LGBTQ+ Bars
Social media posts promoting LGBTQ+ bars
The LGBTQ+ community on social media often promotes gay bars for others in their community. They use hashtags such as #gaybar, #lesbianbar and #lgbtqbar to get others to find their posts, mostly popular on Instagram, with over 700,000 posts using #gaybar. TikTok does not have as many videos using these hashtags, with fewer than 5,000 posts for each hashtag.
Recently, many social media posts about gay bars have been promoting their bars, recommending bars for others to go to, highlighting the lack of these queer bars across the country and explaining their experience of straight people at these gay bars.
Recommending gay bars for LGBTQ+ community
Those who go to gay bars like to recommend these spaces for others in the community to go to. These videos often include a "Come with me" to the specific bar or bar hopping to the gay bars within the area. They explain why they recommend going to these bars.
An example of someone who does this is @mrgaytravel on Instagram. A recent video he made was in Hillcrest, San Diego, where he went to a couple of gay bars. He shared clips outside and inside these bars. He also promoted himself at the end of the video by having magnets with his Instagram handle on them. He has 12,900 followers, and his Instagram is filled with traveling around the world and stopping at gay bars and locations.
Many bars have their own TikToks and Instagram accounts to promote their establishments to others in their area. There are creative ways to do so, such as posting videos of a night at their bar with DJs, people dancing and bartenders being recorded and put in a compilation that is engaging to watch. Rich's in San Diego has done this on their Instagram to promote their bar, as well as posting about upcoming events at their bar. They don't have many captions with hashtags, but they do tag a lot of people and have combined posts with others to broaden their audience.
Gossip Grill has a TikTok and Instagram account where they follow trends and promote events occurring at their bar. On their Instagram @gossipgrill_, they made a collaborative post with @pitchafriend.sandiego on Sept. 29 to bring together queer singles at their event on Oct. 8. The video got almost 9,000 views, and they made TikToks about the event as well.
These kinds of videos help locals know about events and give them reasons to go to their bars. Many bars around the country do similar posts to promote their bars, and some don't need to because locals recommend their bars online. Many of these posts help people learn about these gay bars and they often state how there are not a lot of gay bars in the U.S.
Lack of gay bars in the U.S.
There are not a lot of LGBTQ+ bars in the country, and many social media posts mention this issue. The biggest topic trending right now is about how there are only 38 lesbian bars in the country, according to The Lesbian Bar Project, referenced in a post on TikTok by @seattlepride. The TikTok shows the Wild Rose, which is one of the longest-running lesbian bars located in Seattle. The video includes an interview with a bartender and clips showing the bar, as well as photos of the bar in the past. The account posts about pride in Seattle and the celebration of queer history.
There are more gay bars compared to lesbian bars, which is why people online feel the need to mention this. People on social media also mention how queer bars are lacking in general. These videos are informative about lesbian bars and the fact that there are not a lot left in the world. Many videos that use #lesbianbar mention this fact and make videos about the lesbian bars they go to. A recent Instagram post they did, @lesbianprojectbar, promotes their merch by having Liv Hewson, a nonbinary lesbian actor, model for them. They explain their some of their proceeds go to participating lesbian bars. They also promote their website, which tells the stories of lesbian bars around the world. They aim to inform their audience about these bars through their documentary series, where they aim to visit every lesbian bar.
A TikToker, @megteneyck, is making a series on the app where she travels and goes to every lesbian bar left in the world. This video is about Slammers, located in Ohio. She explains how this bar is a thriving lesbian bar, using voice-overs while clips of the bar are shown. She has many videos about these bars and gives information about them, such as their history. She has visited many in the U.S., as well as outside of it. Her videos on this topic often do well, with over 400 likes, one video reaching over 28,000 likes in January. These videos contain captions about the bar, as well as hashtags such as #lesbianbar, #wlwclub, #lesbian and more.
Many of these TikToks and other social media posts about gay bars and lack of them also mention the amount of straight people infiltrating these bars. Those in the community have mentioned that straight people now know about these bars, and that it has affected the community, sometimes in negative ways. Comments on videos have mentioned that they aren't sure if these bars should stay a queer space or if they should welcome straight people.
Should straight people go to gay bars?
Many TikToks and reels on Instagram using #wlw #gaybar #lesbianbar include captions that explain how, as a lesbian, they were hit on by straight men. The comment section often relates to their frustrations of being hit on by men at these gay bars. There are many videos like this. Comments also explain how this can be biphobic since there are bisexual people that go to these bars, but the creators of these videos clear it up by explaining the man was straight. An example of this is on TikTok, @iammiana posted a video about her experience of this. Her caption explained how she told the man hitting on her that she is a lesbian and he was shocked that she didn't like men at all. She had to clear up the fact that the man was straight and did not respect her sexuality.
There are posts made by all genders in the LGBTQ+ community regarding straight people being at gay bars. Occurrences where queer people are uncomfortable due to straight people at these bars lead to this conversation about whether they should be able to be there or not. Videos on TikTok joke about how there shouldn't be straight people at these bars, and some are not joking. On TikTok, @thejwoot posted a video explaining how she understands allies supporting the LGBTQ+ community, but wants to highlight the negative aspects of straight people being at these bars. She explains how straight people can go anywhere they want because they are straight. She feels that queer people should be able to have their space to feel safe, and that straight people being there could be seen as invasive. Many videos mention this and spark conversations about their opinions on this topic.
Videos and comments about the subject can be seen from the opposing side, explaining how straight people going to gay bars with friends in the community has a positive impact. They also stress the importance of being respectful and knowing that this is supposed to be a safe space for others. Most queer TikTokers often do not want straight men there, but find straight women to be true allies and keep the space safe. In a TikTok video by @jacobgalapagos, he discusses how he supports straight women being allies at the gay bars. This video had over 19,000 likes and 200 comments. The comment section sparked a conversation about bisexual women feeling as though they are "taking up space" due to not always looking outwardly gay. People explained in the comment section their fears of being viewed as straight and feeling as though they are not welcome, even though they are in the LGBTQ+ community.
Conclusion
Overall, there are a lot of social media posts about LGBTQ+ bars, but not a lot of recently trending videos on this subject. Many people post about the regular bars they go to, which promotes them to others. When searching for the safety of these gay bars and hashtags such as #queerbarsafety, #gaybarsafety, etc., there were not a lot of videos. The posts that did use these hashtags were over a year old. Another reason why there are not as many recent videos on this topic could be due to TikTok limiting the number of hashtags to five per video. This limits the broader audience that other posts were able to get by using more hashtags. In these social media posts, people recommended gay bars, but did not explain the safety risks when at these bars. There was a lack of recent negative stories that have gone viral, so there is a need for more information about how these bars are not always safe. Though the subject of not feeling safe has been touched upon, these videos did not get a lot of views compared to videos in the past about this issue.
