Pinetta’s is home to Baton Rouge’s best red sauce, which makes the spotty service bearable. Spaghetti and meatballs with bottle of red wine is my go-to.

Always an Excuse for a Festival

Baton Rouge's annual Spanish Town Parade is pink themed and rife with political commentary. Photo(s) by Lauren Duhon.

Baton Rouge’s annual Spanish Town Parade is pink themed and rife with political commentary. Photo(s) by Lauren Duhon.

Louisianans will take any excuse to party. Crawfish season? Cover some tables with newspaper and call 50 of your closest friends. Mardi Gras? Get drunk for an entire week and beg other adults for plastic beads.

Historians might argue our love for celebration links directly to our French and Spanish Catholic roots, but I’d argue our temperate climate and affinity for drinking make it impossible to avoid constantly insisting on having fun.

As soon as “winter” is over, it’s festival season in Baton Rouge. Heralded in by the Spanish Town Mardi Gras parade, spring time in Baton Rouge means outdoor music, good food, good friends and a cold beer or frozen daiquiri. Events like Live After Five, a free live outdoor concert every Friday, and the Baton Rouge Blues Fest, a free two-day live music showcase, are just a few of the neverending celebrations Baton Rouge has to offer.

On any given weekend, there’s something to attend, whether it be a college football game, a film fest, a live performance or a fundraiser.

Queer Girl City Guide: Cincinnati, Ohio

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Cincinnati – once known as “the Queen of the West” or “Porkopolis” (we have a thing about pigs), this old German city on the beautiful (read: dirty) Ohio River is slowly emerging as a pretty hip place to live. We’re pretty down-to-earth here – heck, the city itself is named after Cincinnatus, a Greek guy who could have been a dictator but preferred to be a farmer – but don’t let the Midwestern sensibilities fool you into thinking Cincy is boring. It’s actually a lot more diverse than many other Midwestern cities, and has quite rich history, architecture, and art scenes.

Fountain Square

Fountain Square

Claire: I have lived in Cincinnati my entire life (minus a few months in Berlin) and it’s been a wonderful place to call home, both growing up and as a young adult. It’s an incredibly livable city: decent cost of living, many beautiful neighborhoods, just the right size for knowing your way around but still finding more to explore. Most people are incredibly friendly and will strike up a conversation in the grocery store or on the street, whether they know you or not – this is the thing I miss most when I go other places. Well, that and the chili.

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Caroline: As a Cincinnati transplant after living in sunny south Florida for 22 years, I immediately assumed life in the Midwest would be a drag with its general lack of ocean access and that thing called winter. But after moving to the Queen City for graduate school, I knew pretty immediately that I had fallen in love. Cincinnati has a lot of your standard Midwestern city things: good beer, fall, and old beautiful houses, but it also has many unique things. So many that Claire and I had a really tough time narrowing this guide down to what we think are Cincinnati’s greatest hits. After moving here without knowing anyone, I am constantly amazed at what a wonderfully diverse queer community I’ve discovered and found a place in.

As for that queer community in Cincinnati – it’s there, and growing, but somewhat decentralized. Like many Midwestern cities, there’s a definite lack of queer visibility and specifically queer establishments, so it can be tough when you initially move here, or if you’re growing up queer here (especially if you live in the ‘burbs). That said, the city isn’t very outwardly hostile, and once you find a pocket of queer friends to start connecting you to others (one thing this guide will hopefully help you do!), we think the ‘Nati can be downright grand.

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Because we certainly don’t know all that the city has to offer, we sent out a survey to other Cincinnati queers and got a lot of great responses. We’ll mention the survey a couple times when we talk about things that many of our friends brought up.

The Most Necessary Nati Neighborhoods

Cincinnati is quite a maze of neighborhoods, owing to the fact that it was originally built next to the Ohio River and then later expanded up into the hills surrounding it. Below we’ve listed just a few neighborhoods you’ll want to be familiar with, though there are tons more to explore.

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It’s also good to be aware of the sociological divide between “The West Side” (stereotypically blue-collar, sports-loving, German-Irish and Catholic) and “The East Side” (stereotypically white-collar, wealthy, with a sushi place on every corner), which is divided by Interstate 75. People who have lived their entire life on one side are mostly unaware of anything happening on the other side, or even how to get there. This guide focuses on the East Side because it includes downtown, the main arts scenes, many queer-friendly businesses, both major universities, and also because both authors are more familiar with the East Side. West Siders — hit up the comments below to help us fill in the gaps!

Downtown & Over-The-Rhine
Downtown includes the always-busy Fountain Square, a host of stores and restaurants, and the whole riverfront area, with the new “The Banks” developments between the stadiums and recently beautified parks. Over-the-Rhine (or OTR) is the part of downtown north of Central Parkway, and includes Music Hall, the beautifully redesigned Washington Park, and a new bunch of trendy shops, restaurants, and bars on Vine and Main streets.

Northside
Hip, progressive, and diverse in every way, Northside is Cincinnati’s unofficial gayborhood because of its welcoming attitude towards LGBTQ people. It is especially known for its excellent independently-owned stores and restaurants, and is a popular place both to live and play among Cincinnati’s “alternative” crowd.

Clifton
An area that actually includes several neighborhoods (Clifton, Clifton Heights, University Heights, Corryville, Avondale), Clifton is home to the University of Cincinnati, the historic Ludlow Gaslight District, Burnet Woods Park, and large swathes of residential areas —some wealthier than others. Clifton is urban through and through, with a different feel and a different in each different neighborhood.

Hyde Park & Mt. Lookout
Full of gorgeous historic homes, green areas, and with patches of eclectic shopping and dining opportunities, both of these neighborhoods are definitely home to wealth. Hyde Park is also a popular area for young professionals who move to Cincinnati for work.

Oakley, Pleasant Ridge, Madisonville, Kennedy Heights
Here are more middle-class neighborhoods on the East Side, each with their own personality and historic flavor; these are generally noteworthy as good residential areas. Claire: I could go on for days about particular Cincinnati neighborhoods, so if any Autostraddlers are looking to move here and looking for something specific, feel free to message me!

For the Ladies who Love to Learn

In Cincinnati there are two large universities: Xavier University (Catholic, Jesuit) in Norwood/Evanston and the University of Cincinnati (public) in Clifton. Other universities include the small Catholic Mount Saint Joseph on the West Side, and the two-year Cincinnati State Community & Technical College in West Clifton.

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UC: Bearcat Nation

Both of your humble authors can attest that UC is an incredible school with a lot of momentum behind it right now. One of the most beautiful campuses in the nation architecturally, UC is headed by charismatic, get-shit-done president Santa Ono (he has 20,000+ twitter followers and is friends with me on Facebook). UC has been rated one of the best-quality universities in the country for its price, has a quite diverse population, and has oodles of excellent programs to pick from.

Most importantly for you college-bound queers and graduate-student queers, UC has a strong LGBTQ community and many allies among administrators and staff. Student groups include UC Alliance (a social group open to anyone of any orientation), Colors of Pride (fostering multicultural connections and providing a space especially for people of color), and GenderBloc (a radical queer group especially concerned with education and support regarding gender issues, including genderqueer and transgender activism). UC also has its own LGBTQ Center in 565 Steger Student Life Center, which works closely with the UC Women’s Center (571 Steger) to provide students with all kinds of support, information, and advocacy within the university setting. Whenever I have dropped by these two Steger offices, the staff and students there have been super friendly and helpful and made me feel right at home.

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XU: To See Great Wonders

While the Musketeers may be the Bearcats’ crosstown rivals, we’ll still admit Xavier is an excellent school and has a ton to offer. Xavier has recently nearly doubled the size of its campus and added a ton of gorgeous new buildings, and many of its programs are ranked highly in the nation.

Xavier is a Catholic university, but is nonetheless headed in positive directions on LGBTQ issues and community — it was the first Jesuit university to offer a welcoming statement to the LGBT community without a state mandate, back in 2000. The Xavier Alliance student group is a social group, but also has been consistently putting on large successful events to raise awareness and educate the community about LGBTQ issues, including bringing in high-profile speakers such as Judy Shepard, Esera Tuaolo, and Kate Bornstein.

Mt. St. Joe

“The Mount” is a tiny Catholic university on the West Side. It doesn’t have a large queer community or very public addressing of LGBTQ issues, but our gay friends there tell us they feel accepted and supported nonetheless. There is an LGBTQ group called PALS (under the office of Mission and Ministry) which seeks to bring awareness to the MSJ community, attends different events, and is looking to expand in coming years.

The Quest for Queers

When we first wrote a draft of this guide almost two years ago, we began this section by talking about Guerilla Queer Bar, a monthly event that happens in many cities. GQB allowed us both to meet some of our first queer friends here. Unfortunately, that Facebook group has grown somewhat inactive and become more of a bulletin board for queer items. However, there are a number of other ways to meet queer humans in Cincinnati. And the most significant social group for you young queer humans, that we know of, is one near and dear to our turquoise-with-pink-accent-bleeding hearts.

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Cincy Straddlers

We hosted a meetup for Autostraddle readers in February of 2014. Others had tried before (hi Laura Wooley!) but something made the meetup group take off this time. Today our Facebook group has 200+ humans who all really want to be your friend and hang out. We have events quite regularly – multiple things each month and occasionally multiple things a week. There’s always a variety of stuff happening, and if you’re shy, someone will undoubtedly be happy to meet up with you one-on-one first so you can have a friend when you come to a meetup.

Pride

Pride_01

Pride in Cincinnati may be less outrageous and wild than Pride celebrations in bigger and more liberal cities, but still it’s exciting and fun, and there are many families and groups of all ages who come to wave the rainbow flag. There are usually events happening all week throughout the city, culminating in the parade through downtown which leads to the festival at Sawyer Point (a big riverside park). The number of political candidates who march in the parade, as well as the 2011 election of Chris Seelbach, our first openly LGBTQ City Councilmember, are hallmarks of growing acknowledgement of LGBTQ issues in local politics.

cincypride

The Cincy Straddlers themselves marched in the Pride parade this year, and it’s an understatement to say that we had a ton of fun. It felt great to be seen, to publicly shout our love for Autostraddle and each other, and to just waltz among rainbows and crowds of happy people. Southwest Ohio can feel like a pretty conservative place, depending on which circles you run in, so just seeing the amount of support swelling around you at Pride is so powerful.

Besides the official Pride celebrations in the spring, the large amusement park Kings Island (just north of Cincinnati) holds a popular “Pride Night” each fall with a portion of the ticket sales going to benefit the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Cincinnati, and many bars and clubs host other events in conjunction that weekend.

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GLSEN

Cincinnati has a very active chapter of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN Greater Cincinnati, info@glsencincinnati.org), which works to promote safe environments in area K-12 schools, particularly for LGBTQ* youth. GLSEN hosts various events throughout the year including a Safe Space Soirée and Youth Prom every spring. Claire: I volunteer with GLSEN and it’s an incredible organization and group of individuals to work with. I highly encourage you to get involved – there’s all kinds of opportunities for volunteers: working directly with youth, being a point person or trainer for schools and organizations so they can access GLSEN’s resources, policy work and advocacy, etc.

PFLAG

The Cincinnati chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays hosts several events and speakers each year, in addition to holding its regular meetings for socializing and safe-space, confidential discussions. PFLAG also awards several scholarships to Cincinnati college students each year.

Trans groups

Here are some of the resources available to trans people in Cincinnati. Many folks involved with these groups are Straddlers, so if you’re looking for more information on any of them, you can reach out to us!

  • The Heartland Trans Wellness Group: Health, social wellness, support, and advocacy organization that provides community programming and professional consultation.
  • The Cincinnati Trans Community Group: Community group for trans people and their partners, family, and friends. Includes private online Facebook discussion groups in addition to in-person events.
  • The Transgender Wellness Program at Central Clinic: this program offers mental health and support services to Ohio residents enrolled in Medicaid. They’re accepting of all identities, intersectionalities, and have a comprehensive treatment philosophy focused on autonomy, body positivity, and education.
  • Crossport: A support group for transsexual and crossdresser folks.

Rivercity Softball

Also affectionately known as “Gay Softball,” this well-established league for adults has been providing fun for LGBT people and their allies for over 20 years. They have competitive, intermediate and recreational divisions for folks of all different sporting-intensities. Although I don’t know anyone personally who’s played, I’ve heard the name of this group in a number of different contexts and it seems a great way to socialize and meet other queer folks.

Internet networking

This is simply something that we must mention in this guide, since it is how Caroline and Claire first became friends and how many of the Cincy lesbians and queers who took our survey told us they first found LGBTQ friends here. OkCupid and Facebook (especially through groups and events) are some of the best ways to get a foot in the door when it comes to making queer friends — and don’t give up even if you strikeout the first few times. The queer community here is working on better ways to be visible and to find each other, but in the meantime, person-to-person and online networking is the norm. (And either of the authors will be ecstatic to help other Autostraddlers if you’re still feeling lost after reading this guide, just send us a message.)

For every other queer resource in Cincinnati you could possibly want besides this Queer Girl City Guide, check out this awesome listing from the Gay Chamber of Commerce.

Next: Where Can A Gal Get Her Groove On?, Essential Eating Establishments in the 513 and Caffeinated Queers 

Kristen Kish and Her Perfect Hair Jet-Set Around the World in “36 Hours”

You may remember Kristen Kish from Season 10 of Top Chef, where she was eliminated in the Restaurant Wars challenge, then came back by dominating Last Chance Kitchen and ended up winning the whole damn thing! I remember. It was badass. Kish has been busy since then, recently leaving her position as chef de cuisine at Menton Boston to author a cookbook and travel the world as a guest chef. She currently lives in Boston with her partner and fellow foodie Jacque Westbrook.

