In Washington, D.C., LGBT culture is heavily influenced by the U.S. federal government and the many nonprofit organizations headquartered in the city.
In Washington, D.C., LGBT culture is heavily influenced by the U.S. federal government and the many nonprofit organizations headquartered in the city.
From 2015 to 2016, Gallup polling reported that 8.6% of District of Columbia residents identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT), a higher percentage than any U.S. state. [1]
There are an estimated 209,000 LGBT people living in the broader Washington metropolitan area, making up 4.5% of the population. [2] The Census Bureau reported that there were 6,935 same-sex households in Washington, D.C., in 2018, of which 61% were same-sex spouses. [3] In 2017, 2.9% of all households were same-sex couple households. 77.4% of these households were male couples. [4]
Starting in 1950, in parallel to McCarthyism, the "Lavender Scare" resulted in the firing of thousands of government employees and contractors who were believed to be gay or lesbian, on the grounds of a tenuous perceived connection between homosexuality and espionage. Washington, D.C. vice squad lieutenant Roy Blick asserted to the Senate without evidence that there were 5,000 homosexual government employees. In 1961, following the Lavender Scare, Frank Kameny and Jack Nichols founded the Washington chapter of the Mattachine Society, adapting tactics learned from the civil rights movement and organizing pickets at the White House, Pentagon, and State Department. [5]
In 1970, activists from the civil rights movement, antiwar movement, and Black Panthers created the Gay Liberation Front-DC. The group staged public demonstrations and helped organize Washington's first gay pride in May 1972. The festival took place in Lafayette Park and at George Washington University and featured a dance, a drag show, and a religious celebration.
In 1971, Kameny ran unsuccessfully in the 1971 District of Columbia's at-large congressional district special election.
The Furies Collective, a lesbian feminist collective whose members included Rita Mae Brown and Joan E. Biren, pressured the National Organization for Women to accept lesbians in the early 1970s.
A former member of the Gay Liberation Front-DC, Deacon Maccubbin, opened Lambda Rising in 1974. The now-defunct bookstore was one of the United States' largest gay bookstores and provided a space for other community groups. Maccubbin organized the first official DC gay pride in 1975.
In 1979, students at Howard University created the Lambda Student Alliance, the first organization for LGBT students created at a historically black college or university. In October the same year, the National Third World Lesbian and Gay Conference took place at an unknown hotel near the university, coinciding with the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
In 1982, James Tinney created Faith Temple to cater to LGBT Christians. [6] [7]
The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C., on October 11, 1987.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt, originally created by Cleve Jones in response to the assassination of Harvey Milk was displayed on the National Mall in 1987. [8]
The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation in 1993 generated widespread attention and included a performance by Melissa Etheridge. The 1993 march was organized by Urvashi Vaid, the president of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. According to Joan E. Biren, this was the first time Jumbotrons were set up on the National Mall aside from government-organized events. [8]
The Millennium March on Washington was an event to raise awareness and visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and issues of LGBT rights in the US, it was held April 28 through April 30, 2000.
The National Equality March was a national political rally that occurred October 11, 2009 in Washington, D.C.
In 2015, following the U.S. Supreme Court rulings that states must recognize same-sex marriages, the White House was lit in with the colors of the Pride flag. [9]
In 2017, protesters with No Justice No Pride blocked the Capital Pride Parade near 15th Street NW and P Street NW. The group opposed Capital Pride's corporate sponsorship and cooperation with police, and accused the event of marginalizing minorities. The parade was re-routed onto 16th Street NW and towards Rhode Island Avenue, while Police allowed the group to continue protesting with no arrests. [10]
The National Pride March took place on June 11, 2017 alongside Capital Pride. Marchers walked past the White House towards the U.S. Capitol. [11]
Washington is home to a number of gay villages, most of them located in Northwest D.C.
The Dupont Circle neighborhood is a historical hub of LGBT life in Washington D.C. The area hosts several LGBT events, including the 17th Street High Heel Race and the Capital Pride Parade. The neighborhood also has several gay bars, including JR's. [12]
In the 21st century, the center of gay nightlife in the city has largely shifted from DuPont Circle to Logan Circle. A large number of gay bars, such as Number Nine, Trade, Little Gay Pub, have grouped particularly along 14th Street NW and P Street.
The U Street Corridor has also hosts a large number of gay bars in the 21st century, such as Kiki, Dirty Goose, Nellies, Licht Cafe, Shakers, and Bunker.
