Guerrilla Gay Bar Phoenix brings diversity to bars

At a Guerrilla Queer Bar event in Boston. (Credit: Circuitree via Flickr)

The patrons at Fat Tuesday on Tempe's Mill Avenue didn't know it as they ordered their specialty frozen daiquiris and shouted over the dance mixes from DJ Breez on Saturday night, but a silent social movement was taking place around them.

Among the predominately straight crowd at the Mardi Gras-themed bar, about 15 members of Phoenix's Guerrilla Gay Bar group congregated for its third “straight-bar takeover.”

The first “takeover” in April drew about 100 supporters at Shady's and the second in May drew a handful to Seamus McCaffrey's Irish Pub, both in Phoenix.

“Homosexuals are everywhere in everyday life, and we just want that to be reflected in the bar and club scene as well,” said Glendale's Tim Hazelton, 29.

Since starting in San Francisco in 2000, Guerrilla Gay Bar events have taken place across the country as members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community stage friendly activist nights, descending without warning on typically “straight” bars to hang out with regulars.

Now the movement has gone mainstream, from Detroit to Dallas to Denver, encouraging gays and straights, who might not otherwise, to mingle in new places.

On the first Saturday of the month in Phoenix, the motto is “Activism with a twist.” Elsewhere, patrons might hear the chant “We're here. We're queer. Give us a beer.”

Phoenix chapter organizers Dann Dykas and Meg Sneed chose Fat Tuesday because it's not known for its homosexual clientele and Mill Avenue is one of the few Valley nightlife districts without a gay bar or club.

Dykas and Sneed are board members of H.E.R.O. (Human Equal Rights Organizers), a Valley-based group dedicated to equality, with particular emphasis on ending discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender. The two wanted to organize members of the GLBT community beyond the traditional marches and rallies, instead congregating around something its members already enjoy—drinking.

“Not all activism has to be marches and protests,” Dykas said. “We need to get creative, and there is no reason we can't have fun doing it. It is a way for our community to step out of our self-segregated boundaries.”

Although the group is based on social activism, most of the patrons at Fat Tuesday did not notice anything different. A few bouncers said they saw more gay guests than usual, but didn't think anything of it.

“We aren't out to make people feel uncomfortable” said Sneed, 26, of Phoenix. “The most many of us do to make our presence known is wear Guerrilla Gay Bar buttons.”

Phoenix's chapter started the Guerrilla Gay Bar movement in April, but as bills legalizing same-sex marriage have passed in five states since 2008 (Massachusetts passed the first such bill in 2003), some prominent chapters, such as the one in Washington, D.C., have scaled back, with members saying acceptance of gays is becoming the norm.

But members of the Phoenix chapter said there's still room for growth here. Arizona passed a bill in November making same-sex marriage illegal, and, as recently as last week, the state Legislature voted to end domestic partner benefits for state employees with same-sex partners.

Dykas said he has been verbally abused on Mill Avenue and many members of the group say they've faced hostility at traditionally heterosexual bars and clubs across the Valley. Incidentally, those are the ones on the group's list for upcoming “takeovers.”

“Guerrilla Gay Bar is really about visibility,” Dykas said. “It's about getting us out there and challenging the attitude in some of these bars.”

Recently, the Phoenix chapter had 236 members on its Facebook page, where organizers get the word out about upcoming events and where members RSVP and set up ride-shares. Dykas is working on getting sponsorships and even a bus to help make the night more of a happening for the next one July 4. He hopes the group will grow into a movement “large enough and strong enough to approach bars in Phoenix that are historically less-than-friendly to the community.”

Flickr photo by Circuitree