Kristen Kish via the Travel Channel (Photo Credit: Mercure Photography)

Kristen Kish via the Travel Channel (Photo Credit: Mercure Photography)

Her newest project is co-hosting the original series 36 Hours, a Travel Channel show inspired by The New York Times column of the same name. Kish, her amazingly perfect alternative lifestyle haircut, and her co-host Kyle Martino will be dropped into a new city each week for six weeks, with a packed itinerary and just 36 hours to see it all. Kish and Martino will work against the clock to explore the local flavor, meeting fascinating insiders and change-makers along the way.

Kristen Kish exploring Berlin in 36 Hours

Kristen Kish exploring Berlin in 36 Hours

The first episode of 36 Hours debuted last night, Monday, August 17th, at 8:00 PM ET, in which Kish and Martino traveled to Berlin. The show is part travel guide, part history lesson, part food porn, and a peek into the most underground and unusual experiences in the city.

Kristen meets some bees at the hip urban farm, Princess Garden

Kristen meets some bees at the hip urban farm, Princess Garden

In 36 hours, the pair manage to take a bike tour with a famous cyclist, visit the Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin Wall, attend a spectacular Fritz Lang-inspired dance show, create graffiti art at a Berlin artist collective, heartily enjoy weissbier and weisswurst at a biergarten (the “best of the wurst” as Kristen called it), tour and taste an urban garden, play with toys at a self-described queer vegan feminist sex shop, peruse fresh food from around the world at a global indoor market, eat at one of the most exclusive restaurants in the city, belly up to a bar that serves bizarre and interesting science-themed concoctions, and end it all with an invitation to a private supper club (a single table in a young chef’s personal apartment). Phew! It sounds exhausting, but the pace of the show is inviting, not hurried. Over an hour, Kish and Martino meet interesting local guides, learn a lot of Berlin history, goof off a bit, and enjoy a lot of delicious food.

The historic Brandenburg Gate.

The historic Brandenburg Gate.

The best part of the show is watching Kristen gush over the food. Seriously, I will tune in just to hear her talk about food. She talks about food the way many people talk about art or music, with such genuine passion, whether it’s comfort cuisine or a small avant garde bite. I don’t typically feel like food travel shows are for me, but Kish and Martino make it fun and accessible. Kish is the chill and up-for-anything travel pal you can imagine eating your way through a vacation with. You can tell they’re having a great time.

Just some screengrabs of Kish talking about food in Berlin. It gets intense.

Just some screengrabs of Kish talking about food in Berlin. It gets intense.

Tune in Mondays at 8:00 PM ET on the Travel Channel and follow Kristen Kish on twitter!

VIDEO: Button and Bly’s Travel Show in Provincetown

Hello party people, lake lovers, and generally beautiful queers! In our season finale, Bly goes to Provincetown to check out “The Dinah” of Cape Cod. Ptown, as it’s lovingly known, is a fun-filled beach town packed to the brim with pool parties, a great nightlife and even a booze cruise!

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I would describe Provincetown as a place for every person. Every time I have been to Provincetown, it’s had a pretty big age variety, and it’s a great vacation destination with a coastal cottage feel. Everything in Ptown is pretty much a “gay spot,” as the whole town is beaming with pride and acceptance!

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We spent a lot of time at The Crown and Anchor, which is an inn but also has multiple bars on the bottom level, including a poolside bar, a video bar, a piano bar, and a leather bar. (So, something for everyone!)

If you’re interested in getting a feel for the town, just walk up and down Commercial Street, as it has restaurants, art galleries, bars, clothing stores, coffee shops, and more. This is the place to go if you want to find some cute new threads before you dance your cute butt off. I didn’t spend too much time scouting them out, but you can really spend all day walking up and down the street window shopping and checking out all the tiny, adorable shops.

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If you’re planning when to go, the Memorial Women’s Weekend is such a fun event! Most of the people you see walking around that weekend tend to be queers, however it’s absolutely not exclusive. My parents even joined me for the weekend! Rosie O’Donnell was performing this year and generally you can always catch Melissa Ferrick performing that weekend as well. There is a whole slew of different parties and events to check out. We attended an event called Space Carnival, the weekend closing party thrown by Lesbian Night Life. There are DJs and dancers wearing these wild outfits, and there were a lot of glow sticks happening. It was rather fun! Plus, guests are encouraged to dress up as well!

But if you don’t want to wait until next year to go visit, fear not! Almost every week starting in spring there is something happening in Provincetown: there’s a schedule of events you can check out and put on your calendars.

Later in your evening, if you have danced your legs off and just want to chill, there’s a great dive bar called The Underground, with ping-pong tables and places to sit and chat. Or, if you are hankering for a late-night snack, Spiritus Pizza is where everyone wanders to for a great slice.

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If partying isn’t your cup of whiskey, this absolutely not a place to avoid! Everyone can find a place to hit in Ptown. It can be a very relaxing town, and has multiple great coffee shops and juice bars if that’s more your speed. Plus, its proximity to water definitely makes for some great seafood: if you’ve got sharp eyes, you’ll notice in the video a table with “OH MY COD” on it. That table and more can be found at a fantastic seafood place called The Canteen! It’s got a great atmosphere for a delicious lunch, and good food all around, not just seafood.

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Regardless of your partying plans, Cape Cod is a beautiful getaway, and it is one of my favorite go-to spots. The national seashore is worth beholding and there is so much history there as well. You can stay anywhere from campgrounds to gorgeous bed and breakfasts, go on whale watches, and get fresh seafood daily. Now that’s the life.

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Provincetown is such a cute, laid-back town, it doesn’t matter if you are outgoing or shy — you will meet a lot of amazing people and have a great time. It’s an absolute must!

Have you gotten up to any shenanigans in Ptown? Know of any secret spots? Check out the episode here, and let us know what we missed in the comments!

Queer Girl City Guide: Salt Lake City

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Is Salt Lake City really the “Gayest City” as named by the Advocate in 2012? Not really, but I do think Salt Lake is an up and coming city that’s becoming more progressive year after year. Although I am sometimes frustrated about being queer here, there are also a lot of reasons why I love this city.

I think folks have many misconceptions about Salt Lake City so here are a few things that I think are important when it comes to building an understanding of this place:

Salt Lake is more progressive than you think. Although the dominant culture is still fairly conservative, white, Mormon, and middle-class, this creates a really interesting counter-culture. One thing that excites me about living in Salt Lake is that there’s still something to fight for here as a queer and it feels meaningful just to be “out and proud” and visible. As with many smaller cities, Salt Lake City also allows any queer to be a big fish in a small pond. For some people, that’s a perk but for others it’s kind of lame. It really just depends on what you’re looking for. Being queer in Salt Lake City seems to inspire activism because there really is a lot to fight for though I’ve definitely seen the city become more progressive within my lifetime.

The first question people usually ask upon hearing I’m from Utah: “Are you Mormon?” Were all the queers here raised Mormon? The culture in Salt Lake is unique because most queer people I know that are from here have had the influence of Mormonism somewhere in their lives. This might be because they were raised Mormon and are no longer practicing or one side of their family is Mormon or they have had a lover who is having trouble disengaging from the Mormon church. Many queer women and trans people here have experienced profound struggle with identity, self-acceptance and acceptance from the larger more conservative culture. However, I think the struggles that queers have faced create a more tight knit community. I think queers who have grown up here can relate to each other in a unique way that I don’t think is present in other places.

Although there are multiple bars and events for gay males, there’s not necessarily a lot that is overtly available for the queer women’s and trans community here. You kind of have to know someone to know what’s going on in the queer women’s and trans community here and where the queer women and trans people are. I think “The Advocate’s” evaluation of SLC as the “gayest city” is based on the gay male community, but not really the lesbian, queer, or trans community.

Being queer here is awesome if you’re at all into nature! Within a ten-minute drive from downtown, you can be in the mountains, hiking or skiing in one of the numerous and beautiful canyons surrounding the valley. In my opinion we have some of the best access to some of the most diverse natural areas in the nation. Arches National Park, Canyonlands, Zion, and Bryce Canyon are also all within about 4 hours of Salt Lake City. And only an hour from Salt Lake are the Uintahs which offer some of the best camping on the West Coast.

Nightlife/Dating — Does Salt Lake City even have a night-life?

One major frustration I have with Salt Lake City is that nightlife for queer women and trans people is severely limited. If you’re like me you’ll spend a lot of time going to house parties or playing games at a friends’ house or going to straight bars in large groups. But if the bar scene isn’t really your thing anyways, no big deal.

Oh, and drinking in SLC is kinda lame… don’t expect to feel tipsy after only a couple drinks here. It’s not free pour and shots are measured so there’s no such thing as ordering a double or a side-car. Also, the legal level of alcohol here for beer is 3.2% which is the alcohol level you’ll get with beers at the grocery store and at convenience stores.

The Paper Moon
(3737 S State St 3737 S State St.)

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Paper Moon

In every city I’ve visited with a dyke bar, they’re all about the same: kind of dive-y, usually some pool tables, a selection of regular bar flies and bad lesbian fashion. The Paper Moon is no exception but also has a giant lipstick in the corner (which I love!), a pretty good sized smoking patio, dancing cages, a stage, and sometimes has bad fried foods in the back bar. Oh, and the cocktail waitresses carry around dollar shots that have such names as “Wet Pussy,” “Sloppy Pussy,” and “Sour Pussy.” Basically, amazing! I have to say though if you get a large group of friends and are significantly tipsy, it’s a really good time. It’s also an important staple in the queer women’s community here and I’m glad that it exists.

If you want to get your dance on, Saturdays are really the only nights where a lot of people go, although Fridays have DJ’s as well. The Moon also has poker and pool nights and karaoke. It’s usually pretty dead on karaoke nights, which is great because it means that you and your pals can sing as much as you want. Oh, and it’s basically the only place that hosts drag kings, so that makes it important for the queer community too.

The Piper Down
(1492 S State St.)

piperdown

Piper Down

The Piper Down isn’t actually a lesbian bar but you can usually find queer women hanging out at this place. It’s a traditional Irish pub and one of the managers used to own a second lesbian bar here, which has since shut down. I like this bar because they have a whole menu of different kinds of shots. Don’t expect it to be mellow here though. It’s usually loud and just gets louder and more rambunctious as it gets later. This bar also hosts queer events every once in a while.

Metro
(540 W 200 S)

metro

Metro

Metro has gay night on Saturdays and while this night has a higher percentage of gay males, it does seem to be becoming more popular with queer women and trans people. It doesn’t get very crowded here and the music isn’t great, but I think it’s still fun once in a with a group of friends. If you’re used to queer dance parties in cities like Portland or San Francisco though, you’ll probably be a little let down. Metro has been hosting an occasional dance party called “Lovely Ladies Night” just for lesbians, so hopefully that will continue.

Gay Bars

Salt Lake City has a few different choices for gay male bars, but you’ll usually find a few queer women at these places as well. Club Jam (751 N 300 W) is a friendly neighborhood bar with karaoke and dancing. Club Sound (579 W 200 S) has a dance night every Friday called PURE for younger LGBT folks 18 and up. I loved it when I was younger but even if you’re in your mid 20s you’ll start to feel like you’re too old for that crowd. One gay bar that I really like is Try-Angles (251 W 9th S) I mean, the name itself says how great it is. It’s a comfortable place to have a cheap drink and play pool. The owners of this bar also own the coffee shop next door called Off Trax (259 W 900 S) which is open late on the weekends.

tryangles

Try-Angles

Hipster/Dive Bars

I also enjoy some of the local dive and hipster bars and a few queers can usually be found at these places too. Twilite Lounge (347 E 200 S) is a popular choice amongst hipsters and can get pretty crowded but is comfortable. Due to the vinyl booths, stone décor, and fireplace it feels kind of like drinking in your Grandma’s basement. They also have a free juke-box and a photo booth.

Junior’s Tavern (30, E Broadway) and X-Wife’s Place (465 S 700 E) are also hipster-y, dive-y bars that are comfortable for queers. Both have pool tables and smoking patios and while both can get crowded, there’s also a more relaxed, no-pressure vibe.

Dating

Hmm, dating is something that is definitely more difficult here. I have friends who have had some success with Okcupid but knowing how to meet new queers can be difficult. As with most queer women’s communities, I find it to be small and fairly incestuous. I have mostly met people I’ve dated through mutual friends. There are a few social groups for queer women such as a popular meetup.com group called the Rainbow Girls but honestly dating here doesn’t really seem all that easy to me.

A friend of mine who is trans has also said that dating is really hard for them. They said: “Most people have no idea what I mean when I say I’m a trans queer person (let alone getting down to the genderqueer, sexually fluid, granola dyke fag boi true-ness of my identity). Kinda a downer but dating for me as a queer person is limited to just friends of friends, like you were saying.”

One thing I do appreciate about dating here is that as a polyamorous person, I would think it would be hard to find other queer folks practicing non-monogamy. However, I belong to a very active group of queer and polyamorous identified folks and the majority of my queer friend group practices non-monogamy. Maybe it’s in our polygamous roots… ha! (Don’t take that too seriously!). I think that in the more traditional gay and lesbian scene here though, monogamy is still alive and well.

College Life

There are several colleges in the area and for me, college has been a great way to meet other LGBT people.

When I attended Salt Lake Community College (4600 S Redwood Rd.) I was really involved in their GSA called “Coloring Outside the Lines.” I joined that group after I first came out and met many good friends that I maintain friendships with even now. The group is still going strong and is a great place for LGBT people to meet and feel supported.

The University of Utah (201 Presidents Cir) has a queer group called Queer Students of Color, which was non-existent for a while but is working on re-establishing itself. As with many colleges a popular place to meet other queers is in the Gender Studies or Women’s Studies programs and this is definitely the case at the University of Utah, which has a thriving Gender Studies department with nationally recognized queer theorists such as Kathryn Stockton. However, in my major (Anthropology) and in a lot my other classes I’ve felt like the only queer most of the time, even though I know there are others on campus.

The LGBT Center (200 S Central Campus Dr., Rm. 409) at the University of Utah has many resources for queers including a mentoring program. They also put on various events throughout the year such as University of Utah Pride and various panels. The Women’s Resource Center (200 Central Campus Dr, #411) at the U also hosts a lot of feminist events and has a queer women’s support group as well as free and low cost counselors.

