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LGBTQ culture in Portland, Oregon

Rainbow flag displayed in the Burnside Triangle, 2006

LGBTQ culture in Portland, Oregon is an important part of Pacific Northwest culture.

History

  • Portland vice scandal
  • Burnside Triangle
  • Jeannace June Freeman's murder of lesbian partner at Peter Skene Ogden State Scenic Viewpoint (1961)
  • "Lesbian Roommate" obscenity trial[1][2]
  • Resolution Number 31510
  • WomanShare and other lesbian land movements[3]
  • Ballot Measure 8 (1988), ruled unconstitutional in 1993
  • 1989 Hate Crimes Law
  • Tanner vs OHSU domestic partner lawsuit, 1991
  • 1992 Springfield anti-equal-rights ballot measure passes
  • 1992 statewide anti-gay Measure 9 rejected
  • 1994 statewide anti-gay Measure 13 rejected
  • 2000 statewide anti-gay Measure 9 rejected
  • 2004 gay marriages briefly take place in Multnomah County, ruled illegal 2005
  • 2004 statewide constitutional Measure 36 gay marriage ban
  • 2007 statewide anti-discrimination bill
  • 2018 The City of Portland renames a 13-block stretch of Southwest Stark Street to commemorate Harvey Milk

Events

Gay Skate at Oaks Park Roller Skating Rink, 2022

Portland's annual pride parade is primarily organized by Pride Northwest. Peacock in the Park is another annual event, running from 1987 to 2005, and, again, from 2014 to the present. The La Femme Magnifique International Pageant is an annual drag pageant. Oaks Park Roller Skating Rink has hosted Gay Skate monthly for 30 years, as of 2021.[4]

Queer Horror is an ongoing bi-monthly film festival that is shown at the Hollywood Theatre.[5] The Portland Queer Film Festival, formerly known as the Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, has been running for more than twenty years and takes place at Cinema 21.[6] The Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival screens LGBTQ documentaries.[7]

In 2011, Hands Across Hawthorne was organized in response to an attack on two men who were holding hands on the Hawthorne Bridge, with over 4,000 attendees.[8] The record-setting Drag-a-thon was held in 2023.

LGBTQ establishments and nightlife

Current

Entrances to Darcelle XV Showplace and CC Slaughters, 2012
Scandals (pictured in 2015) operates in the Stark Street space that housed Three Sisters Tavern.

Currently operating LGBTQ drinking establishments and nightclubs include: Badlands Portland (2024), CC Slaughters, Eagle Portland, Santé Bar, Scandals (1979), Silverado, and Stag PDX (2015).[9] Silverado and Stag are also strip clubs, along with Fuzzy Navels.[10][11] Back 2 Earth opened in 2023.[12][13]

Coffin Club (formerly Lovecraft Bar) has also been described as an LGBT-friendly bar. The Sports Bra, established in 2022, is an LGBTQ-owned bar focused on women's sports. Rebel Rebel is in Old Town Chinatown.[14] 2022 also saw the opening of the lesbian bar Doc Marie's.[15] Misfits Bar and Lounge has been described as a "laidback queer hangout".[10] Gay bathhouses operating in Portland include Hawks PDX (2012–present) and Steam Portland (since 2003).

The drag venue Darcelle XV Showplace was established by Darcelle XV in 1967 and continues to host shows regularly. Monthly Blow Pony dances were established in Portland by Airick Redwolf in 2007. Inferno monthly dance parties hosted by Hot Flash Productions owner/operators DJ Wildfire (Jenn Davis) and Armida Hanlon that first began in Portland in 2004 and are now held regularly in Portland and Seattle.[16][17] Portland also hosts Bearracuda dance events regularly.

The queer-owned vegan restaurant Mis Tacones was established as a pop-up restaurant in 2016 and relocated to a brick and mortar space in 2022. The queer-owned and operated Taqueria Los Puñales opened in 2020.

