Despite the greatest fears of right-wing homophobes, it seems that the gay agenda is failing — at least in Bushwick, that is. Despite being a highly homo-populated neighborhood (as is much of Brooklyn), it seems that there are just not enough places where one can go to explicitly avoid all those pesky straight people.
Yesterday, Bushwick Daily raised the question of whether queer people of the gayborhood need more hangout spots for themselves, or if they’d rather just be more assimilated into the predominantly straight scene. And although the answer given by James Ryder was fairly neutral and open to the possibilities of either option, I’m just gonna come out and say it: give us more gay bars!
It’s not that we don’t want to be around straight people ever. (Though breeders be warned: if we homos were going to start a separatist colony anywhere in Brooklyn, it would probably be in Bushwick because it’s so damn hard to get to anyway.) It’s just that we don’t want to be around straight people sometimes.We don’t want to hurt your straight people feelings or make you feel left out just like, oh, I don’t know, that gay kid everyone made fun of in high school. It’s just…well, you’re cramping our style.
Bushwick Daily found a few queer hangout ops in Bushwick, including a Monday night party called Bath Salts, a monthly lesbian dance party called Witches, and a pop-up performance party called – wait for it – Bushlick. But surely there must be more, right?
Queers of Bushwick: what say you? Where are all the homo hiding spots?
View Comments (6)
Most of Brooklyn is homo-populated? By most you obviously mean 1 or 2 neighborhoods. Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Flatbush, Gerretsen Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, and East New York certainly don't fall into this category of a highly homo-populated neighborhood. That's not disparaging the homo-population, it's just a fact that the majority of Brooklyn isn't highly homo-populated.
Bay Ridge has a very active gay scene. Also, believe it or not, gayness is not restricted to specific populations. There may not be a lot of gay bars in East New York, but it doesn't mean there aren't a lot of gay people.
Bed Stuy and Flatbush have some of the largest populations of gay people of color in the whole city. Please leave them out of your assumption of homo living habits. I won't get into why the rest of your comment is inaccurate.
Side note: Bed Stuy is home to Club 1073, formerly Langston's one of the only gay dance clubs in Brooklyn and only Hip-Hop, RnB, and Reggae gay club in Brooklyn if you catch my drift. Crown Heights use to be where Starlite Lounge was located, not only was Starlite one of the oldest Gay black bars in the country but also one of the oldest gay bars in the city and a major contributor to the mid-20th century gay rights movement.
Good day to you sir.
actually queer people exist everywhere, including every neighborhood you just named. but good luck continuing to pretend we don't exist, especially in neighborhoods populated by poc. that'll definitely help with visibility.
"Despite the greatest fears of right-wing homophobes, it seems that the gay agenda is failing – at least in Bushwick, that is."
No. The lack of a need for a specifically gay bar does not indicate anything approaching the ideal world of the "right-wing homophobe." Stop this nonsense, queer life in Bushwick is huge and varied but not exclusive, as many in the comments on that travesty of an article on Bushwick Daily by someone who just got to Bushwick attest. Few of us have a desire to wear rainbow rings and go to a tragic video bar to watch cut-ins of Mommy Dearest set to Abba's Mamma Mia. If you want that, do go to Chelsea and leave that shit out of my 2000s-era neighborhood. Thankssss.
There's a (bi?)monthly gay punk rock night called Enemies at the Cobra Club off the Jefferson L.