Adams Morgan has also become one of the hubs of LGBT culture in Washington, D.C., including one of the few Lesbian bars left in the United States, A League of Her Own. [13]
The neighborhood around 8th Street Southeast was the location of many LGBT establishments from the 1960s through the 1980s and became known as "The Gay Way." Following riots in 1968, 8th Street became a hub for LGBT culture, including lesbian bars Phase 1, Jo-Anna's, and Club Madame. As the area gentrified in the 2000s, many LGBT establishments closed. [14]
Many LGBT nonprofit organizations have headquarters in Washington, D.C., including:
Additionally, a number of local organizations provide services to the LGBT community in the Washington metropolitan area, including:
The first Capital Pride Parade was held in 1975, following a small event festival in May 1972. [8]
The 17th Street High Heel Race, drag queen sprint, takes place annually in Dupont Circle on the Tuesday before Halloween. [17]
D.C. Black Pride includes a week of events, and was noted as the first Black Pride event in the U.S. [16]
The Washington Blade is the oldest LGBT newspaper in the United States, with its first issue published in 1969 and its first newsprint edition published in 1974. [18] The American radical feminist periodical off our backs was first published in 1970, and ran until 2008. [19] Blacklight, a periodical for black lesbians and gay men was first published in 1979. [20] Metro Weekly has been published since 1994.
Many gay bars are located throughout Washington, D.C., with notable locations including JR's, Number 9, Nellie's Sports Bar, and The Fireplace. [12] [16]
Nob Hill opened in 1957, and was one of the first African-American gay bars in the United States. [21]
Located in a former Tropical Oil Company warehouse within the industrial neighborhood of Buzzard Point, Pier 9 was a gay disco open from 1970 through the early 1980s. In 2001, another gay club, Ziegfeld's/Secrets, opened in the building. [22] Ziegfeld's/Secrets had opened in 1980 in another location on O Street S.E. but was forced to move due to the construction of Nationals Park. The club closed in March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the building was demolished as part of the redevelopment of Buzzard Point. [23]
Operating from 1971 to January 2016, Phase 1 had been the longest continuously running lesbian bar in the country. [14] The bar's second location, Phase 1 Dupont, was open from 2012 to 2014. [24]
The LGBT bookstore Lambda Rising operated from 1974 to 2010. [7]
Ray Melrose opened the Enik Alley Coffeehouse in 1982. The coffeehouse served as a meeting space for LGBT people of color, particularly black lesbians.
Delta Elite Social Club in the Brookland neighborhood catered to black LGBTQ people until it closed in 2014. [24]
Lace on the Avenue, a nightclub for LBTQ women of color was open from 2008 to 2014. [24]
The LGBTQ community is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning individuals united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality. LGBTQ activists and sociologists see LGBTQ community-building as a counterweight to heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexualism, and conformist pressures that exist in the larger society. The term pride or sometimes gay pride expresses the LGBTQ community's identity and collective strength; pride parades provide both a prime example of the use and a demonstration of the general meaning of the term. The LGBTQ community is diverse in political affiliation. Not all people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender consider themselves part of the LGBTQ community.
LGBTQ culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture, LGBT culture, and LGBTQIA culture, while the term gay culture may be used to mean either "LGBT culture" or homosexual culture specifically.
Over the course of its history, the LGBTQ community has adopted certain symbols for self-identification to demonstrate unity, pride, shared values, and allegiance to one another. These symbols communicate ideas, concepts, and identity both within their communities and to mainstream culture. The two symbols most recognized internationally are the pink triangle and the rainbow flag.
Capital Pride is an annual LGBT pride festival held in early June each year in Washington, D.C. It was founded as Gay Pride Day, a one-day block party and street festival, in 1975. In 1980 the P Street Festival Committee formed to take over planning. It changed its name to Gay and Lesbian Pride Day in 1981. In 1991, the event moved to the week prior to Father's Day. Financial difficulties led a new organization, One In Ten, to take over planning of the festival. Whitman-Walker Clinic (WWC) joined One In Ten as co-sponsor of the event in 1997, at which time the event's name was changed to Capital Pride. Whitman-Walker became the sole sponsor in 2000. But the healthcare organization came under significant financial pressures, and in 2008 turned over producing duties to a new organization, Capital Pride Alliance.