Former

Exterior of Embers Avenue, 2014

Defunct establishments include Crush Bar (2001–2024), Egyptian Club (1995–2010), Gail's Dirty Duck Tavern,[18] Red Cap Garage (1987–2012), Starky's, and Three Sisters Tavern (1964–2004), which also operated as a strip club. The gay bathhouse Club Portland closed in 2007. Embers Avenue, established during the 1970s,[19] and Escape Nightclub both closed in 2017.[20] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hobo's and Local Lounge closed in 2020 and 2021, respectively. In late 2021, Daniel Bund opened The Queen's Head, an English-style pub and lounge hosting drag shows and burlesque performances frequently.[21] The bar closed in 2022. Sissy Bar operated from 2022 to 2024.[22][23]

The Roxy was an LGBT-friendly diner along Southwest Harvey Milk Street. The restaurant opened in 1994 and closed in March 2022. Sullivan's Gulch Bar & Grill (formerly known as Joq's Tavern,[24][25] or simply Joq's) has also been described as an LGBT establishment. Shine Distillery and Grill, which closed in 2023, was described as a gay bar.

The City Nightclub, an all ages drug and alcohol free gay and lesbian nightclub, was established in 1983 by Lanny Swerdlow. According to author Linnea Due, it was the only all ages gay and lesbian club in the United States. An attempt by the Portland Police Bureau in 1996 to shut down the club sparked a demonstration which was covered on MTV News: Unfiltered. Ultimately, the club shut down in December of 1996.

Barbarella

Barbarella
Logo
The nightclub's exterior in 2020
Address125 Northwest 5th Avenue
LocationPortland, Oregon, United States
OpenedFebruary 14, 2019 (2019-02-14)

Located at Northwest 5th Avenue and Davis Street in Old Town Chinatown, Barbarella (sometimes Barbarella PDX) was a nightclub in a building which previously housed a "grimy" music venue called Someday Lounge, followed by the Las Vegas-inspired Fifth Avenue Lounge. The bar was part of an Austin, Texas-based chain of nightclubs. Andrew Jankowski of Willamette Week described Barbarella as "a dance club with dirt-cheap drinks, themed parties running from the '50s through the '80s and an overall vibe best described as 'a straight person's idea of a gay bar'".[26] He compared the bar to neighboring amusement arcade Ground Kontrol, but without the video games, and said, "Barbarella's aesthetic is as delightfully kitschy and low-budget as a bar named after a campy sci-fi cult classic should be."[26] Jankowski wrote:

On paper, Barbarella should be a sensation, particularly with central eastsiders who rarely deign to cross the river into the Old Town entertainment district. Sure, the lack of specialty drinks feels like a missed opportunity, and even the bartender recommended against ordering food. But with no cover charge and wells at or below $2 each, you'd imagine the place would be packed with people headed to or from the arcade bar, the gay strip club or the scores of other party spots in the neighborhood.[26]

Daily Xtra described Barbarella as a "video/dance dive bar" with dance parties, disc jockeys, and queer events in its 2019 overview of "gay Portland".[27] The venue had two dance floors and a loft. The interior featured lava lamps, pinball machines, and mid-century modern furniture. There was a painting of a topless woman on one wall, as well as two "tributes" to Jane Fonda, who starred in the 1968 science fiction film Barbarella. According to Jankowski, "The only 21st-century features are the video projections and gently rippling rainbow LED lights behind the pre-existing sheet-metal grates."[26]

Barbarella opened on February 14 (Valentine's Day), 2019,[26] and closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The venue had hosted Mac DeMarco.[28][29]

Drag

In addition to Darcelle XV, drag performers from Portland include Alexis Campbell Starr, Asia Consent, Bolivia Carmichaels, Carla Rossi, Coco Jem Holiday, Flawless Shade, James Majesty, Lulu Luscious, Mars, Nicole Onoscopi, Pepper Pepper, and Poison Waters.

Organizations

Oregon Bears representation at the Portland pride parade, 2015
Exterior of the Q Center, 2014
Portland Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence outside Starky's in 2009

LGBT rights organization Basic Rights Oregon is based in Portland. Local LGBT-oriented organizations include Cascade AIDS Project, Q Center, and Bradley Angle which offers LGBTQ domestic violence services. Others include:

Publications

LGBT publications have included Cascade Voice, Just Out, PQ Monthly, and The Eagle.[34]