Westminster College (1840 S 1300 E) a private liberal arts school in Salt Lake City also has a gay straight alliance called Alphabet Soup. Although the group is not super active, students and faculty at Westminster tend to be queer accepting and queer friendly.

“This is the Place” for Queer Sports!

Seriously, if you love sports there are tons of queer sports teams here happening year-round. Not to mention that Utah contains five national parks, a number of state parks and tons of opportunities for biking, hiking, climbing and camping that are all within minutes of Salt Lake City!

Salt Lake Pride Softball League

Everyone knows queer women and softball go together like bread and butter and Salt Lake City offers abundant opportunity to play with the Pride Softball League. Games happen every Sunday throughout the summer and are mostly casual and not very competitive. Even if softball isn’t your thing, it’s still fun to go and watch the games and cheer your fellow queers on. Besides softball, Queer Kickball also happened this past summer.

QUAC (Queer Utah Aquatic Center)

Although the number of women on the team tends to be much lower than men, QUAC maintains a solid position in the LGBT community here. Not only do they march in speedos and bikinis in the Pride parade every year, but they also attend the Gay Games each year! Their water polo team also won the world championships of queer water polo in 2010.

Wasatch Roller Derby

One of my favorite things in the world has to be ladies on roller skates wearing fishnets and knocking each other out of the way on the path to glory. These ladies are tough! Although not specifically a queer league, I have known a bunch of queer women and a few trans people on the team over the years.

Lambda hiking group

Due to its’ many mountains, Utah is great for hiking. Lambda is a gay hiking group that organizes hikes for the LGBT population throughout the Wasatch front.

Goodtime Bowling League

You can’t go wrong bowling and drinking with friends and the Goodtime Bowling League offers opportunities for queers to do just that. The league is for queer people and their allies and all proceeds from the 28 week bowling season go to charities that the league votes on.

Utah Jynx Women’s Football

The independent Women’s Football League has recently added the Utah Jynx to its membership, which is pretty exciting for the team. The team provides an opportunity for women to play full contact football in a competitive and supportive environment. Hot!

Restaurants/Cafes

Café Med
(420 E 3300 S)

Café Med is owned by the gays and offers a variety of delicious Mediterranean dishes. It’s honestly some of the best hummus I’ve ever had.

Meditrina
(1394 S West Temple)

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Meditrina

Meditrina is a cute little small plates eatery that has a focus on Spanish tapas and a great selection of wines. It’s owned by a couple of queer women and they occasionally host wine tasting nights.

Pig and A Jelly Jar
(401 E 900 S)

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Pig and A Jelly Jar

This place has the same owner as Meditrina but focuses on creating new twists on comfort food. It has quickly become one of the more popular breakfast places and has an excellent bloody beer.

Eva
(317 S Main St)

Eva

Eva

If I ever want to take a cute queer on a somewhat fancy date, this is where I take them. It’s a really nice atmosphere and in the summer the back dining area in a brick alley strung with lights is perfect for woo-ing. There are a variety of creative cocktails and small plates options and I’ve never been disappointed with what I’ve ordered here. In fact, this place is so cool it makes me feel like I’m not even in Salt Lake City anymore, ha ha.

Café on 1st
(39 I St)

If ever I’m in the mood to run into all the queers I know, this is where I go. It’s a comfortable coffee shop with lots of seating for either doing homework or socializing and has decent food and drinks.

Vertical Diner
(2280 S West Temple)

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Vertical Diner

One of my queer lady friends said of Vertical Diner: “You can’t swing a hunk of tempeh in there without smacking a queer” and it’s so true! Every time I go to this place I see cute queers and am always surprised by the cute queers there that I don’t know (yet!). It is an all vegan place that even meat eaters will enjoy.

Health Services

Unfortunately Salt Lake City does not have a specific health center for LGBT people. However, as with most cities Planned Parenthood (654 S 900 E) is a good resource for queer people. The Metro Health Center (160 S 1000 E Suite 120) run by Planned Parenthood offers LGBT health services including education, services referral and support groups.

The Utah AIDS Foundation (1408 S 1100 E) offers HIV and STI testing for free or low cost rates. The Utah Pride Center (255 E 400 S) also offers HIV testing and has a directory for LGBT friendly health care resources that can be found on their website. The website also includes resources for mental health and support.

As for trans and queer friendly doctors, Dr. Rixt Luikenaar, a general OB/GYN, comes highly recommended by many queers in Salt Lake City. Besides being queer/trans friendly, her staff have all gone through safe zone training and have a good understanding of LGBT healthcare.

Gayle Stewart (MD, OBGYN) is another doctor known for her excellent care of LGBT folks. Gayle doesn’t discriminate with whom she will inseminate and will help healthy gay couples get pregnant.

One might have the misconception that because this is Utah, queer and trans people would need to go outside the state to seek top surgery. However Dr. Cori Agarwal, a skilled plastic surgeon, specializes in chest wall reconstruction for trans and queer patients and has been given excellent reviews for her courtesy and compassion.

Activism/Feminism

Equality Utah (175 W 200 S Suite 3001) is probably the biggest local LGBT activist group. During the legislative session each year Equality Utah lobbies at the state capitol about bills affecting LGBT people. They also sponsor bills and oppose negative legislation. Each year they have a popular Allies Dinner honoring LGBT people in the local community and allies that are doing work to further LGBT equality in the state. They also educate the community about LGBT issues and endorse LGBT friendly candidates.

Inclusion Center for Community and Justice (14 Heritage Center) does really important work in the community and many queers I know have been involved in this organization. Their goal is to promote respect for everyone through education, advocacy, and conflict resolution skills and to help end bigotry and discrimination. They have retreats and workshops that discuss such issues as racism, classism, sexism, homophobia and gender.

Although Peaceful Uprising (362 E 300 S) is not a specifically queer organization, many queers that I know are involved in this organization, which is a local climate justice activist group that advocates for sustainable environmental practices. Peaceful Uprising is involved in the Tar Sands Resistance movement, and runs “Bold Schools” on such topics as post-capitalism economics, radical inclusion and basic organizing and lobbies at the capitol for sustainable environmental practices.

Support groups for queer and trans people are listed in the next section.

Pride Center and LGBT Family Support Groups

The Utah Pride Center (255 E 400 S) has tons of resources for LGBT people and their families. Groups at the Pride Center include TransAction, a social and support group for younger trans or gender queer people and their allies, men’s and women’s support groups, a Transgender Adult group, a group for older LGBT people called SAGE, and many other social and support groups. Information about Neighborhood Pride Potlucks can also be found on the Pride Center’s website.

Besides programs for teens and adults, the Pride Center also offers a play-group for gender-exceptional children and children of gender exceptional parents called Kids Like Me where kids can meet and play with others who may have a similar background.

The Utah Pride Center also offers a Family Preservation Program that partners with PFLAG Utah in facilitating trainings, support groups, community gatherings and advocacy efforts for LGBT families. The program offers LGBTQ cultural competency trainings that help educators, family physicians and parents and guardians in building acceptance and awareness into their classrooms, practices, families, and homes.

Neighborhood/Community

The Avenues

“The Aves” as they’re popularly called contain a multitude of queers. All the houses in this neighborhood are older and pretty unique and there are a variety of cute apartment buildings and really expensive houses. There are some cute cafes and businesses scattered throughout the aves, like the afore-mentioned Café on 1st. Also because it’s close to the University of Utah, lots of students tend to live in this area.

Capitol Hill/Marmalade

Capitol Hill is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Salt Lake and has some of the most interesting architecture in the city. The area just to the west of Capitol Hill is a part of the city that’s becoming more developed and which is now being called the Marmalade neighborhood. Although it hasn’t taken over as any sort of recognizable “gayborhood” more businesses (such as the gay bar called Jam) and more queers are starting to move into this neighborhood.

Downtown

Although it doesn’t have the best nightlife, downtown does have a lot of cool things which still make it a lot of fun. Aside from all the bars and restaurants downtown, The Pride Center recently moved to their new, more accessible downtown location. It’s now located across the street from the main branch of the Salt Lake City Public Library (210 E 400 S), which is honestly one of the most awesome libraries I’ve been in due to its unique design and great collection and also employees a lot of LGBTQ folks.

One area of downtown that can be contentious for queer people is Temple Square (50 W North Temple), which is where the heart of the Mormon church is located. Unfortunately the Mormons own a big portion of downtown including Temple Square which is several city blocks and some businesses including the new mall called the City Creek Center (50 S Main St). I’ve never been harassed in these areas but know queer people who have or who have been made to feel that their presence wasn’t wanted. Not parts of town I avoid personally, but also not my favorite.

Glendale/Rose Park

Glendale and Rose Park are on the West side of Salt Lake City and still fairly close to downtown. These neighborhoods tend to have cheaper homes and rent and are the most diverse neighborhoods in the city. Many Hispanic people live in this area and there are lots of Hispanic markets, restaurants, and other businesses in this part of town. You won’t want to miss out on the Red Iguana (736 W North Temple). It’s seriously the best Mexican food I’ve ever had and they have 9 different kinds of mole sauce! Many queers are starting to buy houses in this area due to lower costs of housing in this part of town. There’s also a lot of cool stuff going on to build community in this area, like community gardens and such.

9th and 9th

This neighborhood is the only neighborhood I’ve heard referred to as the “gayborhood.” Although there are lots of queers in this area, I would say that gay males are probably more prevalent in this area over trans people or queer women. It is a super cute area though. The Tower Theater (876 E 900 S) is an old theater that plays only independent films and also has a pretty good library of indie films that can be rented. Whenever I go into the Coffee Garden (878 E 900 S) next door, I see lots of beautiful gay men and inevitably end up running into some queer I know. Cahoots (878 E 900 S) is a novelty and sex shop that shares a building with the coffee shop and is a great place to find unique gifts as well as gifts for the bedroom. There’s also a great queer owned yoga studio in this area called Centered City (926 E 900 S).

Sugarhouse

This part of the city used to be more of the hippie/artsy part of town. It still is but is slowly being taken over by chains rather than local businesses and is starting to become gentrified. However, there are some fun bars and restaurants in the area and some cool local businesses. Finn’s Café (1624 S 1100 E) has really great breakfast that’s a unique combination of Scandanavian and comfort food and Omar’s Rawtopia (2148 Highland Dr.) has an all-raw menu that is healthy and delicious.

Hair/Body Mod/Tattoo/Nails

Not only is Butterfly Jac (1310 S 300 E) owned and operated by empowered queer women, but they give top notch cuts and colors as well as above and beyond customer experience. They really want to get to know you and make you feel appreciated.

The House of Gorgeous Jared at Image Studios (1850 S 300 E) gives awesome, alternative queer haircuts. Known for his fierce-ness and confidence, Jared is also a great conversationalist and will completely transform your hair into something you’ll truly love.

Lunatic Fringe (1790 S 1100 E, 2545 Parleys Way, 1511 E 2100 S #B), much like its unique name, is known for giving great alternative cuts and color. All the stylists are extremely talented and know how to give a cool queer cut and are friendly besides. My favorite queer stylist there is my friend Nick Hemsley (at the Parleys Way location) who won the North American Hair Award’s People’s Choice Award in 2012.

As for tattoo artists, Wee (Wendy Hardman) is the owner of a tattoo shop called Illustrated Life (824 4th W b119) Not only is she queer but she has been in the business for 14 years and gives beautiful and intricate tattoos. She is also well known for doing tattoo fundraiser events for charities.

Books

Although SLC doesn’t have any specifically queer or feminist bookstores, there are a variety of cute, independently owned bookstores with pretty good LGBT sections.

The Kings English (1511 S 15th E St) is a great little bookstore with pretty awesome deals and knowledgeable staff and also hosts monthly “Lesbian Book Club” meetings. Weller Book Works (665 E 600 S) is also a cool bookstore housed in a cool old mall known as Trolley Square. They have a pretty great selection of rare books. Ken Sanders (268 S 200 E) bookstore specializes in books about Utah and its history and is right downtown with pretty great deals.

Arts

Plan-B Theatre Company (138 W Broadway) puts on many plays on LGBT and feminist topics. They have put on such well-known plays as “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” 70 of the theater’s 94 plays have been world premieres, including “Facing East” by Carol Lynn Pearson, a play about a gay Mormon teen who committed suicide which was transferred off-Broadway to New York and toured in San Francisco.

Pygmalion Productions is a theater company that aims to show women’s voices through a variety of artistic media. Their plays have explored such topics as the challenges female veterans face when returning from war (“Welcome Home Jenny Sutter”) to Western women’s issues with body image (“The Good Body” by Eve Ensler) as well as other controversial issues.

Events

Genderevolution is TransAction’s annual Gender Conference. It happens in November and is the main event in a month of trans-awareness events throughout the community. The purpose of Genderevolution is to build community among trans folks and allies, to educate both trans and cisgender folks about gender, and to celebrate trans people.

Held in late April, Queer Prom allows LGBTQ youth from ages 14 to 20 to have a safe space for both affirmation and celebration. Over 700 youth attend the annual event.

The Red Rock Women’s Festival happens every August and in my opinion is one of the most fun events for queer women in Utah. Not only is it held in beautiful Torrey Utah (a small Southern Utah town with red rocks) but it’s attended by over 600 women (and a few men) each year, most of whom are queer. Although the festival is mostly folk music, there are other acts as well. I have seen Andrea Gibson perform here as well as Goddess and She. A big group of my friends usually go each year and volunteer at the festival and camp in one of the surrounding canyons.

Quac Ski and Swim is held each year in February by the Queer Utah Aquatic center and is a weekend long event that includes swim meets, skiing events, and various social events. It tends to be an event that is more gay male centered but is a good opportunity to swim and ski with the gays in the “best snow on earth.”

