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Yet just as important is the need for those with ownership of these spaces to reflect on how to foster inclusivity - particularly for those who were shut out previously. “Don’t assume you can’t lose your rights.”įriends Michelle Lapacek, left, and Meagan Bura share a hug July 9, 2021, outside Nobody's Darling. “Don’t ever take our rights for granted,” Summit said. The ones that remain are not just important for socializing and having a good time, but are crucial in helping the community mobilize when it’s being attacked.
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“I could feel the history in those walls, the sadness in experience that gave them this outlet and led to having special places for women to feel safe.”
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“There were women going to these bars for decades, and it was an honor to be around multiple generations at the bars,” Baim said. Renowned lesbian bars like Paris Dance and The Closet hosted blood drives and benefits during a time when many “were afraid to go and share glassware and be around people” at the height of the AIDS crisis, Baim said. Gay bars in some of their earliest days were where activists came together to mobilize, from fighting for marriage equality in more recent years to Summit’s “Gay $” project that combated AIDS discrimination by marking paper money to demonstrate the purchasing power of the queer community.
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At Diva Royale, you’ll be treated like royalty in the presence of these drag queens.įind what really matters in Chicago with the UrbanMatter app! To download or see reviews from our users, head here.“We need these spaces because they’re often the entry point for people first coming out, and a place where travelers can visit and know they’re welcome,” said Tracy Baim, an LGBTQ advocate, publisher of the Chicago Reader and founder of the Windy City Times, the leading Chicago LGBTQ publication for over three decades. You can sit down and enjoy a meal while you watch Chicago’s best celebrity impersonators put on a show-stopping performance right in front of you. May the best queen win!ĭiva Royale Photo Credit: Diva Royale Facebook We couldn’t possibly leave out one of Chicago’s oldest gay bars, especially since it’s home to Roscoe’s Drag Race, a weekly amateur drag competition where queens can dress to impress and perform their very best to truly earn their diva status. Or, get to Hamburger Mary’s at noon for a drag queen-themed brunch with bottomless mimosas! Get your best friends together, chug a beer for bravery, and belt it out loud and proud like nobody’s watching in Mary’s Attic.
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If you’re a fearless queen, you can join your fellow divas at MaryOke-karaoke night in the upstairs dance floor at Hamburger Mary’s diner. Mary’s Attic Photo Credit: Hamburger Mary’s Facebook You can even get down and dirty at your own private party by renting out this rad space for all of your friends. With unique themes like Honeys on Halsted and Ruffy’s Lipstick and Mascara happening on a weekly basis, you can’t pick a bad night to visit this popular gay bar. Thanks to their special $10 bottles of champagne and drag shows starting at 5 p.m., there’s really no reason not to day-drink with these divas. after you’ve rolled out of bed with a massive hangover) and cleanse yourself of sleepiness with a good old-fashioned mimosa. Get to the Scarlet Bar early on Sunday (and by early, I mean 11 a.m. Scarlet Bar Photo Credit: Scarlet Bar Facebook
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This massive, drag-friendly bar puts on the biggest shows of the year almost every single night, so grab your lipstick and mascara and join these ladies on the dance floor! If you’re a Northside native, you are sure to have found your way into Berlin at least once every summer, if not because you were drawn to the bumping music and flashing lights from the outside.