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In other rural getaways, more was on the menu than lush landscapes. Kline’s provided a rural retreat for gay women where frolicking in the fields provided a much-needed reprieve from the concrete confines of city life. For lesbians, the refuge of choice was Kline’s located miles out of town on Fredericksburg Road. Queers wishing to escape the constraints and controls of the city, fled to venues far from San Antonio’s core. Although the bars were off the beaten path, some patrons took care to hide their identities as incursions by military and local police were still a periodic occurrence and exposure as a homosexual carried serious consequences such as dishonorable discharge for military personnel, estrangement from family, and loss of employment. Comradery and conviviality were freely exchanged within these cramped quarters and lasting bonds formed. Out of mainstream city life, these spaces served as a haven for those who shared same-sex affinities. The Acme bar situated just north of downtown San Antonio on Austin Street and the Top Hat located on the east side across from the city cemeteries, welcomed a queer clientele. However, these spaces did not provide total immunity from law enforcement infiltrations. Peripheral spaces removed from the city’s downtown core, somewhat insulated queers from military incursions and enabled them to build the tentative bonds of community. Military policing of queer space continued even after the war ended and the importance of San Antonio as a training hub solidified. Ironically, the military facilitated the very behaviors they sought to stamp out. Posted in barracks, off-limits lists also provided a directory of where to go if you were a gay or lesbian heading out for a night on the town. “Venereal contacts, bawdy houses, and morals,” coded language on the lists, identified hotbeds of homosexuality which were out of bounds. The Life Saver Grill and other clubs around the city came under scrutiny and landed on the off-limits list, a mechanism designed to discourage GIs and WACs from patronizing establishments deemed a threat to morality and physical health. However, such spaces were often under surveillance by military police as federal legislation, entitled the MayAct, moved to regulate activities such as prostitution and homosexuality. Sites of queer coalescence provided a respite from the rigors of military training. Within such spaces, queer men and women found community, if only temporarily. The Life Saver Grill and Keyhole Club, both on the city’s east side pulsed with jazz, racy floor shows, and a racially mixed clientele. Historian Alan Bérubé contends that, “when they could get away from military bases, they discovered and contributed to a rich gay nightlife-parties, bars, and nightclubs-that flourished in war boom cities.” A thriving night scene existed in San Antonio wherein gay men and women found niches that attracted a diverse clientele. Gay men and women joined the services in great numbers and many came to San Antonio for training. Within these spaces, queers explored homosexual identities, embraced gender fluidity, experimented with transgressive appearance, and ultimately, laid the foundation for an emerging queer community.Įarly vestiges of San Antonio’s queer community emerged during the 1940s as the city expanded to accommodate an influx of military personnel. During the 1940s through the 1970s, lesbians, gays, and trans San Antonians came together in peripheral spaces peppered throughout the city and its surrounds. This nightclub has an outdoor patio with rotating live music, making it a great spot to socialize and enjoy the weather.As we explore contemporary notions of gender, identity, and appearance, we can look to the past to ascertain how our present-day interpretations are grounded in the evolution of queer communities decades ago.
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It’s killing us that this favorite is temporarily closed, but fingers crossed it’s only for a while. We’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: in every big city in America, there’s a gay bar named Charlie’s. Photo Credit: Cheer Up Charlie’s Cheer Up Charlies You’re bound to have a great time any time you visit these gay bars and clubs in Austin, TX. Regardless of where you live, though, Austin is a great place for the LBGTQ+ community, as the city has its very own Pride parade, gay-led organizations, and plenty of gay and lesbian bars. Technically, 4th Street is where Austin gays gather the most, but East Austin is the unofficial gayborhood. When you ask someone where the gay neighborhoods are in Austin, you’ll get a response that goes something like, “No need-all of Austin is gay-friendly.” And they’re not far off.