The University of Utah also has many annual events for queer people including Bi-Awareness Week, Ally Week, and Pride Week. More information about their events can be found on the Women’s Resource Center website and the LGBT Resource Center website.

Pride

Each year I attend SLC Pride I’m always surprised by all the gays coming out of the woodwork. Like, seriously, where are they the rest of the year? Especially the women? SLC actually does have one of the largest Pride festivals in the West and many people from smaller towns in Utah and bordering states attend. Although there are a plethora of events happening during Pride, most events at bars tend to be pretty gay male centric. However, the Paper Moon (3737 S State St 3737 S State St) does have two really well attended parties for women, The White Party on Friday night, which is always crazy packed and out of control and the Rainbow Party on Saturday which is still super fun but not as crowded.

The actual Pride Festival is your usual fairly corporate event but is still fun because you get to hang out with your friends and will run into all the gays you know. The Pride festival here is expensive though — most other Prides I’ve been to or know of are free or on a donation basis but the festival here is ten bucks a day. Ouch! And no discounts or freebies for teens, which I think is a huge bummer considering 40% of the homeless teens in Utah identify as LGBT. Teens in general could probably really benefit from feeling a day of acceptance here in this conservative state.

One thing I always enjoy every year is the Dyke March and Trans March. Although I hate having to choose between the two marches, I think it’s cool that both happen here. Last year it was really neat because the marches started at different spots but then met up and everyone in both marches walked into the festival together.

Another cool thing is the Pride Parade. Lots of people attend and both the parade and the crowd are great for people watching. Last year the largest group walking in the parade was a group of Mormons who were showing their support of the LGBT community. Although I think the Mormon church still has a long way to go when it comes to truly accepting and embracing LGBTQ people, it was touching to see members of both groups not only recognizing one another but literally embracing. I saw lots of people from both groups in tears and it seemed like a step in the right direction.

Diversity

You probably guessed that Salt Lake City is not the most diverse place, and you’re right. There’s not really a lot of racial diversity here.

To me it seems like there are tons of queers here, although I feel like I don’t really see them out and about as much as in other cities. Salt Lake is actually pretty gay, with about 8.5% of adults in SLC identifying as LGBT, which is double the 3.8% of adults nationally. So although we may not be the gayest, we’re still pretty gay.

In regards to gender identity, although there is not a huge number of trans people here, there is a pretty tightly knit group of trans people of different genders.

Safety

As a queer person here, I’ve always felt pretty safe. As a woman, I feel pretty safe walking almost anywhere in the city alone at night. However, I present fairly feminine and am probably most often mistaken for a heterosexual female. I know that my friends that are not as gender conforming have faced verbal harassment and discrimination.

There was an event back in September of 2011 where a gay man was beaten outside of one of the gay nights here. There was also another event that made national news when a gay couple kissed at Temple Square and were separated by security guards who then wrestled one of them to the ground. The Mormon church says it was because the men were aggressive but by watching the video (which made the Daily Show) you can tell it was more because they were gay. A nasty incident for both LGBT folks and the Mormon church, though I think the Mormon church came out looking the worse for it.

I would recommend maybe not hanging out on the Mormon Temple grounds and maybe not leaving gay clubs or gay nights alone at night, but I think you’ll probably have less to fear here than you think. However, I’m also not a person who appears gay or trans so realize my experience may be quite different than another queer person’s experience here.

Queer-friendliness of the city

Besides the talk about safety in the paragraph above, I would say that Salt Lake City is probably the only place in Utah that I feel really safe as a queer person and don’t really like to spend time in towns in Utah that aren’t Salt Lake. Moab would probably be the only other place I feel really comfortable as a queer person and I would definitely recommend checking out this southern Utah town. It’s about a four-hour drive from Salt Lake and is where Arches National Park and Canyonlands are located. It’s soooo gorgeous!

Laws/regulations affecting queers

As you may have heard, Utah has been playing tug of war over gay marriage lately. On December 20th 2013, Utah became the 18th state to legalize gay marriage, which came as a huge shock to me. I definitely didn’t think that we would be one of the first states to do so, especially over more liberal states such as Oregon. However, on January 6th 2014 the U.S. Supreme Court granted Utah an emergency stay (which two lower courts had denied) and gay marriage in Utah came to a halt. On the plus side, the federal government said it would recognize same sex marriage performed during the brief window and the ACLU has filed a lawsuit suing the state for recognition of gay marriage. So as of now, it’s still up in the air as to when gay marriage will become law again in Utah.

In other laws that affect queers, unfortunately Utah does not have a statewide law prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation in housing or in employment. This is especially disheartening because surveys conducted by Equality Utah have shown that 43% of LGB folks and 67% of transgender folks have experienced discrimination in employment because of gender identity or sexuality. However, many individual counties (including Salt Lake County) do actually have nondiscrimination ordinances.

Another interesting thing is that if you are a trans person and want to change your name and gender marker it’s actually pretty simple (at least legally); probably because it’s not something that’s on the radar of most legislators here. For a gender marker change, all you need is a letter from a psychologist and no surgeries or hormones are required.

Queer Girl City Guide: Durham, North Carolina

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Welcome to Durham, North Carolina. Come for graduate school; stay forever.

I’ve lived in Durham for five years now. I moved here from Miami to begin a graduate program at Duke, and one of my biggest concerns as a baby-gay moving to the South was whether or not I would be the only queer in town, floating haplessly along like lonely gay tumbleweed. No need to worry: Durham is a magical queer-lovin’ haven in NC. When Amendment One, which amended the constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman, passed in May this past year, Durham voted 70% against (and if you drive around Durham’s neighborhoods, you will occasionally see hand-painted signs asserting this fact). And with good reason; queers are everywhere in Durham, busy being all kinds of awesome.

Though I think Durham has a pretty visible LGBT scene, if you’re (a) visiting, (b) new to the area, or (c) a person with a crazy-busy work schedule who never sees the light of day, you may not know about all of the excellent things that Durham has to offer. Especially food-related things. So here goes.

Cuntry Kings - Motorco Photo Copyright Summer Pennell

Cuntry Kings – Motorco
Photo Copyright Summer Pennell

Bars

There is one “official” lesbian bar in Durham: The Bar … Durham (711 Rigsbee Ave). It’s located downtown, near several other good bars: Surf Club, Fullsteam, and Motorco. The Bar hosts a range of events, including karaoke, darts, and this year’s Official Pride Afterparty. It has a small dance floor and a backyard area with lawn chairs, frisbees, and (most importantly) cornholing. In my opinion, it mostly skews older, but it has some college nights. It also sells an energy drink called Pussy, so there’s that, too.

Other queers in Durham frequent The Pinhook (117 W Main St). The Pinhook is co-owned by Kym Register of the Midtown Dickens (a popular local band); while it isn’t a gay bar per se, it’s pretty damn queer. They just held an event with The Butchies and Team Dresch for Pride weekend, and have all sorts of cool stuff going on, ranging from drag and burlesque shows to live music to weekly Harry Potter watchings. In my experience, The Pinhook draws a younger (and more alternative) crowd than The Bar. It also has the benefit of being within walking distance of Whiskey (347 W Main St), one of my favorite places to find a fancy cocktail in Durham.

Food You Should Eat

One of my favorite things about Durham is the food. Seriously, Durham’s restaurants (and those of the Triangle generally) are phenomenal. If you’re a conscientious queer who likes locally-sourced food and / or vegetarian / vegan options, Durham is becoming a better place to be. At Pride this past weekend, I found out about the Bull City Vegan Challenge, which encourages chefs at popular Durham restaurants to produce vegan options beyond, you know, a baked potato.

For generally excellent places to eat, check out Nosh (2812 Erwin Rd. #101); it’s LGBT-owned and operated, serves incredibly tasty food, and has a nice selection of board games to boot. If you’re vegetarian, try the portobello mushroom burger — it’s one of my favorites (the other is the polenta burger at Bull City Burger and Brewery). Bull Street Gourmet (3710 Shannon Rd) has excellent sandwiches; I was really impressed, though, by their willingness to explore vegetarian options. (I asked if they had veggie sausage, and they were like, “No, what should we look for?” I’ve never had that happen before).

Downtown Durham has a number of awesome restaurants. There’s Toast (345 W Main St), a paninoteca (sandwiches!!); Dames Chicken and Waffles (317 W Main St), which does what it says on the tin; Dos Perros (200 N Mangum St), a Mexican restaurant that serves noms like vegan seven chile mole and sweet potato empanadas; and Rue Cler (401 E Chapel Hill St), where you can find beignets but also have brunch like a good queer.

Downtown is also home to a few kickass bakeries, including Loaf (111 W Parrish St); Daisy Cakes (401 Foster St), another good place to grab brunch and/or cupcakes on your way to the Farmers’ Market; and Scratch (111 W Orange St). (Which I maybe call “snatch.” And where I have also seen bunches of lesbians. Coincidence? I think not.)

Other good places to find local queers include coffeeshops like Francesca’s (706 9th St), Mad Hatter’s (1802 W Main St) (during Pride they sell little rainbow sugar cookies!), and Whole Foods (621 Broad St), because where there is chicken-fried tofu, there be queers.

Finally, Durham’s food truck scene has exploded over the last year or so. You can find two of my favorites, Ko Kyu BBQ and The Parlour in the Motorco / Fullsteam area on Wednesday evenings, where the Bull City Running Club takes off from. It’s a good place to grab a beer, have some BBQ or sweet potato fries, and people-watch.

Duke Chapel

Duke Chapel

College Life

There are a few colleges in the Durham area: Duke University, Durham Technical Community College, and North Carolina Central University. I’m a grad student at Duke, so I’m best able to speak about campus life there. (Though the experience of being a grad student here is probably way different from being an undergrad. I have never been to Shooters, for example, or ridden the mechanical bull therein.)

If you’re at Duke, the Duke LGBT Center is a phenomenally helpful place. The Center hosts a number of discussion groups, including Women Loving Women (for queer-identified women) and Spectrum (for genderqueer, trans, or gender non-conforming students). There’s a really nice library inside the Center, too, with books (academic LGBT stuff but also fiction!) and DVDs. It also has programs like Ally Training and tons of social, political, and generally educational events for both LGBT students, and Duke and Durham in general. It’s an excellent community resource.

NCCU’s LGBT organization, Colors of NCCU, helped to sponsor an LGBT Celebration Week last February that included documentary film screenings, a panel discussion of Amendment One, and even speed dating. I actually didn’t know about the event before writing this up, so if there are any NCCU students out there, maybe you can talk about how it went!

Regardless of whether you’re affiliated with a local college, you should also check out Meetup.com or Yahoo! Groups. The latter includes groups like the Durham Gender Alliance.

Ladyfriends and Lady Friends

Dating in Durham may be incestuous and may take place largely because of OKCupid. Since OKCupid is already addressed elsewhere, I’ll just say that I think the internet is a good resource for making friends. Who may have cute friends. Whom you can date. So you should do that.

On that note, TriangleGrrrls is also totally worth checking out. They hold lots of events and encourage their members to take the initiative and host events of their own. Some of my friends have been involved with WOA (Women Outdoor Adventurers) through TriangleGrrrls, which is a great group to be involved with if you like being outside and giving other ladies tick checks.

Finally, check out Meetup.com for groups like Geeks and Gaymers of NC.

Arts

Do you like musicals? Dance? All-women Shakespeare adaptations that take the form of pub crawls? Durham can help you out.

First, there’s the Durham Performing Arts Center, which is located downtown near the Bulls stadium (you should know where this is as a Durham queer, because there’s baseball if you like that sort of thing, and talking and eating Frito pie if you don’t). DPAC opened a few years ago and has brought a wide range of performances to the area, from Wicked to the Indigo Girls.

Additionally, there’s Duke Performances. If you’re a Duke student, tickets are available for $10. Upcoming performances include Simone Dinnerstein and Tift Merritt, as well as Meshell Ndegeocello.

Little Green Pig

Little Green Pig

Little Green Pig recently put on “Richie” (the aforementioned all-women pub crawl; I didn’t get to go and am still bitter. It looked fun!). There’s also Manbites Dog Theatre (703 Foster St) and Common Ground Theatre (4815B Hillsborough Road).

If your interests in dance go beyond the lesbian head-nod, Durham is also home to the American Dance Festival.

Regulator

Regulator

To be honest, I am really more of a book person. If that’s you, too, check out The Regulator (720 9th St). It’s neither LGBT nor feminist, but they had a display of queer books out for Pride, and also they have a fair-sized collection of used lesbian romance novels downstairs. Aww yiss.

Your Body is a Work of Art

If it’s time for you to get that Tegan Quin-riding-a-gay-unicorn tattoo you’ve always wanted, head over to Dogstar Tattoo. I’ve had work done there and they were great.

For alternative lifestyle haircuts, you should go to Angela Goldman, Inc. (1106 Broad St). She’s an amazing stylist and a totally badass human being. (And was the first stylist I’d seen who immediately supported my decision to chop all my hair off rather than trying to talk me out of it, and her work is really, really good, y’all). You should see her; she is the greatest. Consequently, I’ve never been to anyone else in Durham, but I’ve heard that folks have also had good experiences at Rock Paper Scissors (413 E Chapel Hill St). (Apparently they will serve you home-brewed beer there, too).

NCGLFF Photo Copyright Summer Penell

NCGLFF
Photo Copyright Summer Penell

LBGT Events

My favorite Durham event this past year was the North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, held in the Carolina Theatre (309 W Morgan St). (Awesome for its own reasons: it’s a great space but also has incredible retrospectives where it shows old sci-fi films as well as ’80s fantasy films). The NCGLFF recently expanded this past year to ten glorious days of LGBT films, including Cloudburst, which featured a foul-mouthed Olympia Dukakis in a cowboy hat. One of my good friends and I volunteered for the festival this year, and it is absolutely 100% something you should do if you have the time. Not only can you do lots of quality queer-friendly volunteering and people-watching, but you can also totally finance your own visit to the festival since you get film vouchers in exchange for your time. It is the best. We had so much fun.

