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I have only been to Chicago once but I did not notice a gay black scene. However, the majority of my time in Chi was in Downtown/the Loop/Michigan Ave/& LakeView.
There is really no gay scene in downtown/the loop/michigan avenue, although a number of gay people live in these areas (not Loop, more of River North and Gold Coast). There's exactly two gay bars in this entire area and one of them you'd have no idea it was even there. One is on the 2nd floor and barely noticeable from the street and the other one isn't necessarily out there minus a flag out in front.
With Lakeview, that's where the main gay scene is, but Lakeview is big. Unless you were in Boystown or a few areas close to Belmont & Clark (well, there's a gay dance club near the Belmont red line stop), you wouldn't have seen it. I have a lot of gay friends and some are black. My ex used to live near Boystown and I noticed a number of blacks too. It seems to be fairly integrated as they are more about their sexuality and not their races, on average. Other than that, the other areas of town with a sizable gay population or scene would include Andersonville/Edgewater, parts of Hyde Park, Rogers Park, etc.
Atlanta has a huge scene for this, but I wouldn't say Chicago's scene is lacking - at least from what I have seen.
Yep, I referenced Rogers Park. I think there's a number of gay bars up there and yes Uptown, if I'm not mistaken?
Chicago is known for its segregation (especially as far as blacks are concerned). Are the gay bars in Uptown/Rogers Park/Andersonville integrated? Or are they majority 95% white? Or there any bars that cater to gay "buppies" like you may find in DC or Atlanta?
They are absolutely integrated. While there is some concern with the hoodlums from the southside coming up to Boystown (due to a number of assaults in recent years), you see people of every race in those areas. Perhaps white are a majority, but it's still very diverse.
And it's over-simplistic to say Chicago is segregated; rather, it's an issue of money. Race is just incidental.
I have only been to Chicago once but I did not notice a gay black scene. However, the majority of my time in Chi was in Downtown/the Loop/Michigan Ave/& LakeView.
I'm a Gay Black male in Chicago and I need to clarify some of the misinformation about Gay life in Chicago for Black males.
There is a Gay Black professional class centered around Hyde Park, Kenwood, Bronzville and South Loop. South Shore isn't as middle class or as BUPPIEfied but there are quite a few Black gays in the area.
There are two bars in Chicago that has a majority Black clientele. Club Escape and Jeffery's pub. Both are on the south side in the Southshore area. Club Escape is awesome but small. Best atmosphere of any gay club in Chicago. I've found many professional brothas meet through social media like bgclive.
Boystown has few integrated clubs on Halstead. Roscoes and Spins are the main ones that comes to mind. The rest are almost all White and some have the reputation of not being friendly to Black clientele. You find quite a few Black gays hanging on the street of Boystown but they are not professionals not do they integrate Boystown clubs. They are just hanging out.
Chicago is a city that's known for segregation and racial prejudices. The Chicago gay community is no exception. Otoh, this is a big city and you don't have to limit yourself to a gayborhood to meet high quality men here. If you're willing to think outside of the box, you can have a great social life.
Last edited by mjtinmemphis; 06-24-2013 at 11:42 PM..
Whatever happen to the clubs called the generator and Prop house in Chicago
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