I can’t suggest, like Thomas did, that straight people avoid gay spaces, because it appears that battle has been lost. I want to tie this all up neatly, but I don’t see an easy solution.
They declare their allegiance to queers, they make jokes based on outmoded perceptions of queer life-but most of all they make a lot of tone-deaf noise that can entirely ruin the night for a room full of queer patrons. Yes, queen, I live for your shoes! Ugh, why do gay guys have the best bodies? If you were straight, I would totally make out with you. Even with the guidance of a “gay boy,” a group of office girls can run roughshod over the nerves of a gay room with their uncomfortable pronouncements and personal comments. It’s about straight people behaving badly in gay bars, arriving in balance-tipping throngs and turning pseudo-sex clubs into silly dance halls, drag shows into disrespectful free-for-alls, and quiet lounges into scream-filled shot dispensaries. And it’s not about straight people showing up in gay bars in general. This intensifying turf war does not spring from hetero-phobia. Versed in the semiotics of gayness, she was instantly welcomed as a native. Now this is a girl in her element, I thought, as she gave a Paris-is-Burning turn and draped herself across the laps of her boys. A few weeks back, I saw a woman march into a Chelsea bar at the head of a veritable gay herd, snapping open an enormous hand-fan to the cheers of onlookers. In the past, almost every girl has brought along a homo willing to serve as her “pass” (if not a crowd of homos). But whether they functioned as pull-toys or ring-leaders, they have usually come as guests of gays who can vouch for their status as queer allies. From divas and Broadway starlets to so-called fag hags, fruit flies, and princess fairies, they have been welcomed or at least tolerated. Unlike straight men, straight women have always had a prominent place in gay bars. “Girl,” she said, “At least once a week now …” There was the group of girls that jumped the stage as I tried to perform “Dancing on my Own”-now isn’t that ironic, Alanis? There were the ladies who came screaming to defend their girlfriend as I ribbed her in the audience. The bar tends to pull in a mostly male crowd, including plenty of students from the University of Tennessee, and it's well-known for karaoke (there's a huge song catalog), drag performances, hosting the annual "Night of 1000 Dollys" Dolly Parton impersonation show, and great drink specials.As I struggled to regain control of my show, I thought, hey, haven’t I been fighting this fight a lot lately? I asked Ms.
Fridays and Saturdays are all about dancing and drag performances, and occasionally musicians perform live. People flock here for dancing, drag shows, and socializing, and it hosts a number of theme nights, including Tuesday Trivia and Karaoke and Wednesday Game Night (beer pong, flip cup, and other competitions).