Eno River Quarry

Eno River Quarry

Durham also hosts the Annual Beaver Queen Pageant. I have never been to this, but I am fairly certain it is both super gay and a good time. (Also, like many fun Durham events, it takes place OUTSIDE. And seriously, if you’re visiting or living in Durham, this is one of the best things to do in the area – go hiking! go swimming in the Eno River quarry! go to the Duke Gardens! fly free, little birds!)

To find out about LGBT events in the area, you can consult both The Triangle and Triangle Local Events. (The latter has a listserv that will mail you the events for the upcoming week. It’s pretty excellent.)

The last (and most recent) LGBT event in the area, though, was NC Pride. Let’s talk about it.

NC Pride

NC Pride

NC Pride

Pride is hosted in front of Duke’s East Campus at the end of September each year. This is excellent because it means that students can attend, but also that Pride isn’t being held in the middle of the summer when it’s 105 degrees. So Pride is pretty great. This year’s Pride was no exception, despite the fact that it was rainy and involved lots of stomping around in the mud. We handled it; the queers came out anyway. There were a ton of cool events going on: Big Freedia and the Cuntry Kings (a local drag troupe) at Motorco, the Butchies and Team Dresch at the Pinhook, and after-parties everywhere. And the Pride Parade itself was pretty great; one of my favorite things about Pride in Durham is seeing how much of the community participates. My experience of Pride is pretty limited (sad fact: Miami started holding Pride the year I left), but NC Pride is much more church- and family-oriented than other Prides I’ve attended. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just different; in the wake of Amendment One, it’s nice to have churches and social groups show their support for the LGBT community (especially because homophobes with megaphones still show up in their Soul Patrol vans to protest Pride). That said, I do wish that alternative queer identities had more of a presence at Pride, too.

Rollerskating Jesus at Pride

Rollerskating Jesus at Pride

My favorite part of Pride this year: Bold Strokes Books (publishers of lesbian romance novels) had a tent where romance novels were being sold as well as signed by local authors. I was looking forward to this like crazy, and it did not disappoint. Do I want to read Better Off Red: Vampire Sorority Sisters? Yes, yes, I do.

Marry Durham Photo Copyright Summer Pennell

Marry Durham
Photo Copyright Summer Pennell

So that’s my guide to Durham. While I haven’t mentioned everything I love about living in Durham (leaves changing colors! hushpuppies! Locopops! CHEERWINE!), this is kind of a start, but you should probably visit anyway. If you love Durham as much as I do, and you’re the marrying kind, you can just go ahead and marry Durham. Yes, it’s a thing.

Other Links

Local activism:

PFLAG Triangle
Southern Coalition for Social Justice
SWOOP (Strong Women Organizing Outrageous Projects)
SONG (Southerners on New Ground)
Equality NC

Other local stuff:

Pam’s House Blend. One of my favorite blogs, Pam’s House Blend, is Durham-based. It covers national and local news and is an excellent resource. It’s also won Best LGBT Blog in the Weblog awards in past years. Check it out!
Durham Visitors’ Information Site. They’ve recently added a section about LGBT life in Durham.
NC Pride Pages. List of gay-friendly businesses in NC.
Surviving and Thriving in Durham. Durham-humor Tumblr; it’s funny ’cause it’s true.

Queer Girl City Guide: Charleston, South Carolina

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This gem of the South, nestled along the Southeastern coast, is truly a unique city. Also known as the Lowcountry, Charleston draws visitors from all over the world. From the southern cuisine and charm to pastel colored homes and beaches, we love every minute we spend in this city. Charleston was recently named “Top City in the United States” in the Conde Nast Traveler Reader’s Choice Awards. You go, Charleston! Grab a glass of ice cold sweet tea, and you’ll fit right in!

The queer community in Charleston, while small, is on the rise. The city has a mix of hipster/artsy folks, Southern belles, and northern transplants. While Charleston might not compare to larger, more queer established cities such as NYC or San Francisco, we have our own community here that feels like home to us.

Charleston - Sunset

Sunset

Jennifer Stevens – I’ve lived in the Charleston area for the last 14 years. I earned my BA from the University of South Carolina and recently finished my MBA at The Citadel. My interests include drinking tea, writing, traveling, brunch, and playing tourist in Charleston. On a Friday night, you’ll typically find me sipping on a PBR outside of The Recovery Room.

Paige Anderson – Raised overseas in Singapore and Beijing, I moved to Charleston to go to college at the College of Charleston. Moving to the South was definitely a culture shock, especially since I’d been living in Asia for the last 18 years, but it grew on me and soon enough I was saying y’all with the rest of the locals. Charleston isn’t the easiest place to live for a gay lady, but after 5 years I’ve managed to make a home out this beautiful city. I’m usually found cuddling with my cat Mao, but when I’m not being a crazy cat lady I’m hanging out with friends, discussing the finer things in life.

Beck Schillizzi – I’m a southern raised femmey transboy who makes his money as a boirista and his well being as an organizer of Girls Rock Charleston and Southerners on New Ground. In my spare time, I like to draw, pick flowers, and cut queer hair.

Nightlife/Dating – After Hours

Like any coastal city, Charleston is a hub for tourists, especially during the summer months when the beaches and warm weather draw the crowds. There are three main areas of downtown Charleston when it comes to eating and drinking. King Street, one of the best shopping streets in the country, is also where you’ll find a majority of the locals and college students after the sun goes down. Market Street is full of sorority girls and tourists and we would recommend avoiding the area at night… unless you’re into that sort of thing! East Bay has some upscale bars and restaurants, and draws a mixed crowd.

Upper Deck Tavern (353 King Street)
In the 2012 Charleston City Paper “Best Of” issue, Upper Deck was named the bar where you’re most likely to see two women making out. While the bar has attempted to incorporate a lesbian night on Mondays, you can find members of the queer community there any night of the week. Enjoy bingo night on Wednesdays or karaoke on Sundays.

Upper Deck

Upper Deck

The Recovery Room (685 King Street)
Located on upper King Street, The Recovery Room, known simply as “Rec Room,” is one of the most popular dive bars in the area. Grab a PBR and take a seat at a table out front. If outdoor people watching isn’t your thing, hang out inside and enjoy the jukebox, pool table, or the pinball machines. Rec Room attracts a high concentration of hipsters. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

The Recovery Room

The Recovery Room

De’Ja Vu II (4628 Spruill Ave)
Located in the more racially diverse North Charleston, this club is where you’re more likely to find the queer POC sweeties. With beautiful queens, hot dykes, and outrageously attractive lesbian “DJ Romeo,” this club has everything you need to make you swoon. This bar is currently the only lesbian owned gay bar in the Charleston area, although unfortunately not POC owned.

Pantheon (28 Ann Street)
The Pantheon is Charleston’s only “gay club” and so if you’re looking for somewhere to dance while being assaulted by gay men and sorority girls alike then this is the club for you! Pantheon can be a whole lot of fun and while it is the only gay club in town it is mostly frequented by the male population. Catch the midnight drag show on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

Pantheon

Pantheon

Dudley’s, which is owned by the same people who own Pantheon and located right up the street from it, is the only “gay bar” in Charleston. Like the Pantheon, Dudley’s is mostly filled with gay men so it’s rare to spot your local lesbian in this establishment. However, if you want to go to a bar where you can grope and make out with your lady freely and without stares of horror then Dudley’s is the place to do it.

Closed for Business (453 King Street)
More upscale than the other bars mentioned in this guide, Closed for Business is a great place for the grown-up “mature” hipster. In addition to serving a large selection of craft beer on tap, CFB has some of the most delicious bar food you’ll find in Charleston. Crispy green beans, anyone?

Closed for Business 1

Closed for Business

Big Gun Burger Shop (137 Calhoun Street)
Big Gun has been around the Charleston area for a few years now. By day, the restaurant serves up some of the most unique burgers in town. Make sure you make happy hour, Monday through Friday, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. for half priced burgers. Wash everything down with a tall boy PBR. After hours, Big Gun becomes a popular stop for college students and hipsters alike. Monday night is karaoke night, while Wednesday night is open mic night for anyone wanting to demonstrate their stand up skills. Big Gun also hosts local bands, typically on Fridays and Saturdays.

Big Gun

Big Gun

The Rarebit (474 King Street)
A new addition to upper King Street, The Rarebit has a retro diner atmosphere. Don’t let the term “retro diner,” fool you. The bar serves some phenomenal cocktails (and breakfast all day). Try their Moscow Mule, a refreshing gingery beverage served out of a copper mug.

The Rarebit

The Rarebit

College Life – Holler at a Scholar

While Charleston isn’t considered a “college” town, there are a handful of colleges and universities in the area. Downtown Charleston is home to the College of Charleston, The Citadel, and MUSC – the Medical University of South Carolina. Beyond the Peninsula you can find Charleston Southern University and Trident Technical College.

College of Charleston is public liberal arts college located right in the middle of the city, so it’s pretty hard to avoid the 10,000 students that attend the school from August to May. Although it’s a southern university, CofC has a very liberal student body and is fairly accepting of its LGBTQ students. The “Cougars” who attend the school are given a choice of 53 majors and 73 minors to pursue. In 2006/2007 the faculty and students tried to establish a LGBTQ minor, but the public school system in Charleston is very conservative and so the whole project fell through. As a result, a lot of the College’s LGBTQ community have found an outlet in the Women’s and Gender Studies department, which offers numerous opportunities for queer studies. Even better, in 2010 the Women’s and Gender Studies department officially became a major at the College of Charleston!

College of Charleston

College of Charleston

The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, has a rich history rooted in Charleston. While the institution started as an all male military college in 1842, preparing men for war, the school has since become a leading liberal arts college in the Southeast. The first women entered the Corps of Cadets in 1996. The Citadel also has a graduate college, offering 27 degree programs.

The Citadel

The Citadel

Not located in the downtown area, Charleston Southern University was voted one of America’s best Christian Colleges. But more importantly, it was voted one of Charleston’s most homophobic colleges by our queer Charleston friends. While religion and queerness are not mutually exclusive, CSU is not a conducive environment for out members of the community. For those of you visiting Charleston, we recommend avoiding this stop on your tour.

The Medical University of South Carolina is also located in Downtown Charleston. Not only one of the best medical universities in the South, MUSC is nationally known and in 2012 was named one of America’s best hospitals. The school also has a really kick-ass Gay Straight Alliance and like CofC is very queer friendly.

Located in North Charleston, Trident is a technical college that offers a variety of programs like nursing, culinary arts, and journalism. Trident does have a Gay Straight Alliance on campus, so we can only guess that it also offers some safe spaces for the queer community.

Sports – Let’s Get Physical

Low Country High Rollers

Any lesbian/queer sports section would not be complete without mentioning the local roller derby league. Formed in 2008, the Low Country High Rollers are Charleston’s local derby team, but that’s not all. The league consists of two travel teams, a junior league, a recreational league AND three home teams: The Swamp Foxes, The Ashley Riverdolls and the Holy City Heartbreakers. The games are super queer friendly and surprisingly family friendly if you’re into that. Bouts are held at the Citadel, so if you have time, make your way over and check out some kick-ass derby girls doing their thing on the track!

High Rollers 1

High Rollers

Charleston Hurricanes – Women’s Rugby Club

They practice every Tuesday from 7:00 to 8:30 and they’re always looking for new members. No experience is required! And they even have their own sexy calendar that features all the players. How perfect!

There is also a rugby team at the College of Charleston and the Citadel and many of the girls on those teams move on to join the Hurricanes after graduating. Unfortunately the college team doesn’t have their own calendar.

Charleston Sports and Social Club

You can find anything from Softball to Kickball (and even Dodgeball). If you’re looking for athletics and you’re over 21 you should definitely look into joining one of the many leagues the CSSC has to offer! You do have the option to create your own team, which is a fantastic opportunity to get get a group of all your queer sports-playing friends together and form Team Homo-Normative! (Or Team Unicorn)

Restaurants/Cafes – Eating Out

While there are no “queer” restaurants or cafes, Charleston is home to some excellent establishments. The coffee shops in the area are some of the best places to relax and potentially meet some nice girls.

Kudu Coffee & Craft Beer (4 Vanderhorst Street)
This is one of our favorite coffee shops in the area. Kudu features some of the best lattes (and latte art) in Charleston. If you’re in the mood for a drink, grab a local brew on tap and take a seat inside or in their private courtyard.

Kudu

Kudu

Black Tap Coffee (70 ½ Beaufain Street)
With every cup brewed to order, Black Tap is the place to go for some of the freshest coffee you will ever have. Tea is served by the cup or pot, and the large glass windows provide some excellent natural lighting.

Black Tap

Black Tap

Brown’s Court Bakery (199 St. Philip Street)
A newer shop in Charleston, Brown’s Court features coffee and tea in addition to some amazing baked goods – from cookies and scones to baguettes and pretzel rolls. Get there early if you want to grab some fresh bread to bring home!

Brown's Court

Brown’s Court

Sugar Bakeshop (59 ½ Cannon Street)
Sugar Bakeshop serves some of the most delicious cupcakes you will find in Charleston (or anywhere else, for that matter). They also bake tarts and cookies. The almond cupcakes are stellar! Bonus: the shop is owned by a lovely gay couple.

Sugar Bakeshop

Sugar Bakeshop

Five Loaves Cafe (43 Cannon Street)
Looking for a good place to take your lady friend out for a first date? Look no further than Five Loaves Café. The restaurant is dedicated to serving healthy, fresh, and vegetarian-friendly foods. With a focus on sustainable and locally grown foods, Five Loaves offers delicious sandwiches, soups, pasta dishes, etc. Enjoy half price bottles of wine every Wednesday and Saturday night. Don’t be afraid to try their gluten-free bread or flight of soups!

