LGBTQ culture in Seattle
Seattle has a notably large LGBTQ community,[1] and the city of Seattle has protected gay and lesbian workers since the passage of the Fair Employment Practice Ordinance in 1973. Seattle's LGBTQ culture has been celebrated at Seattle Pride which began in 1977 as Gay Pride Week.[2] Gay cabaret traveled in a circuit including Seattle and San Francisco since the 1930s.[3] Seattle had gay-friendly clubs and bars since the 1930s including The Casino in Underground Seattle at Pioneer Square which allowed same-sex dancing since 1930, and upstairs from it, The Double Header, in continuous operation since 1933 or 1934 until 2015, was thought to be the oldest gay bar in the United States.[4][5]
Seattle's gay shopping and recreation area is centered on Capitol Hill with rainbow-painted crosswalks, bars, bookstores and other venues.[6][7]
In 2013, Seattle overtook San Francisco as the United States city with the most households composed of gay or lesbian couples (2.6%), and was the only U.S. city with more than 1% of the households being lesbian couples.[8]
Events
[edit]
Notable LGBTQ events in Seattle include the Seattle Queer Film Festival (formerly known as the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival) and Seattle Pride. The Pride ASIA festival "draw[s] attention to the vibrant cultures that make up Seattle’s queer Asian American and Pacific Islander communities."[9] The city also hosts Trans Pride Seattle.
Media
[edit]Seattle Gay News is an LGBTQ newspaper. Waxie Moon is a documentary about the performer of the same name.
Organizations
[edit]Notable LGBTQ organizations in Seattle include Equal Rights Washington, Gay City Health Project, Gender Justice League, Pride Foundation, and Lambert House LGBTQ youth center.
The renowned Seattle Women's Chorus and Seattle Men's Chorus together are among the largest community choral organizations in North America, and stand out among the largest LGBTQ-identified choruses in the world. They are among the Pacific Northwest's most vibrant music organizations, performing for an annual audience of more than 30,000 patrons across the Puget Sound.
The Northwest Network founded by lesbians in 1987 support survivors of abuse and foster empowerment in the LGBT community.[10]
Pride Place is an upcoming housing and social service development aimed at LGBTQ senior care.[11]
Queer the Land is a cooperative housing organization that started in 2016 in Beacon Hill that provides housing for LGBTQ local residents.[12]
People
[edit]Notable drag performers from Seattle include BenDeLaCreme, Bosco, Irene Dubois, James Majesty, Jinkx Monsoon, Monikkie Shame, and Robbie Turner.
Policy
[edit]Two wellness centers housed within Seattle Public Schools provide gender affirming care. All centers follow legal state guidelines. Gender affirming care is one of many services students can receive through these health centers.[13]
Places
[edit]
Current
[edit]- CC Attle's
- Cuff Complex
- Diesel
- Howell Park
- Madison Pub
- Neighbours Nightclub
- Pony
- Pride Place
- Queer Bar
- Seattle Eagle
- The Wildrose
Defunct
[edit]- The Comeback Seattle[14][15][16]
- The Double Header
- Garden of Allah
- Manray[17][18]
- Purr Cocktail Lounge
- R Place
- Shelly's Leg
See also
[edit]- Lumber Yard Bar, an LGBTQ establishment in White Center, Washington
References
[edit]- ^ Sainsbury & Brash 2014, p. 521 "12.9% of the city's population identifies itself as gay or lesbian and there doesn't tend to be much sexual-orientation-based hostility among the rest of the population."
- ^ Schielke 2015.
- ^ Haggerty 2013.
- ^ Chrystie Hill (April 12, 2003), "Queer History in Seattle, Part 1: to 1967", HistoryLink, Seattle: History Ink
- ^ Kery Murakami (June 22, 2007), "No longer at the center of Seattle's gay scene, bar still serving outsiders", Seattle P-I
- ^ Gay Market Guide 2005.
- ^ "Seattle's Top LGBTQ Hotspots & Resources". Visit Seattle. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
- ^ Gene Balk (September 27, 2013), "Seattle overtakes San Francisco as No.1 city for gay couples", The Seattle Times
- ^ "Pride ASIA returns for 11th year to celebrate LGBTQ+ Asian, Pacific Islander identities". The Seattle Times. 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
- ^ "Who We Are". The NW Network. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
- ^ "Housing for LGBTQIA+ seniors under construction in Capitol Hill". king5.com. April 7, 2022. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
- ^ "Seattle group takes housing crisis into its own hands, buys a house for queer and transgender people of color". The Seattle Times. 2021-02-01. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
- ^ Reporter, Michelle Esteban, KOMO News (2023-07-18). "Seattle schools provide free gender affirming care through on-campus health centers". KOMO. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "The Comeback: R Place rises again". Seattle Gay News. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ "The Comeback ushers in the era of "Homo-SoDo"". Seattle Gay News. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ Baume, Matt. "Here Comes The Comeback: New Queer Bar Eyes December Opening in SoDo". The Stranger. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
- ^ "Manray". Seattle Weekly. 2006-10-09. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ^ "Daily News Gallery - 6/27/2003". seattlepi.com. 2003-06-27. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
Sources
[edit]
- Schielke, Aaron (2015), Not For Tourists Guide to Seattle 2016, Skyhorse Publishing, ISBN 9781510700253
- Haggerty, George (2013), Encyclopedia of Gay Histories and Cultures, Routledge, p. 158, ISBN 9781135585068
- Gay Market Guide, Hyperion, 2005, p. 62, ISBN 9780974895734
- Sainsbury, Brendan; Brash, Celeste (2014), Lonely Planet Seattle, Lonely Planet, ISBN 9781743218273
- Nova Wellness Center