Guerrilla Gay Bar

July 23, 2007

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A Los Angeles group called the Guerrilla Gay Bar is making a splash in social circles around the LA area by crashing traditionally straight hang out spots and turning them queer … at least for a night.

The New York Times has the article that details the origins of the insurgency (it first surfaced in San Francisco in 2000) and its mission. Guerrilla Gay Bar is not so much about making a political statement as it is opening up some more options in the gay Los Angeles social scene. The club and bar circuit scene in West Hollywood has become so synonymous with gay nightlife that the “ghettoized” scene has become old hat for many long time denizens.

In reaction to that, Guerrillas aims at exposing gays to other social situations mainly frequented by straight people but, by making an event out of it, there is a group dynamic at play, which makes it a more comfortable situation for those who attend.

“There’s a place for gay bars, but we feel gay people have become so segregated that some of them don’t go out into the wider community anymore,” said organizer Matthew Poe. “We want to suggest that the world is bigger than West Hollywood.”

The groups show up en masse at a straight destination, once a month. Past locales have been the Saddle Ranch restaurant on Sunset Strip, Brennan’s Pub in Marina Del Rey and, most recently, Venice Beach.

The LA Guerrillas have been at it for about a year now and continue to expand their selection of destination spots, with some members considering meeting up at parks, hiking trails and churches in the future.

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