A Queerer Vision for the Future of the Lesbian Bar
For older institutions, survival necessitates a certain degree of transformation
Nestled on the corner of West 4th and West 12th streets in Manhattan’s West Village is the forest green facade of a very small, very well-known bar. Cubbyhole has been a locale central to New York City lesbian nightlife (and broader lesbian lore) since Tanya Saunders opened it in 1994.
Cubbyhole’s popularity is increasingly rare among bars of its kind; pre-Covid-19, there were only 16 lesbian bars left in the entire country. Seven months into the pandemic, it’s clear that some will survive, but less obvious what role they will play in an ever-evolving LGBTQ landscape, where queerness means something very different than it did a generation ago.
In the late 20th century and early aughts, these bars enjoyed ample success, savoring the status that comes with being, often, the lone community watering hole for queer women. Compounded with the introduction of lesbian politics into feminism in the 1970s, many became central to LGBTQ culture and nightlife. But the dawn of the internet (and, thus, the rise of online dating), coupled with the gentrification of the once-affordable neighborhoods the bars are predominantly in, has permanently changed their status. When the global pandemic…
