Maude's Paperwing Gallery

Though the greater Pittsburgh area does have a handful of existing gay bars, Harold’s Haunt will set itself apart as the first “they-bar,” a queer space designed to feel (and be) inclusive and welcoming of everyone. While a number of Pittsburgh gay bars have made progress in this area, most traditional gay bars are overwhelmingly dominated by cisgender white gay men, both in patronage and ownership, and people who do not fit into that category often feel unwelcome–sometimes by design.

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There are countless testimonies from across the country about the discriminatory culture that surrounds gay bars and clubs. Some recent examples include:

• In response to numerous complaints and testimonies from the public, in 2017 Philadelphia’s Commission on Human Relations ordered the owners and staff of 11 area gay bars to undergo anti-discrimination training, having concluded that all of the bars “create preferable environments for white, cisgender male patrons.”

• Last August, human rights activists met in Chicago to discuss the discrimination that’s so ingrained in the city’s queer culture, the “gay neighborhood” is known locally as Boys Town. Transgender folks, women, people of color, and other members of the community spoke to the panel at length about their repeated experiences of discrimination.

• An ongoing lawsuit in New York alleges that the owners of popular club The Q intentionally and explicitly tried to make the place “comfortable for white [young gay men]” and told staff not to “alienate the white boys,” while also instructing staff to be discriminatory against anyone who didn’t fit that mold. In response, queer artist and NYC city councilmember Marti Gould Cummings stated, “The horrible reality is in so many nightlife venues inclusivity and acceptance is not the norm. I will no longer be working at these venues and I should have left a long time ago. Trans, Black, Latino, Indigenous, AAPI, Disabled, Women must be welcome in all queer spaces.”​

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The unwelcoming atmosphere of most gay bars is something that has been known within the queer community for some time, and as a result spaces for the more marginalized members of the LGBTQIA+ community are beginning to spring up nationwide. As of last month, there are numerous queer bars and cafes within the cohort Harold’s will be part of; explicitly inclusive spaces have opened up in Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, San Diego, Bloomington, Indiana, Los Angeles, and Chicago to name a few. As noted in a Bon Appetit article from June 2022, “a new generation of queer drinking and dining spaces is emerging, one that represents a critical reframing of what, exactly, makes a bar queer in the first place. Beyond catering to people of a certain sexual orientation, these spaces seek to reflect and uphold everything that a new era of queerness stands for: intention, safety, and inclusivity.”

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Harold’s Haunt will be the intentional, safe, and inclusive space the Pittsburgh community needs and deserves.