Trish Bendix, former editor of AfterEllen, an online publication about lesbian, queer and bisexual women in the media, lived in Portland from 2011 to 2014. But they are increasingly the battlegrounds over how people see themselves and how the world sees and treats them-and those views strain friendships, shutter events and start internet flame wars. The fights over language may seem academic and obscure if you're not part of them. And lesbian-owned bars that draw lesbian customers, like Escape, shun the label so as not to offend. This past summer, semi-regular parties for lesbians, like Lesbian Night at Old Town's CC Slaughters, changed their names and focus to avoid controversy and be more inclusive. In the past two years, events catering to lesbians, like the monthly meet-up Fantasy Softball League, have been targeted online as unsafe spaces for trans women and others who don't identify with feminine pronouns. The result? Announcing that a Portland party is intended exclusively for lesbians is stepping into a minefield of identity politics. “We don’t limit ourselves to this,” Elliott says. Elliott rejects masculine and feminine pronouns-as well as the label lesbian, calling it too specific. But am I a girl? And do I only like girls? No."ĭEFYING CATEGORIES: Llondyn Elliott, 19, identifies as non-binary. "It's really restricting to me to say I'm a lesbian. "I've never felt comfortable with the term lesbian," says Llondyn Elliott, 19, who identifies as non-binary. In PSU's recent survey of students and their identities, more students identified as "pansexual" than lesbian (see glossary).Īnd PSU's students are typical of their generation. This fall, Portland State University allowed students to choose from nine genders and nine sexual orientations when filling out demographic paperwork. The transgender rights movement that's gained steam in recent years has exploded the categories of gay and straight and male and female. This list details Chicago’s top venues, crews, and parties aimed at connecting with queer community, crushing a cocktail (or five), and twisting the night away.Did the lesbian bar disappear because people's identities splintered, leaving behind too few people to patronize women-only spaces? Or did it vanish because mainstream culture has evolved, turning every bar in Portland-from Sloan's Tavern to the Florida Room-into an unofficial lesbian bar?
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These organizations are going beyond designing safe spaces for queer Black folks to dance, make out, and meet-they’re creating moments that decenter the white gaze (not to mention white gays), showcasing the artistic talents and sweet joy of Chicago’s Black queer, trans, and gender non-conforming residents and curating welcoming opportunites for folks to get down free from inhibition and fear. Several of Chicago’s queer event collectives are set on partying with a purpose, especially those with Black queers at the helm.
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Much of that is thanks to the hard work of folks like the Chicago Black Drag Council and countless other queer Black nightlife prose, all backed up by those of us happily partaking in the scene. While Boystown and Andersonville continue to flourish with queer and queer-friendly businesses on every corner, since last year’s uprisings and calls for accountability in Chicago’s gay nightlife scene, things have started to (slowly) change. We have some of the most renowned drag performers, incredible queer nightlife artists of all kinds, and queer neighborhoods teeming with bars and clubs. Chicago has transformed into a true queer destination in recent years, no longer looked at as some podunk midwestern city cast in the shadow of coastal meccas like New York and Los Angeles.