Five Loaves Cafe

Five Loaves Cafe

Dell’z Deli (1A Cannon Street)
For all of you vegans and vegetarians, Dell’z Deli will be your jam. Wraps on wraps on wraps. Try The Hummer, a black bean hummus wrap with cilantro, salsa, tomatoes, sprouts, and other greens, or try a Bean & Rice Bowl. If you want something refreshing to drink, head around the corner to Dell’z Vibes, a smoothie and juice bar also owned by Dell! Dell also recently opened Dell’z Uptown, a completely vegan/vegetarian restaurant!

Dell'z Deli

Dell’z Deli

Saffron (333 East Bay Street)
Saffron is a combination of a cafe, bakery and Middle-Eastern/Southern restaurant, aka the best cluster fuck ever. According to Beck they have the BEST vegan chocolate cake ever. Like better then normal cake, which is a serious feat for vegans everywhere (call in advance for the cake, as it runs out quick!). Saffron is a very queer friendly space and our local Girls Rock Camp has held 3 annual fundraising benefits there. So if you’re craving lamb, friend chicken or vegan chocolate cake then head on over to Saffron, this is your place!

Saffron

Saffron

Since you’re in the South, it’s only fitting that you enjoy some true Southern cuisine. For deliciously rich foods, we recommend Hominy Grill, Poogan’s Porch, and 82 Queen. If you’re looking for a little ethnic flair, try Xiao Bao Biscuit (Chinese), Basil (Thai), Co (Vietnamese), or O-Ku (Japanese). For cuisine South of the border, try Taco Boy or Santi’s.

Queer Girl Mini Guide: Cleveland, Ohio and the Gay Games

Honestly, in the past when I’ve thought about Cleveland, what came to mind is the fact that people think Liz Lemon is a supermodel there. (She is a supermodel, duh). But when I went to Cleveland with a group of other journalists to learn more about the Gay Games, which Cleveland will host this year, I got to do and see so much more. I really enjoyed myself in the Cleve! Which is such a good thing, because that’s where the Gay Games are gonna be come August (well, Cleveland and Akron)!

via Positively Cleveland

via Positively Cleveland

Positively Cleveland and the Gay Games invited Autostraddle to take a look at their facilities for the games and experience some of food and fun Cleveland has to offer the impending influx of queermos. Here’s what we found out:

What Are the Gay Games?

The Gay Games is an amateur sporting event held every four years. It’s got thirty six different sporting events, from ballroom dancing to badminton. But it’s also got band and choral events and a ton of visual art happening. It’s open to all athletes of all skill levels over the age of 18, not just the gay ones. But it’s safe to say that this event is largely queerfabulous, with about ten percent of the athletes identifying as allies only. The ninth Gay Games (abbreviated as GG9) will be held in August 9-16, 2014.

And Why Are They in Cleveland?

Much like the Olympics, the Federation of Gay Games selects a location out of the cities that bid for it. Cleveland beat Boston and Washington, D.C. for GG9. Why? They’ve got first rate facilities and, you guys, they’re really into us! Let’s obviously talk about the facilities first—both Cleveland and Akron are putting their best foot forward.

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The pool at Cleveland State that all of y’all swimmers will be swimming in.

The Renaissance Hotel in Downtown Cleveland, the official host hotel, is hosting events like ballroom dancing and darts. For events that need just a touch more room, Cleveland is transforming large parts of the Cleveland Convention Center, a gargantuan space that will be able to house the 800-900 volleyball players while also providing them with high enough ceilings. For the Gala Choral and Band events, Playhouse Square is going to lend a hand and a stage or two. Fun fact, Playhouse Square is the largest performing arts center in the U.S. outside of New York City with gorgeous wall murals by James Doherty. The complex is full of 1920’s charm and has been beautifully restored. Definitely a place to dress up and pretend you’re a flapper.

If you happen to be sailing, you’ll be sailing on Lake Erie with the Edgewater Yacht Club. If you’re running the 5k, you will whimsically be running through the zoo. All golfers will gather in Akron at the Firestone Country Club. Like, guys, I didn’t know there were enough places in Ohio to host this many events. And there are. And they’re all gorgeous. And they are all quite close together.

Then I have to say how struck I was by how much everyone wanted us, the gay journalists, there. And by how much everyone wanted the Gay Games and all the queer athletes to be there. I thought it was because we were on what was basically a tour of the GG9 facilities and the restaurants and hotels that Cleveland wanted to highlight. But I went and talked to a couple people completely outside the tour, and the answer was unanimous: If they come, we will welcome them. And, in the case of the two gentlemen selling pasta in the West Side Market, we will welcome them—and feed them pasta. That more than anything makes me super excited for the Gay Games in Cleveland.

Where Can We Stay?

InterContinental Cleveland

This is where I stayed and, like everyone else I met on this trip, the InterContinental was PSYCHED to have us.

The chocolates the folks at the InterContinental used to signal their love for us.

The chocolates the folks at the InterContinental used to signal their love for us.

The rooms were spotless and silent. Pretty standard on the decor, and excellent if you’re a person with allergies to smoke. You see, the InterContinental is right across from the health center. So close, in fact, that no one can smoke on the premises due to its proximity to the hospital. It’s got an upscale restaurant on the ground floor (Table 45, we’ll talk about that in a minute) with killer cocktails. And! It’s on the HealthLine rapid bus system, so you can very easily get to the hullabaloo of the Games without being quite in the center of things. To make sure you get the discounted rate for those participating in GG9, book through this site or book directly if you’re just gonna hang out in Cleveland for the restaurants and fun stuff to do.

Renaissance Cleveland Hotel

This is the official sponsor hotel, and therefore is in the thick of everything with some events even being held on premises. If downtown access (and the ability to smoke directly outside the hotel) is super important to you, this is a great choice. Plus it feels opulent and is even within walking distance of both the opening and closing ceremonies.  Again, if you’re participating in the games, you definitely want to book through this special GG9 website. If you want to just have a weekend trip, you can book directly through their website.

Gay Games 9 Dormitory Housing

This might be the best option if you’re an athlete planning to stay for the duration of the games, because the dormitory goes for maximum $59 per night. The thing is, you’ve got to rent a room for the entirety of the games. There’s also not a whole heck of a lot of detailed information yet, but rates and a booking system should be posted by the end of January 2014. In the meantime, feel free to email GG9 if you want to be notified of dormitory developments.

Where Can We Eat and Drink?

The gorgeous restaurant row.

The gorgeous restaurant row.

The Greenhouse Tavern (a.k.a., home of the only beet burger I’ve ever loved)

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Okay, I’ll tell you about the actual Greenhouse Tavern in a hot second, but we have to start by talking about this beet burger. Y’all. I hate beets. But I like burgers. And being a vegetarian, I am generally limited to whatever the hell kinda vegetarian burger an establishment has. And I know for a 100% fact that my most loathed veggie burger is the beet burger. Until this beet burger.

EAT THIS.

EAT THIS.

This beet burger is the food of the gods. This beet burger is deserving of poetry. When I bit into this beet burger, a choir of gay angels serenaded me and I heard nothing but their angelic, crystalline voices until I had finished the beet burger.

What I’m saying is, you should go eat at the Greenhouse Tavern.

Also, now I’ll actually talk about the Greenhouse Tavern. It’s the brainchild of Chef  Jonathan Sawyer and it’s a farm-to-table establishment. They implement as many green practices as possible (including the LEED-certified building and composting) and the goal is to impact the local economy and the local food scene as much as possible. Chef Matt Danko, the pastry chef, put it brilliantly when he told us, “Refurbished furniture from Ohio. Potatoes from Ohio.”

Chef Matt showing off his Morton Salt tattoo.

Chef Matt showing off his Morton Salt tattoo.

Matt highly recommends you order the fermented mango with cognac and sweet soy sauce—he’s really proud of that one. He also let me know that the restaurant is known for its roasted pig’s head, but I am a vegetarian so I could not speak to that one. The Greenhouse Tavern is also one of two rooftop bars in the city, and that will be extremely useful knowledge to have come August. Vegetarian and gluten-free friendly.

Table 45

Table 45 is located on the ground floor of the InterContinental but welcomes everyone, hotel guest or not. Chef Zach Bruell’s concept with Table 45 is world cuisine—that is, a mixture of many different styles and ingredients from North Africa, South America, Europe and Asia. I experienced happy hour here, and that comes with complimentary hors d’oeuvres. They’re also psychic mind readers. I asked my server what I wanted to drink and told him I don’t like super sweet cocktails but I couldn’t make up my mind. He very wisely suggested a Negroni, which is gin, vermouth and campari. Far more boozey than sugary. When I went poking around the hors d’oeuvres and found that nothing was vegetarian, out they came with some kick ass spring rolls.  There are areas of the restaurant that are bumpin’ and party-esque, and there are also quieter corners. I’m a drink, talk and lounge kind of person and I found a corner that was perfect for me.

Spice Kitchen + Bar

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80% of everything you see on the menu at Spice Kitchen + Bar comes from within a 100 mile radius of Cleveland, and much of it from their own farms—Spice Acres and the three primary gardening properties that are owned and operated by Spice of Life farmers and chefs. Everything else from family-owned farms. Nothing you see on the menu is out of season and thus the menu is constantly changing. There is at least one constant though, and that’s the polenta chickpea fries. GET THOSE FRIES. Ahem. Honestly, get whatever you want. Every journalist in Spice ordered something different and everyone absolutely loved what they ate. Thank you, Chef Ben Bebenroth!

Bon Bon Café

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A stellar breakfast place willing to bend their menu items to accommodate vegetarians! Even though eggs florentine wasn’t on the Bon Bon Café menu, they let me order it anyway. All the journalists split some of the house special—cinnamon sugar donuts with a choice of three dipping sauces (chocolate, sweet mascarpone and caramelized banana). I legitimately could not tell you which dipping sauce was best. And usually chocolate is an easy first. And it wasn’t. Because everything was so good.

Provenance

Chef Doug Katz’s Provenance is actually inside the Cleveland Museum of Art and they have an adorable Prix Fixe menu every day that highlights one of the exhibits in the museum. But more than that, they have this gnocchi.

EAT THIS TOO.

EAT THIS TOO.

This gnocchi has mushrooms, peas and a white sauce. And y’all. Much like with that beet burger, I hate mushrooms. Hate ’em. And you know what? I ATE ALL OF THESE. They also have floor-to ceiling windows that look out over the sculpture garden, so you can feel quite posh as you chow down on what might be the best gnocchi in Cleveland.

Market Garden Brewery

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Cleveland has got craft beer on lock. And Market Garden Brewery is the place on this trip that I wish was down the street from my house. Brewmaster Andy Tveekrem worked for Dogfish Head before brewing up these flawless Cleveland beers. Naturally, I got a flight so I could sample as many of them as possible. And I got a pretzel to make sure I was coherent enough to recommend them to you.

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I tasted the Wee Heavy Wallace (Scotch Ale), the Franklin Castle Pumpkin Spice Ale, the Bernie 19 (Amber Ale) and the Strawbeery Tart (strawberry wheat beer). And though I liked all of them, my favorite was the Wee Heavy Wallace by far and away. Highly recommend. Plus if you’re in town for GG9, they’ve got a lovely patio perfect for August nights.

Pier W

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I had been told that pierogies were a thing in Cleveland, and a thing I should try to put in my mouth. So I was super pleased when, on my last morning in Cleveland, I discovered that pierogies were a part of brunch at Pier W. While the food was great (and yes, the pierogies were delicious), the real draw of Pier W is the panoramic view of Lake Eerie. It was lovely. Such a relaxing place to chill out and properly brunch it up with my gaggle of gays. Highly recommend for Sunday brunch.

And What Can We Do Other Than Be Gay and Play Games?

Twist Social Club

I didn’t spend very long at Twist because it was after 10 and I’m basically 85 in my soul and it was past my bed time. But when we rolled up, the big front windows were open and the party had spilled onto the sidewalk. And on that patio were two fabulous drag queens in full regalia. One with a beard. Basically I was in heaven. And I also loved that this was a drink and talk bar. Yes, there was loud music, but the outdoor space was absolutely the highlight for me. Chill in the nice weather, sip on your cocktail and chat away the evening.

Bounce/Union Station Video Café

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Bounce/Union Station is a two-fer, with a restaurant in the front and a dance party in the back. I went on a Friday night, which means drag night. And this particular show featured Carmen Carrera! She’s super cool, y’all.

I did find it weird that it seemed totally cool at Bounce to reach out and touch the queens? Like, that was super never the case at any drag show I’ve attended in New Jersey or New York. And even if the club policy said it was cool, I would never recommend reaching out and touching a performer while they’re working. So this is my tiny little vote for “please don’t reach out and touch drag performers or any performers at all really without being explicitly invited by them to do so.” And now back to our regularly scheduled programming to let you know that the owner of Bounce said he was hoping to pull out all the stops for the week of GG9.

West Side Market

Markets are one of those things I try to visit in every town and city I travel to because entire communities gather on market day. You can get a feel for what’s happening in a city when you visit a market. Cleveland’s West Side Market is no different. Built in 1912, this indoor/outdoor market features a huge selection of, well, everything. I’ll just let the picture speak for itself.

The lesbian owned-and-operated Pork Chop Shop.

The lesbian owned-and-operated Pork Chop Shop.

MOCA Cleveland

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I loved the Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland. Then again, I love contemporary art in general. But in this case, the building was as much of an attraction as the art itself. Designed by Farshid Moussavi, an Iranian-born London-based architect, it’s actually her first building in the United States and her first museum. The unique shape of the building is due to the fact that base of the building is a hexagon and the top is a square. Transparency is very important to the MOCA structure, so just about everything is glass. It’s even got a glass-walled loading dock so you can see the art being loaded in. Flexibility is another key component—the spaces are mutable and transform as the museum needs them, from housing exhibits to performances and readings. The center stair is actually a stair within a stair. Like, a staircase. Inside another staircase. As for the collections rotate 3 times a year and are very site specific, so much so that sometimes pieces are destroyed after their time is up because they were made for the MOCA space and can’t/shouldn’t be exhibited anywhere else. While I was there, an installation piece captured my fancy—iTunes on Color by Lauren Yeager interpreted the colors of the rainbow using light and music from the artist’s iTunes library, experienced by the audience as they descended down a side staircase.

