Indeed, Time magazine called “USA Confidential” a “slapdash gutter-side view of America.” But some downtown bars were definitely friendly to gay sailors. The book’s hysterical tone suggest it’s not a reliable source of information. This bar, named a hot nightspot by Billboard magazine in the 1940s, supposedly served up waiters who’d “sit at the bar, solicit drinks, kiss and pet customers.” “USA Confidential” claims there were dozens of gay bars in the city, “packed every night.” The authors point to one in particular: Cinnabar in the Gaslamp Quarter near Broadway. There they could serve sailors, office workers and travelers coming in on the train or bus. The first gay bars in the city set up shop in downtown, not Hillcrest.
#FIRST GAY PRIDE SAN DIEGO SERIES#
But gays and lesbians in mid-century San Diego did find plenty to celebrate - and plenty to fear.Īs the annual LGBT pride parade and festival approach this weekend, here are five surprising facts about San Diego’s gay world before the Stonewall uprising, the series of New York City protests in 1969 that birthed the modern fight for LGBT rights.
#FIRST GAY PRIDE SAN DIEGO FULL#
How bad was it? Well, local sailors cast women aside and turned to “fairy dives” full of “prancing misfits in peekaboo blouses, with marcelled hair and rouged faces.” “The fairy fleet has landed and taken over the nation’s most important naval base,” they warned, adding that “what we saw in San Diego frightened us.” San Diego, a Navy town on the rise, sent their gaydar into overdrive.
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In 1952, the authors of an overheated bestseller called “USA Confidential” promised to blow the lid off the nation’s depraved triumvirate of Communists, labor unions and gays. The PROUD+ exhibit runs July 3-30, with preview nights on July 1 and an artist reception on July 17.SD Confidential: Inside a Lost Gay Past of ‘Fairy Dives,’ Raids and a Fallen Admiral | Voice of San Diego Close To honor Pride Month in San Diego, they are hosting PROUD+, the fourth edition of national LGBTQ+ artists, presenting contemporary works celebrating diversity and featuring guest artist Tom Acevedo.
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The current exhibit, HYPE!, celebrates street art with more than 25 artists’ works and runs through June 26. The Studio Door is a Nicky Award-winning art gallery in Hillcrest that includes a 4,300-square foot gallery space, 16 working artist studios, and a small museum store featuring invitation-only, locally created art works, such as jewelry, scarves, ceramics, glass and art books. The Diversionary Theatre is the third-oldest LBGTQ+ theatre in the country and continues to host online events, this month featuring And We Danced, part of the SAY IT LOUD FEST. We can all thank the artists, musicians, and actors who took to the internet and streaming services for helping us all cope with the boredom, isolation, and loneliness of the pandemic lockdowns.
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And while last year COVID-19 forced the cancellation of live Pride events worldwide, it’s a new year and we’re ready for Pride 2021! Here are some of our favorite ways to celebrate and support San Diego’s queer community this month, and all year long: San Diego LGBT Community Center
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San Diego’s Pride movement began in 1970, just months after the historic Stonewall Uprising, when LGBTQ+ students at San Diego State College organized to form the Gay Liberation Front, which later that year hosted a “Gay-In” in Presido Park, likely the first Pride event in San Diego history. This year’s event, appropriately themed “Resilient”, takes place July 10-18, and will have a virtual parade, as well as live events. June is Pride Month, but here in San Diego, we celebrate Pride twice-this month along with the rest of the world, and again in July, when we have another week of festivities hosted by San Diego Pride. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from 2020, it’s that Pride cannot, and will never be, canceled.