Manhunting Just Got a Little Harder

COVID-19 Claims Yet Another Niche

“The American Gay Bar is Down, But Don’t Count it Out Just Yet” — Bloomberg, June 28, 2019

Most every time I walk into a gay bar, I am overcome with a feeling of exhilaration. Especially when alone, I’m slightly nervous until I’ve had that first shot of social lubrication. The sounds are often loud, making it difficult to converse. Maybe this is to force you to be closer to one another?

Close your eyes and take in the aroma of leather and cologne. The dance bars would be fluid with pulsating music, bodies, and sweat. Years ago when you could smoke in bars that might’ve been all you smelled—and the next morning! The bars were like a candy store for gay men.

Spontaneity was the point — that moment when eyes meet eyes across the bar. If the stare lasted more than a few seconds, that was your first clue. Who’s going to make the first move?

If you got lucky you’d leave with a guy. After all, that was often the point. The second best thing? Coming home with a bunch of phone numbers on wadded-up pieces of paper, hoping you could make out their writing!

Sometimes the bars were just a place where you’d meet up with your friends. These were “our” bars, and that’s where a sense of community was established.