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Cleveland Museum of Art

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The Cleveland Museum of Art offers free admission to their standard collections. Yup. Free. It’s one of the only major museums in the country to still do that. They’re also crazy tech savvy, so you know I was really into it. They boast Gallery One, an entirely interactive way of experiencing art through multimedia. Within that, museum-goers can explore the Collection Wall, the largest multi-touch screen in the nation.

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You can dock one of the rentable iPads and proceed through the collection on the wall, saving the things you want to be sure to see in the museum to your rented iPad. Then your iPad will tell you how to get there. Your rented iPad can also present you with new ways to look at the standard collection—you can choose different kinds of tours and look at the artwork in ways other than the way they’re laid out. I did a Heroes and Villains tour, which I really enjoyed. The iPads are also equipped with this handy little app called ArtLens, which you can also put on your personal devices to avoid renting equipment. For certain pieces of art, you can hold your iPad up and it’ll scan the art and tell you fun facts. I found that aspect a little distracting, but can totally see how it would appeal to some younger adventurers just starting to sink their teeth into the art world.

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Cleveland Botanical Gardens

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Botanical Gardens are another thing I try to visit in every place I travel. I just love them—I’m always relaxed and inspired. If I have the time, I love to bring my journal in and sit on a bench. I always find inspiration in a botanical garden. Once again, I’ll try to let the pictures speak for themselves.

Festival Village

This will be the centerpiece of socializing during GG9. Festival Village is going to house two stages for entertainment, as well as local vendors and food trucks, parties, alcohol, roving performers, a collaborative and interactive visual arts space, AHA lighting project’s fabulous lighting installations and even a pin swap. Open daily during the games, hours vary.

Yes yes yes, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, WE KNOW

We all know that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is Cleveland. We all know that, no matter how we feel about rock and roll, we will all go visit it when we are in Cleveland. Especially if we all go to GG9 because the closing ceremonies will be there. Telling you about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a moot point. We will all go. So here is a picture of the Beatles guitar. That was my favorite thing.

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OMG, Shut Up, Let’s All Go To Cleveland. How Can We Participate?

There are several ways you can participate in the Gay Games this coming August.

  • register to be an athlete. You and/or your team can register to play. And yes, there are medals you could win. General registration is $195, and that ends May 31st. Then after you do that, you register for your specific event(s). Those prices vary, but they are raising by a bit on January 8th. So register ASAP! Sound a bit steep for you? Check out the Gay Games scholarship application, deadline of February 15th.
  • apply to entertain! If you’re a musician, comedian, DJ or other kind of entertainer, you might be just what the Gay Games are looking for. The application deadline is January 31st and you’ll be notified by April 1st.
  • volunteer. This is an event of monumental proportions and GG9 needs all hands on deck. If you happen to have hands to spare, fill out a volunteer application form.

Queer Girl City Guide: Burlington, VT

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Some call it the Portland of the east. Some call it Brrrrlington (yes, it snows a lot here). But everyone who’s right calls it Grrrlington and there’s a reason. Burlington, Vermont is a mecca for queer ladies of all shapes, sizes, and Birkenstock style-preferences. It boasts all the big city offerings with a small-town feel.

The Waterfront

The Waterfront

Although I’ve been a tried and true Vermonter since exiting the womb 23 years ago, I’ve only lived in Burlington for just over a year now. Good thing it’s a small city and it doesn’t take long to get to know your way around.

So let one Vermont native and one transplant to the great Green Mountain State show you the ropes!

authors

So you want to drink and dance?

Higher Ground

Higher Ground

Burlington has got you covered. Some say there are no lesbian bars in town, but we say there are ONLY lesbian bars in town. Walk into nearly any bar in Burlington (or walk down any street or visit any farm or do any THING) and you will certainly see enough gay girls to make your head spin. That being said, there are a few go-to spots for the savvy queers.

The Three Needs (185 Pearl St) is the unspoken lesbian bar in Burlington. For whatever reason, that’s where all the ladies flock. And you should, too!

Half Lounge (136 1/2 Church St) is equally as gay—but more man-centric. They do have delicious half-price martinis on Wednesday nights though and a very cozy basement.

Higher Ground (1214 Williston Road) is absolutely the best place to see live music in town. Plenty of lesbians have performed there recently, including Tegan and Sara(!) And plenty of lesbians go just to watch.

The Monkey House (30 Main St) is another great spot to hear music in a cozy bar setting. They host great gay events, too (more on this later).

So you want to go on a date?

First thing’s first. The running joke is that in Burlington, you have to come out as straight. Especially if you have short fingernails and/or hair. You should know that at maximum, there are two degrees of separation between every lesbian in Burlington. EVERY LESBIAN. We’ll tell you again: It’s a small town. And everyone is on OKCupid. Really…everyone. One time I went to a party and realized I’d been on a date with every single person in the room. And I wasn’t the only one who came to this realization. It’s okay though, it’s like one big gay family. What could be better?

So you’re hungry?

Kale

Kale

You’re in luck! Food is a big deal in Burlington. You’ll likely hear “farm-to-table,” “locavore,” “know your farmer,” and other catchphrases of the local food movement enough times to make you want to trade in your desk chair for a tractor and get to work. If you’re in the mood for grazing, the Burlington Farmers Market (2 Church St) is the place to go. NOTE: There are lots of sexy farmers in Burlington.

If you’re in more of a sit-down mood, try The Farmhouse Tap & Grill (106 Bank St).

If coffee is your beverage of choice, you have many options in Burlington to find the perfect cup of joe and the perfect queer barista to serve it to you. Uncommon Grounds (42 Church St), August First (149 South Champlain), and Muddy Waters (184 Main St) are the best spots.

It’s a difficult task to find a place that isn’t gay-friendly. It’s Vermont, you guys. You want to know where the gaybourhood is? Burlington is the gaybourhood.

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So you want to attend some gay events?

First Friday is a series of queer dance parties on the first Friday of every month at Higher Ground. Prepare to be surrounded by fabulous gays, fabulous music, and fabulous fabulousness. NOTE: If there’s a lesbian you want to avoid seeing, don’t go to First Friday. She will be there.

Pop-Up Queer Dance Parties are the other big deal in Burlington. They “pop up” at different locations each month. You never know where they’ll be, or who you’ll lock eyes with across the dance floor! What do you have to lose?

Life is a drag in Vermont

Winter is a Drag Ball is an annual event hosted by the House of LeMay at Higher Ground to raise money for the Vermont People with Aids Coalition — it always, always sells out and it’s always the biggest, gayest, most debaucherous party of the year. In addition to the drag sisters from the locally revered House of LeMay, performances include other local cabaret and drag favorites like The Goodwives, Kings Local 802, and BroLoko. Over the past 10 years Winter is a Drag Ball has raised over $100,000 for Vermonters with AIDS.

So you want to be an activist?

Out at the Oscars

Out at the Oscars

As far as we’re concerned, the sparkly stand out star of gay activism in Vermont is Outright Vermont (241 N. Winooski Ave). They do badass, powerful, impactful work to help keep LGBTQ kids here with us, like weekly group sessions, Queer Prom, and Camp Outright, a residential summer camp for LGBTQ youth and their allies. They give more than enough opportunities to volunteer and work with the youths (if that’s your thing) or party with the queer community and raise money for the youths (which we all love, right?). Their fundraising events double as some of the biggest queerest events of the year, including OUT for the Oscars Red Carpet Gayla, and the fire truck pull.

So you need a new look?

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Try Jade Lotus tattoo parlor (64 North St) for all your ink needs. My roommate got a badass Judith Butler quote tattooed on her wrist from this place—they know what’s up.

The Chop Shop (86 Main St) and Salon Lanier (113 College St) are your best bets if you need to freshen up your alternative lifestyle haircut.

So you’re feeling sporty?

Kayaking on the Waterfront

Kayaking on the Waterfront

Good for you! Whether you prefer to be a participant or a spectator, there’s plenty of sporty activities to fill all your needs. A pop-up softball league, Roller Derby, Rugby, and Hockey. My lady and I prefer to take kayaks out on the beautiful Lake Champlain, cruise down the waterfront bike path, or take a hike up Mt. Philo for a sunset view. The wilderness is one of the best parts of Vermont, you guys, and it’s completely accessible just a few minutes from downtown Burlington.

Mt. Philo

Breathtaking view from Mt. Philo

So what are you waiting for? Get to Grrrlington and start exploring. The queers are waiting.

Not Your Heteronormative Weekend Getaway: The Survival Guide

By Sonny Oram and Sarah Champagne

Hi! We are Sonny, founder and editor in chief of Qwear, with dapper partner in crime/future house boi Sarah Champagne. We recently went to Ptown for “ladies” weekend and have returned to you with survival tips on fashion, intimate times, and, well, fashion.

We are the ones in the glasses and combed hair.

We are the ones in the glasses and combed hair.

Arrive With A Bang (and/or appropriate luggage)

Ptown can be kind of intimidating, so when you first enter the scene, you want to feel as confident in your outfit as you do with your luggage. Luckily, Fashion Traffic recently treated Sonny to this beauty:

$129 at Topo Designs

$129 at Topo Designs

Whis this orange sack of handsome over her shoulders, she was able to safely nagivate through the throngs of cuties upon arrival without too many embarassing moments.

But that’s not all. There’s nothing worse than bringing an adorable one back to your room only to expose your toiletries sprawled around the sink or, worse, stuffed in plastic bags (quelle horreur!) Invest in a dapper travel kit to show that you are a queer of distinction! Also makes for a great gift for your special boi.

Rail and Wharf Travel Kit, at J.Crew for $48.00

Rail and Wharf Travel Kit, at J.Crew for $48.00

Get Ready to Get Dirty

If, like Sonny, you find yourself visiting your friends on a campground, you might want to consider bringing old sneakers or boots. Sonny thought her suede derbies and shiny white Adidas would cover every possible occasion, but they felt differently about the muddy campsite. Nothing kills the mood like ugly crying. Trust us, it’s not as much of an aphrodisiac as you might have thought.

Old sneakers or boots might also come in handy for the parties steeped in a layer of alcohol ankle deep.

These hunter rain boots are perfect for warmer weather adventures:

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Hunter Bormio Combat Boots at Piperlime for $150

Welcome to Lesbro County

When the majority of the population is decked out in athletic attire and backwards baseball caps, queer dandies can easily feel out of place. We got tons of compliments on our outfits, and several people said that they were outright refreshing. If however, you don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb, you might want to incorporate some less refined items into your wardrobe. Sonny’s studded denim vest from forever 21 went over really well along with her dashing regulars.

If you’re feeling a little more adventurous, Champagne’s classic bowtie pairing with every outfit worn day and night elicited covetous glances from boys to bois alike. Choosing a floral bowtie keeps the mood light and frothy, perfectly paving the way as an intro to the winsome queer by the pool. Bonus: untying your bow as the evening hours slip away on the dance floor is an enticing invitation for a cute queer to pull you oh-so-close.

To borrow from the legions of lesbros, converse was big there, so this outfit with Converse and blazer/pants combo would have been so sharp:

A nod to nautical, and other dapper accessories


Anything with anchors, rope or little doggies will suit you well for this cape cod caper. If you want a nautical bracelet, Kiel James Patrick is a classic! Sonny finally splurged on this one herself, and we’re glad she did! And if you DO want to wear a bow tie, check out some nautical/preppy ones!

(from: etsy)

(via: etsy)

So, you’ve met an adorable queerling, you’ve secured a reservation to a swanky dinner spot overlooking the beautiful bay and now you’re ready to out-dandify the crowd. Adding a nautical twist to your evening swank will impress even the most aloof Cape Town queer. Try this gorgeous Anchor Tie Bar and watch as your date struggles to maintain a facade of hipster ennui.

$65 at J.Crew

$65 at J.Crew

If ties aren’t your thing, pop a spot of color into your ensemble with a dashing pocket square like this covet-inducing one:

Suspenders are a staple for any dapper queerling. However, despite the alluring name, eschew Cock & Bull leather if you’re looking for suspenders and kinkier fare in town. Champagne rocks these white leather braces from Ptown’s Full Kit.

Choose from a variety of colors, including these adorable ones in yellow.

Choose from a variety of colors, including these adorable ones in yellow.

Secure at least an hour of alone time every day

We take a moment’s pause on dapper talk for a Sonny-Champagne PSA: yes, even the most extraverted of queers needs time away from LezFest Weekend. Whether you’re going camping with your friends, renting a hotel with your boo or sharing a house with 10 people, it’s important for your sanity to take a break from partying and get some alone time. This will be nearly impossible to enjoy unless you plan ahead and are very clear about your needs. Try,”Hey, at 3 I’m going on a walk. I’ll catch up with you at glitter wrestling.” Or, “Mind if I plan to have the room to myself today at 12?” Your friends will appreciate your interest in taking care of yourself so that you can maintain your non-grumpy friend stature!

Swimwear and Beach time

From knee-length to brief-length, there are lots of swimwear options out there for folx. While it’s a bit late in the game this season (suits are selling out fast!), it’s never too early to begin thinking about next year!  Sonny loves the fit and feel of her board shorts from PacSun (same cut as the ones below), which she pairs with a tank top over her binder:

Blocker Boardshorts, $56 at PacSun

Blocker Boardshorts, $56 at PacSun

We saw lots and lots of plaid on board short combinations, but if you’re hoping for something a little faggier/queerer, don’t fret. We love places like Brooklyn’s Marimacho, which takes into consideration different gender identities while celebrating all bodies as adorable. If bikinis or board shorts aren’t your thing, check out these 1920s inspired looks for inspiration towards your own rendition!

