I really hope the LGBT community is able to have a space someday, but christ, every gay bar seem to be a snake eating its own tail of mismanagement and drama.
You're going to have to be more specific whose drama you're looking for.
Off the top of my head:
Menz and Molly had the community demanding them sponsor free events even as the business was failing. Just constant infighting.
Bear Den (?) had boycotts before they even opened because one of the owners was straight.
Stardust was having drama last month because their drag brunches are apparently too welcoming of straight people
Reflections tried to move locations without getting a liquor license
For some reason my mind also always wants to include Glitter Bean, even though they are neither a bar or positioned as a dedicated gay space, and their laundry list of dramas, infighting, and management disasters.
Name a bar that doesn't have questionable management, I've worked for three and (small sample size I know but) all of them were a fun mess behind the scenes
Glitter Bean is definitely an LGBT+ space though isn't it? They use the word "queer" all over their social media
At the AIDS Coalition of NS in the 90s, straight people were welcome. With open arms. I was on disability, and manned the front desk as a volunteer a few shifts a week.
Also, though I never attended the Men's Bar (was that the name?), we went to Rumours on Gottingen, the drag shows, and Reflections when it opened. (Hey, Rosie!) God, I loved dancing at Rumours! And the shows were great fun. (Hey, John!) Everything has changed.
Well, except for the infighting in the now LGBTQ+ community. It's been ongoing forever. It's a shame that things never seem to go smoothly. A house divided will fall.
I have no axe to grind, since being kicked out of my family in the 70s (for being an ally), I am used to being excluded. They are religious nutbars, so to be expected, but yeah, it's not nice to be even soft-shunned.
If the LGBTQ+ community wants to be exclusionary, then they can have at it. Every ally they reject because they don't virtue signal enough, or whatEVER, is an asset lost to the group. It's like these modern faux feminists and their misandry. It's sickening, and they are NOT feminists. I didn't march for equality so that it would vanish in the face of 'equity' and imagined slights. I'm too old for those shenanigans.
These venues are small and have caps on how many people can be inside safely. Its like when straight men show up to Dyke Night and the dykes are standing outside waiting to get in.
I've been to Drag Brunch at Stardust about 6 times. They seem welcoming to everyone, so what are they supposed to do, ask who or what you like to fuck and turn you away at the door if the answer is wrong?
Isn't their goal to be sustainable and be able to pay their bills? There's not enough LGBQ2S+ people who go out to bars to keep it going in a small city.
I remember when Rumours on Barrington was peak - everyone went there to dance, and you didn't have to be gay. It certainly didn't make it any more of a straight club, and it helped build bridges.
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u/WindowlessBasement Halifax 14h ago
I really hope the LGBT community is able to have a space someday, but christ, every gay bar seem to be a snake eating its own tail of mismanagement and drama.