See also

References

  1. ^ Whitney Strub. "Lavender, Menaced Lesbianism, Obscenity Law, and the Feminist Antipornography Movement" (PDF). Strublog.files.wordpress.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-10-13. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  2. ^ "431 F.2d 272". Law.resource.org. Archived from the original on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  3. ^ Heather Jo Burmeister. "Rural Revolution: Documenting the Lesbian Land Communities of Southern Oregon". Pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-06-25. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  4. ^ "Gay Skate at Oaks Park Roller Rink Turns 30". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2022-06-04. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  5. ^ "Queer Horror for the Holidays Delivers Nightmares Before Christmas". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2018-10-12. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  6. ^ "Portland Queer Film Festival - Portland Movie Times". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  7. ^ "Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  8. ^ "Portlanders Line Bridge to Protest Violence". The Advocate. Here Media. June 1, 2011. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  9. ^ "Portland's Best Gay Bars and Hangouts". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2018-06-27.
  10. ^ a b Jankowski, Andrew (2023-04-26). "Meet Misfits, the New 82nd Avenue Queer Bar Fighting for Its Spot in East Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  11. ^ "Portland's First Hands-On Gay Strip Club Faces Challenges in the Era of Mpox". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  12. ^ Pape, Sam. "Just in Time for Pride, Popular Portland Gay Bar Local Lounge Is Reborn as Back 2 Earth". Portland Mercury. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  13. ^ Jankowski, Andrew (2023-07-17). "Back 2 Earth Brings LGBTQ Nightlife Back to Portland's King Neighborhood". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  14. ^ Jankowski, Andrew (2022-04-19). "New Portland LGBTQ Bar Stands Proud on Old Town's Bro-iest Block". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  15. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (2022-03-31). "Portland's Only Self-Defined Lesbian Bar Will Arrive This Spring". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  16. ^ "Hot Flash kicks off 10th year with a nod to the next generation". Your #ProudQueer News Source CA+OR+WA. Archived from the original on 2017-11-28. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  17. ^ "Inferno". hotflashdances.com. Hot Flash Productions. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  18. ^ Segall, Eli (2009-12-21). "Trouble ahead for the Dirty Duck – Daily Journal of Commerce". Djcoregon.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-08-17.
  19. ^ "Thursday is the final night to dance at Embers, one of Portland's last gay dance clubs". Oregonlive.com. 30 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  20. ^ June, Sophia (February 1, 2017). "Portland's Long-Running Underage Gay Night Club The Escape Has Closed, And Can't Find a New Space". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  21. ^ "New Pub Queen's Head's Serves up British Hand Pies and Atlantic Drag". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2022-01-08. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  22. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (2021-12-14). "A New LGBTQ Bar Is Coming to Southeast Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  23. ^ "Sissy Bar, East Portland LGBTQ+ Video Lounge, Announces Closure". Willamette Week. 2024-10-14. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
  24. ^ Beck, Byron (2014-10-02). "The Top 12 Gay Clubs in Portland". GoLocalPDX. Archived from the original on 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  25. ^ Beyer, Whitney (2014-02-03). "If you're queer, go here!". Daily Vanguard. Portland State University. Archived from the original on 2017-05-10. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  26. ^ a b c d e Jankowski, Andrew (March 13, 2019). "Dance Club Barbarella Brings a Much-Needed Sense of Kitsch to Old Town". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  27. ^ "Gay Portland". Daily Xtra. Pink Triangle Press. 2019. ISSN 0829-3384. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  28. ^ "Cheap, Free, & Fun: Your 21 Best Bang for the Buck Events in Portland, May 10–16". Portland Mercury. May 8, 2019. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  29. ^ Pope, Cervanté (May 13, 2019). "A Mac DeMarco Mess". Daily Vanguard. Portland State University. Archived from the original on November 1, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  30. ^ "Lesbian dragon boat team Amazons still paddling after 20 years in water". OregonLive.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-06. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
  31. ^ "PORTLAND DYKES ON BIKES". dykesonbikespdx.org. Dykes On Bikes PDX. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  32. ^ Beck, Byron. "Bear Trap". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  33. ^ James, Evan. "The Masculine Mystique". The Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-04-03.
  34. ^ Nicola, George T. (December 2, 2014). "Periodical Print Mass Media in the Oregon LGBTQ Movement". GLAPN Northwest LGBTQ History. Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest. Archived from the original on May 8, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
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