Atlanta Pride, also colloquially called the Atlanta Gay Pride Festival, is a week-long annual lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBTQ) pride festival held in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1971, it is one of the oldest and largest pride festivals in the United States. According to the Atlanta Pride Committee, as of 2017, attendance had continually grown to around 300,000. Originally held in June, Atlanta Pride has been held in October every year since 2008, typically on a weekend closest to National Coming Out Day.
LGBTQ history in the United States spans the contributions and struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, as well as the LGBTQ social movements they have built.
Boston is a hub of LGBT culture and LGBT activism in the United States, with a rich history dating back to the election of the nation's first openly gay state representative, Elaine Noble, in 1974. The city is home to notable organizations like GLAD and Fenway Health, and it played a pivotal role in the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. Various neighborhoods, including the South End, are known for their sizable LGBT populations, while numerous LGBT bars and entertainment venues offer spaces for community gatherings. Boston hosts an annual Pride Parade, and despite challenges, it continues to be a prominent event. Noteworthy organizations like The Welcoming Committee and the Boston Gay Men's Chorus contribute to the city's vibrant LGBT community, while The History Project preserves its rich history through an extensive LGBTQ archive.
The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) community in San Francisco is one of the largest and most prominent LGBT communities in the United States, and is one of the most important in the history of American LGBT rights and activism alongside New York City. The city itself has been described as "the original 'gay-friendly city'". LGBT culture is also active within companies that are based in Silicon Valley, which is located within the southern San Francisco Bay Area.
New York City has been described as the gay capital of the world and the central node of the LGBTQ+ sociopolitical ecosystem, and is home to one of the world's largest and most prominent LGBTQ+ populations. Brian Silverman, the author of Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day, wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most powerful LGBT communities", and "Gay and lesbian culture is as much a part of New York's basic identity as yellow cabs, high-rise buildings, and Broadway theatre". LGBT travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs". LGBTQ advocate and entertainer Madonna stated metaphorically, "Anyways, not only is New York City the best place in the world because of the queer people here. Let me tell you something, if you can make it here, then you must be queer."
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of Asian and Pacific Islander ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally-specific identities. This timeline includes events both in Asia and the Pacific Islands and in the global Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora, as the histories are very deeply linked. Please note: this is a very incomplete timeline, notably lacking LGBTQ-specific items from the 1800s to 1970s, and should not be used as a research resource until additional material is added.
Twin Cities Pride, sometimes Twin Cities LGBT Pride, is an American nonprofit organization in Minnesota that hosts an annual celebration each June that focuses on the LGBT community. The celebration features a pride parade which draws crowds of nearly 600,000 people. The parade was designated the Ashley Rukes GLBT Pride Parade in honor of the late former parade organizer and transgender LGBT rights activist. Other Twin Cities Pride events include a festival in Loring Park and a block party spanning multiple days.
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of African ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally specific identities. This timeline includes events both in Africa, the Americas and Europe and in the global African diaspora, as the histories are very deeply linked.
LGBT culture in St. Louis is characterized by a long history of progressive activism as well as racial divisions and the city/county divide. St. Louis city is relatively liberal with multiple gayborhoods and several LGBT organizations. In 2019, Realtor.com dubbed St. Louis the 8th most LGBT-friendly city. Due to hostile legislation at the state level, however, it has become common for LGBT residents to relocate to Illinois for better protections and healthcare access.
LGBT culture in Baltimore, Maryland is an important part of the culture of Baltimore, as well as being a focal point for the wider LGBT community in the Baltimore metropolitan area. Mount Vernon, known as Baltimore's gay village, is the central hub of the city's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities.
The National LGBTQ Wall of Honor is a memorial wall in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, dedicated to LGBTQ "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes". Located inside the Stonewall Inn, the wall is part of the Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the country's LGBTQ rights and history. The first fifty inductees were unveiled June 27, 2019, as a part of events marking the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. Five honorees are added annually.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted inequities experienced by marginalized populations, and has had a significant impact on the LGBT community. Gay pride events were cancelled or postponed worldwide. More than 220 gay pride celebrations around the world were canceled or postponed in 2020, and in response a Global Pride event was hosted online. LGBTQ+ people also tend to be more likely to have pre-existing health conditions, such as asthma, HIV/AIDS, cancer, or obesity, that would worsen their chances of survival if they became infected with COVID-19. They are also more likely to smoke.
Annie Kaylor was an American restaurateur known for running Annie's Paramount Steakhouse and for her support of the LGBT community in Washington, D.C.
Annie's Paramount Steakhouse, also known as Annie's, is a restaurant in Washington, D.C., known for its role in the city's LGBT culture.