Super Boi Swim Brief, $55 at Marimacho

Super Boi Swim Brief, $55 at Marimacho

We are also in love with little fabulous ones with drawstrings:

http://www.mensuas.com/Timoteo-Malibu-Orange-Swim-Brief-p/1210orange.htm

via: mensuas

Don’t be afraid to craft your own look with an infusion of dapper: Who says you can’t rock a bow tie on the beach? Sarah Champagne dandified the beach in a white linen button-down/plaid bow tie and short shorts combination. Creativity is key, lovelies!

Intimate dapperness

You’ve gone for a well-deserved jaunt by the beach, wound up ripping off all your carefully picked swimwear (there MAY have been some inebriation involved) and find yourself admist a steamy session with a cutie who isn’t even your “type”. Anything is possible in Ptown.

If intimate times with that adorable queer(s) is a possibility, make sure you’re prepared with some dapper safety accessories: gloves, condoms, lube — having your own safety kit makes a queer feel ready for anything. Showing you care enough to protect yourself and your community is also very hot. Ptown has a lovely sex store: Toys of Eros, which is definitely queer-friendly and sex-positive (duh!), but it pays to plan ahead. When this adorable queer, sometimes known as Champagne, ran out of lube, it was, um, rather frustrating, to discover they didn’t carry a water-based, glycerin and paraben-free lube. Glycerin has been associated with not-so-convenient yeast infections (uh, totally not the time!) and parabens are just way too harsh for naughty bits. Plan ahead.

So if you are thinking about getting a little bit closer with that oh-so-adorable queerling, gloves are the way to go. We like how sexy these black gloves look, but you can also color coordinate if you like! Pink? Blue? You decide. Most importantly, make sure you choose non-powdered (ewwww!) latex-free varieties for those with latex sensitivities. These tattoo gloves are both adorable and of medical grade – so you can frolic at will – without letting anything spoil the moment. Snap one of these on your hand and you’re ready to go!

Nitrile Black Dragon Zero Gloves, Medium, 100 count, $12.25 at Amazon

Nitrile Black Dragon Zero Gloves, Medium, 100 count, $12.25 at Amazon

The delicate art of packing… your suitcase

When packing, perhaps the single most important gift you can give yourself is that of preparation. You will need something for cavorting around town, relaxing at the beach, preening at happy hour, and nighttime reveling. In the end, while we can provide you an overview, choosing what to bring is a bit more personal. This is where we pause to ask… isn’t there an app for that?  Why, yes, my little queer darlings, yes there is. Simply head over to Packing Pro for an app that will change your life.

You can create lists for any kind of trip, however brief. Pack with confidence for your entourage, including your adorably fashionable pets using suggestions for categories ranging from accessories to staples — this app even factors in the local weather and allows you to filter by person. Aside from incorporating a mobile version of Cuddlr™, by which cuddly queers can connect, we can’t think of a single thing they’ve left out. Now that you’ve created your ultra packing list, you can relax, knowing your favorite toy shan’t languish forgotten and abandoned in your side drawer.

However, here is where the true challenge begins. No outfit, however dashing, can be salvaged once relegated to the bottom of a dusty backpack. Ptown-bound queers: welcome to the Art of Packing 101 (your bag, not your swag) Here are a few quick tips:

#1 Iron your lovely plaids and button-ups and roll them nicely into a spiffy little bundle to ensure that dashing queer shan’t be disappointed at your swanky dinner.

#2 Pop your shoes into recycled plastic bags to keep your tidy whities pristine. If you’re packing some deliciously jaunty dress shoes like these from Aldo, you’ll want to keep them fresh and scuff free. To help keep your shoes immaculate, pop a few pairs of socks/chargers/cables inside and pack them on the perimeter of your bag with the top facing in, nestled safely against your clothes.

#3 If you’re the dashing type, you likely have more products than Lady Gaga on opening night. Rather than take up valuable space with full sized products, try taking only the amount you think you might use. Champagne hoards the little round sample sized containers given free at cosmetic counters and uses them to squeeze in a dollop of their favorite product, saving precious space for crucial things without which life simply can’t go on… such as bow ties.

#4 And the most valuable tip you will ever learn: Drum roll, please…However many knickers you think you’ll need? Triple it. Trust us on this one. Having too many dandy panties in Ptown is a physical impossibility.

Which brings us to…

Sexy Underwear

Ptown hosts multiple underwear contests. So if that’s your thing, pack accordingly. All our femmes had cute lacy bras coquettishly peeking out of their dresses and whatnots. So if you’re into your boobs, you may enjoy taking the opportunity to flaunt them more than you would in hetero spaces. There is always the very real possibility that you will wind up taking your clothes off on the dance floor, so why not be prepared?

Fancy bra or bando under a blazer is a yes in Ptown. So is this:

For more masculine options, try some RodeoH’s (also great underwear! Why not?)

RodeoH Gray Boxer, $49 at Rodeoh.com

RodeoH Gray Boxer, $49 at Rodeoh.com

If galavanting around Cape Cod with your own coy peep show sounds appealing, how about showcasing a pair of these cuties?

Paul Smith Underwear - Black And Purple Boxer-Briefs, $65.00 at Paul Smith


Paul Smith Underwear – Black And Purple Boxer-Briefs, $65.00 at Paul Smith


Always have cash


Listen. LISTEN. Everywhere you go, Ptown is awash in covers and drinks, drinks, and more delicious drinks. Bringing cash allows you to slip away for a romp with your new queerling without having to wrestle your way to sign your tab, or worse: lose sight of your new paramour in a sea of queerlings as you hunt for an ATM. Bring a wad of cash safely tucked away in a secret compartment in your luggage, and then simply tuck a few notes away per adventure. An added bonus? Sticking to a budget makes over-indulging less likely, leaving you to enjoy the mornings after in style with your boo. Make sure you have some 1’s for easy tipping (especially for the GoGo dancers!)

And there you have it, precious queerlings. Brush off your wings and get ready to dip into the slightly addictive whirlpool of queer delight that is Ptown. Remember, when in doubt, be bold, be brave, be as dapper as your little queer heart desires.

Queer Girl City Guide: Orlando, Florida

Orlando is known mainly for Disney World but there are a lot of exciting happenings beyond the Magic Kingdom. I consider the city, Downtown in particular, to be very gay friendly. With a good club scene and plenty of awesome places to eat, Orlando is a fun place to visit and an even better place to call home.

The Gayborhood

Welcome to Thornton Park, the area inhabited mainly by the gays of Orlando. If you don’t fall in love with the brick streets and beautiful bungalows, you’ll fall in love with the cute cafes and shops in this area. It is located in the heart of Downtown within walking distance to Lake Eola where Pride is held every year.

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Thornton Park

Come Out with Pride

Orlando Pride is more tame than many of the other Pride parades in Florida, it is sponsored by Disney and offers a family-friendly experience. It is held around Lake Eola in the middle of Downtown. Last year it featured a petting zoo, live music, the parade, and fireworks. You can feel better about having a beer or two at Pride because the alcohol proceeds benefit the COWP fund that not only puts on Pride every year but also provides scholarships and grants to LGBT students and LGBT non-profit organizations in the area.

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How cool are the rainbow lights in Lake Eola’s Fountain? (:

Out & About: Where Are The Ladies At?

Revolution (375 S. Bumby Avenue) When I think of a Saturday night out in Orlando, I always think of Rev. It offers four different sections to hang out: the front bar where people normally dance awkwardly at first and things get a little more wild as the night progresses, the dance floor with the main performance stage, the patio bar and the theatre room that offers drag shows on Friday and Saturday nights. The music is normally really loud throughout the club on the weekends, but the patio and theatre room tend to be a little quieter if you get tired of yelling over Top 40 remixes on the dance floor. The crowd on Saturdays tends to be female-dominated and it’s worth going just to see the Les Vixens perform their burlesque/go-go dancing show at midnight. They’re open every night of the week until 2:30 AM and offer a more relaxed, bar-like environment during week nights with pool tables and nightly drink specials.

revolution

Revolution

Pulse (1912 S. Orange Avenue) This club is mainly geared towards men, but is a fun experience for the ladies as well. It’s been renovated recently and is beautiful inside, featuring ambient lighting, a waterfall, and a glittery stage. Wednesday is Gay College Night with two-dollar Long Islands and all the craziness you’d expect to come along with that drink special. Saturdays are their official night of House music and if you don’t come for the dancing, come for their amazing drag show! They’re open every night except Mondays until 2am and have awesome nightly drink and music specials that’ll get you dancing in no time.

pulse

Pulse

Ember (42 W Central Blvd) Ember is the perfect place to spend your Sunday Funday in Downtown Orlando. The venue features four bars and a beautiful patio. The bartenders are always incredibly nice and the food is delicious. The crowd tends to be mixed but is usually made up of mostly gay women. It’s a relaxed environment and allows groups of friends to come together and mingle. The party starts at four but carries on well into the night if you’re up for it! They’re open Monday through Friday from 11am until 2am and the weekends from 4pm until 2am.

ember

Ember

Parliament House (410 North Orange Blossom Trail) I won’t lie to you, I’d never visited this place before writing this but decided to take it upon myself to venture out and see what P-House is all about. I’ve heard crazy stories about both the patrons and the incredibly strong drinks and I can now assure you that both of these accusations are true and make for a fun time at this historic gay destination. The club caters to an older gay male demographic, but fun was had by all with both Top 40 and throwback hits played on their numerous dance floors. I wouldn’t say it’s the most likely place to meet the lesbonita of your dreams, but it’s definitely a good place to dance with your friends without a care in the world. Along with being a nightclub, P-House is also a resort with a pool, hotel rooms, and even it’s own private beach which means the party never ends, but my advice is to check it out on weekend nights around 11.

parliamenthouse

Parliament House

Knight Life

I grew up in Orlando and now currently attend the University of Central Florida. My college is the second largest in the country and readily embraces the diversity that comes along with having sixty thousand students. We have a thriving LGBTQ group that holds meetings every Monday night during fall and spring semesters as well as hosting many events throughout the year. If you’re too shy to meet fellow queers in real life at an Equal meeting or around campus, you can easily meet some on Equal’s Facebook page of the UCF tag on Tumblr.

knightlife

Knight Life

Good Eats

Pom Pom’s Teahouse and Sandwicheria (67 N Bumby Avenue) This little gem is conveniently located in a strip mall right down the road from Revolution, so when it’s time to give your dancing shoes a little rest, you can stumble on in for a late night bite. The menu offers a little something for everyone, but my personal favorite is the Mama Ling Ling’s Thanksgiving sandwich. If you can imagine all the goodness of Turkey day stuffed in between two pieces of freshly baked bread that you dip in gravy, you can get an idea of what this little slice of heaven is all about. However, everything I’ve tried on the menu is amazing, especially their homemade soups and kiwi pear green tea. The people that work here are some of the kindest people I’ve encountered just about anywhere, even at 3am. They’re open until 5am on Thursdays and 24 hours on Friday and Saturdays so you have plenty of time to check out Pom’s while you’re in Orlando.

pompoms

Pom Pom’s

Bananas Diner (924 N Mills Avenue) Comfort food and drag queens come together to create a perfect dining experience at this Downtown diner. They offer several drag shows during the week with an infamous Gospel Brunch every Sunday. The lovely ladies serve up your meal in between performing on stage and are as friendly as they are fierce. Come in during the week from 9am until midnight or for a late night treat during the weekend when they’re open 24 hours.

bananas

Bananas

Drunken Monkey Coffee Bar (444 North Bumby Avenue) They offer fair trade, organic coffee roasted on location in a relaxed environment with comfy couches and hightop tables. The staff is really friendly and will help you find something from their broad menu, which notably offers some yummy vegetarian and vegan options.They’re known for their Mojo Jojo and it’s amazing both hot or cold. They’re open Monday through Thursday from 7am until 10pm and Friday through Sunday from 7am until 11pm. They also feature a drive-thru if you want some delicious coffee in a hurry!

drunkenmonkey

The Drunken Monkey

Hamburger Mary’s (110 W Church Street) Hamburger Mary’s has three locations in Florida, but ours in Orlando is near and dear to my heart. With daily happy hours on cleverly-named drinks (Strawberry Tease Me, anyone?), the best burgers in Orlando and drag shows every weekend, this is a place you don’t want to miss out on! The service is friendly and fast and much like the previously mentioned Banana’s you may have a fabulous and fierce waitress taking your order. They’re open daily at 11am until 10pm.

hamburgermarys

Hamburger Mary’s

Dandelion’s Communitea Café (618 N Thornton Avenue) This is one of my favorite places to hang out in Orlando for both the atmosphere and the food. It is a cute midcentury home remodeled into a restaurant and features three rooms to dine in as well as an outside patio and lawn seating. Dandelion’s has a huge tea list and two tea specials daily but my go to favorite is the Sunshine Daydreams tea. They are also known for their amazing vegetarian and vegan food that even meat meaters go crazy for. Everything on the menu is tasty but I would suggest trying the Giddyup, their version of a taco salad with tempeh chili and delicious blue corn chips. Make sure you ask for plenty of Green goddess dressing on the side as it is not to be missed! They’re open from Monday through Saturday from 11am to 10pm and Sundays from 11am until 5pm.

dandelions

Dandelion’s

Local LGBTQ Organizations

Zebra Coalition (911 N Mills Avenue) Their motto is “supporting lives of a different stripe” and they strive to help LGBTQ youth by providing medical services, temporary housing, education, counseling and other services. I recently took a tour of the Zebra Coalition house and was immediately impressed with how warm and caring the staff was. They provide LGBTQ youths with a place to feel at home whether it’s because they need temporary housing or just a place to hang out after school to have a snack, use the computers, or access other resources.

zebracoalition

The Center (946 N Mills Avenue) This well-established LGBT community center has been around for 32 years and provides AA, NA, HIV+ and Transgender support programs as well as counseling and other social programs. They have an art gallery and free access computers with internet. Their knowledgeable staff can help you find a book in their well stocked LGBT lending library or let you know what upcoming events are going on in Orlando.

thecenter

The Center

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