Esquire 32 best gay bars
The 42 Best Gay Bars in America
When we gathered over Zoom to plan stories about Queer lives, Esquire’s Market Editor Alfonso Fernandez Navas said something so profound and significant that we will quote it in full:
“Can we, like, have fun?”
It is not an exaggeration to say that Alfonso’s request inspired a real and welcome move in perspective. So much of the narrative around the gender non-conforming experience is centered around trauma. Illness and alienation. The pain of finding your true self, by yourself, in a antagonistic world, and the pain of living in a world that is swinging back toward that hostility.
And it is vital to remember those things. We have to know where we’ve been.
But we also acquire to know where we are. We have to acknowledge that we survived what’s come before, and we have to observe being alive to face what’s ahead.
We simply have to celebrate.
The word “gay” speaks to our ability to execute exactly that. The original gender non-conforming spaces were founded in covert, through codes and glances, and when we were able to be ourselves with one another, there was undeniable
Queer bars have been in existence since the 17th century. They were planned to be safe spaces where our community could congregate without fear of persecution. The bars proceed to serve this function today, but in a somewhat diminished capacity as evidenced by the demand for The Lesbian Prevent Project. The last 20 years have seen astounding advancement in the US and Europe with respect to LGBTQ+ rights and visibility which has lessened the perceived need for these places, but thankfully they still exist and, in some cases, thrive. It is so vital to protect these uniquely queer spaces as venues to celebrate our customs and join together as a community.
We all contain our personal favorite bars and clubs and for some Vacationers, a thick dive into a potential destination’s nightlife scene is absolutely vital. Esquire magazine has attempted to receive some of the investigate and guesswork out of the equation for us by presenting its list of the 32 foremost gay bars in America. Several of the bars listed are based in New York City or Brooklyn, so the occupied list isn&#;t exactly a nice balance of b
Esquire Names Trade One of America&#;s Finest Gay Bars for Second Year
What makes a good same-sex attracted bar? Does it depend on the DJ or gyrate floor? Is it the strong drinks or the decor? Or maybe it depends on what cute people approach in (or who you go dwelling with at the end of the night)?
In reality, it’s not one thing. The ability to be considered a “good,” if not the best, lgbtq+ bar requires an ambiance composed of many things. And in Washington, D.C., there is no shortage of options.
Esquire magazine recently published a list of the “32 Foremost Gay Bars in America,” two of which are located in D.C. &#; Logan Circle’s Trade and Eastern Market’s As You Are. It’s Trade’s second consecutive appearance on the list.
“Trade was started with a kind of mindset of being a little more low-key, not taking ourselves too seriously, and really not trying to be all that cool,” says Ed Bailey, who, along with longtime business partner John Guggenmos, owns Trade and its sibling establishment a block and a half away, Number 9. “I think that resonates a petite bit and makes people a brief bit more at ease
Trade Makes Esquire&#;s List of &#;Best Gay Bars in America&#;
Trade, the Logan Circle-area LGBTQ bar, was recently named one of Esquire&#;s &#;32 Best Gay Bars in America.&#;
The men&#;s magazine selected 32 nightspots from various cities across the country, looking for laidback, casual bars and nightclubs where patrons enjoy an unpretentious evening of frivolity.
In its write-up of Trade, the sole bar from Washington, D.C. to produce the list, the magazine&#;s editors describe it as a &#;rare, gloriously queer dive where absolutely everyone is welcome to just kick back.&#;
The bar&#;s nightly XL Happy Hour received a shout-out, as did its regular theme nights, including RuPaul&#;s Drag Race viewing parties, and its drag cabarets.
Ed Bailey, the co-owner of Trade, said he had been informed that the bar had been chosen by Esquire for a feature on gay bars, and was asked to submit a photograph for the magazine, but was not given much more information about the feature.
Since learning from social media that the feature had been published, Bailey says he&#;s happy the brie