The Eagle is a name used by multiple gay bars. It is not a franchise or chain of gay bars, but rather a name adopted by bars inspired by The Eagle's Nest, a leather bar in New York City. Bars that use the name "Eagle" typically cater to a clientele of gay men in leather and other kink subcultures. As of 2017, over 30 gay bars in locations around the world operate under the name "Eagle".
The first gay bar to operate under the name "The Eagle" was The Eagle's Nest (now named Eagle NYC), located in New York City. [1] The bar originally operated as a longshoreman's tavern that opened in 1931 under the name Eagle Open Kitchen. [2] Prompted by the Stonewall riots in 1969 and subsequent growth of the city's gay culture, the tavern's owners converted the establishment into a gay bar in 1970. [1] The Eagle's Nest became a popular gathering point for the city's gay leather subculture, biker groups, and sports clubs, and subsequently inspired the creation of similarly named gay bars across the United States and internationally. [1]
Gay bars that use the name "Eagle" operate as independent businesses, and are not managed by a single corporate entity in the manner of a franchise or chain store. [1] Rather, Eagle bars typically share the common trait of catering to a clientele of masculine-presenting gay men, with specific emphasis on the kink and leather subcultures. [1] The diffuse nature of the ownership of the name "Eagle" resulted in a conflict in 2007 between two gay bar owners in Portland, Oregon who both sought to use the name for their respective bars. [3]
Not all Eagle bars conform to these characteristics; for example, Eagle London began as a leather bar before shifting towards a general LGBT clientele, [4] while Eagle Tokyo bills itself as a "Brooklyn-style" bar targeted towards bears. [5] Some Eagle locations historically enforced strict dress codes obligating patrons to wear leather garments, though NBC News reported in 2017 that these standards have largely been relaxed due to "both societal changes and business realities". [1]
At their peak of popularity, over 50 bars around the world operated under the name "Eagle". As of 2017, there are over 30 Eagle bars, in countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, Japan, and New Zealand. [1]
Many Eagle bars hold (or held) annual leather competitions, some of which serve as feeder competitions for larger regional or international competitions such as International Mr. Leather. [6] [7] [8]
In gay culture, a bear is a man who is fat, hairy, or both.
Leather subculture denotes practices and styles of dress organized around sexual activities that involve leather garments, such as leather jackets, vests, boots, chaps, harnesses, or other items. Wearing leather garments is one way that participants in this culture self-consciously distinguish themselves from mainstream sexual cultures. Many participants associate leather culture with BDSM practices and its many subcultures. For some, black leather clothing is an erotic fashion that expresses heightened masculinity or the appropriation of sexual power; love of motorcycles, motorcycle clubs and independence; and/or engagement in sexual kink or leather fetishism.
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ+) clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBTQ+ communities.
The leather pride flag is a symbol of leather subculture as well as kink and fetish subcultures more broadly, including BDSM. The flag was designed by Tony DeBlase in 1989.
The Leather Archives & Museum (LA&M) is a community archives, library, and museum located in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Chuck Renslow and Tony DeBlase in 1991, its mission is making “leather, kink, BDSM, and fetish accessible through research, preservation, education and community engagement." Renslow and DeBlase founded the museum in response to the AIDS crisis, during which the leather and fetish communities' history and belongings were frequently lost or intentionally suppressed and discarded.
International Mr. Leather(IML) is a multi-day conference and competition celebrating the leather, kink, fetish, and BDSM communities. Established in 1979, IML is held annually in Chicago over Memorial Day weekend, drawing thousands of contestants and spectators from around the world. As of 2024, over 2,100 contestants from 27 countries have competed.
Drummer is an American magazine which focuses on "leathersex, leatherwear, leather and rubber gear, S&M, bondage and discipline, erotic styles and techniques." The magazine was launched in 1975 and ceased publication in April 1999 with issue 214, but was relaunched 20 years later by new publisher Jack MacCullum with editor Mike Miksche.
LGBTQ culture in Portland, Oregon is an important part of Pacific Northwest culture.
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.
Eagle Houston, also known as The Eagle, is a gay bar in Montrose, Houston, Texas. It is one of many unaffiliated gay bars in dozens of different cities using the "Eagle" name, and caters to the leather and bear subcultures. It sponsors the Mr. Texas Eagle leather competition.
The Stud is a gay bar currently located on 1123 Folsom Street in San Francisco.
Charles "Chuck" Renslow was an American businessman, known for pioneering homoerotic male photography in the mid-20th-century US, and establishing many landmarks of late-20th-century gay culture and leather culture, especially in the Chicago area. His accomplishments included the cofounding with Tony DeBlase of the Leather Archives and Museum, the co-founding with Dom Orejudos of the Gold Coast bar, Man's Country bathhouse, and the International Mr. Leather competition, and the founding by himself alone of Chicago's August White Party, and the magazines Triumph, Rawhide, and Mars. He was a romantic partner of Dom Orejudos as well as Chuck Arnett, Samuel Steward, David Grooms, and Ron Ehemann.
A lesbian bar is a drinking establishment that caters exclusively or predominantly to lesbian women. While often conflated, the lesbian bar has a history distinct from that of the gay bar.
Le Stud, or Bar Le Stud, is a gay bar in Montreal's Gay Village, in Quebec, Canada. Established in 1996, the bar caters to bears and the leather subculture. The business has since been criticized for not allowing women in the past, but no longer has such a policy following a discrimination complaint that was filed in 2007.
Black Eagle is a gay bar in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It attracts "leather and jeans" clientele, and screens pornography. The venue has theme nights, "draws a devoted crowd of 20-40 something men", and caters to the bear and leather subcultures.
Seattle Eagle, or The Eagle, is a gay bar in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, in the U.S. state of Washington.
San Francisco Eagle is a gay bar in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, in the U.S. state of California. The bar caters to the bear community and the leather subculture. Lex Montiel is one of the bar's owners, as of 2018.
Lumber Yard Bar is a gay bar in White Center, in the U.S. state of Washington. Nathan Adams and Michale Farrar opened the bar in 2018. The business relocated in 2021, the result of arson.
Detroit Eagle is a nightclub and entertainment complex in Detroit, Michigan. It is part of a larger network of The Eagle (bar), which have a common theme and cater primarily to the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the Leather subculture and BDSM subculture.
Gold Coast was a leather bar for gay men in Chicago that operated from 1960 to 1988. It was one of the first bars created by and for the gay leather community in the United States. For most of its 28 year history, between 1967 and 1984, the bar was located at 501 North Clark Street adjacent to Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood. This was also the period of its legendary basement, called The Pit. It was one of several gay businesses owned and operated by Chuck Renslow. The bar's founding led to the establishment of other gay businesses nearby, creating a kind of "gay district" in the area.
