It's 1 p.m. on a weekday afternoon, and Tom Novakowski is doing what he's done almost every day for the past 40 years—tending bar. More specifically, he's tending a gay bar.
Away from the glare of the summer sun, IBT's on Fourth Avenue offers a dark, cool respite. Novakowski stands behind the club's bar with a cup of coffee in one hand, occasionally putting it down to pour a drink for a daytime patron, or to fold bar towels in preparation for the evening rush.
At the height of Tucson's gay-bar era—the late-1970s into the mid-'80s—there were about a dozen bars, and Novakowski recalls most of their names: the Graduate, the Venture, Sir James, Hair Tiz, the Joshua Tree/Backdoor, the Stonewall Eagle, Michael's, the Fineline, Rita's, Colette's, Venture, Lucky Pierre's and IBT's.
Today's gay-bar scene includes about a half-dozen places: IBT's, as successfully as Woody's, New Rock, Brodie's Tavern, Venture-N, and Colors.
June Thomas, author of The Gay Bar: Its Riotous Past and Uncertain Future, wrote a six-part series on the history and the future of the gay bar for Slate.com last year.
"In 2007, Entrepreneur Magazine put queer bars on its list of businesses facing exti
05-05-2008, 01:05 AM | | | 1 posts, read 10,157 times Reputation: 11 |
| hello i am moving to tucson for UA and I was wondering what the queer crowd/scene is like. is everyone gay friendly? I know there are places that are different. but is this like a small gossip town or is it accepting? love L.A. Las Vegas & NYC? are there any gay clubs/bars that anyone know of in Tucson? |
05-05-2008, 01:12 AM | | | Location: Hillsboro, OR 2,200 posts, browse 4,523,165 times Reputation: 1391 |
| Hey there,
I'm also moving to UA in fall for grad school and was wondering generally the equal thing myself. So far, I've heard a mixed bag of things, but overall the town is fairly accepting. I'm fairly sure there is a bar on 4th adjacent the university that caters to gay university students....but if anyone else wants to confirm that (and the name) feel free to do so. |
05-05-2008, 10:04 AM | | | Location: Tucson 42,831 posts, read 89,587,359 times Reputation: 2281
Where are all the lgbtq+ bars in Tucson?Tucson has always has been very accepting of all people, especially gays. One of the great benefits of acceptance is less segregation. There are some bars that are considered actual queer bars in Tucson, and the most popular is IBT's. Awesomely, is that a word? Well, I'm going to use it. Awesomely, you will discover gay, lesbian, trans and straight people all hanging out together in whatever bars or venue in Tucson. The community here is so evolved and conscious, that everyone simply hangs out with each other anywhere and everywhere. No matter gender, sexuality, ethnicity or class -- Tucsonans embrace and observe diversity to reinforce the values of love and abolish hate and negativity. One of the most active areas for male lover, lesbian, LGBT, LGBTQ and straight people to socialize is downtown all throughout the light rail district.The light rail travels to all the downtown warm spots. It goes from the Mercado through downtown on Congress St. And then from downtown, it goes up through 4th Ave and on to the U of A main gate square area. There are currently over 30 bars and clubs to explore and more and more keep popping it everywhere. It's an excit An Oscar-winning film made a historic AZ gay lock a punchline — and 'opened a conversation'Cord Jefferson, a former journalist and veteran TV writer who was born in Tucson, won an Academy Award for best-adapted screenplay earlier this year for his debut film "American Fiction" (2023), which also earned 4.5/5 stars from The Republic's film critic Bill Goodykoontz. While it's a wonderful movie, there's one line that struck a nerve with some viewers, particularly those within Tucson's Queer community. About 25 minutes into the film, the main character Thelonious "Monk" (Jeffrey Wright) has a conversation with his brother Cliff (Sterling K. Brown) in which Monk asks, "What's wrong with Tucson?" Cliff responds, "There's one gay exclude and it's full of college kids." It's something of a throwaway line, followed immediately by a joke about said college kids confusing Cliff for Tyler Perry, which is referenced again at the close of the film. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Most viewers probably forgot about the Tucson line by the end of the film. But for those who live in Tucson and are part of the city's vibrant Diverse scene, it stuck out because, joke or not, it'
 .
|
|
|