The development of LGBT culture in Philadelphia can be traced back to the early 20th century. It exists in current times as a dynamic, diverse, and
philanthropically active culture with establishments and events held to promote
LGBT culture
LGBT culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture (indicating people who are queer), while the term gay culture may be used to mean "LGBT culture" o ...
and
rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical the ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and beyond.
History
The Philadelphia LGBT community has roots as far back as the 1930s and 1940s. Early gay networks would meet privately at underground house parties and other private venues within
Center City,
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...
, and
Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region
United States
* Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County
* Ger ...
.
The post-WWII Center City area provided plentiful housing and urban anonymity that allowed the
LGBT culture
LGBT culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture (indicating people who are queer), while the term gay culture may be used to mean "LGBT culture" o ...
to meet hidden from public view.
By the 1950s, a jazz, espresso, and beatnik culture was stirring things up around
Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is a neighborhood, including a public park, in Center City Philadelphia. The park is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century.
The neighborho ...
and in coffee houses on Sansom Street, creating a niche for the city's gay community.
In the mid-1900s, conflicts between homosexual and heterosexual communities were common within
Center City neighborhoods. Gays and lesbians were found commonly living around Rittenhouse Square and saw Rittenhouse Square Park as a safety zone for camaraderie. Gay men used the park as a place to find other men. Hippies and pre-
Stonewall
Stonewall or Stone wall may refer to:
* Stone wall, a kind of masonry construction
* Stonewalling, engaging in uncooperative or delaying tactics
* Stonewall riots, a 1969 turning point for the modern LGBTQ rights movement in Greenwich Village, Ne ...
gays were also part of their own groups there.
The LGBT culture developing in Philadelphia eventually inspired the first article published in America that recognized a city's gay community and political scene, which was titled "The Furtive Fraternity" (1962, by Gaeton Fonzi) and published in ''
Greater Philadelphia
The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Vall ...
''. The article describes political limitations the emerging gay community faced.
In 1962 the
Janus Society
The Janus Society was an early homophile organization founded in 1962 and based in Philadelphia. It is notable as the publisher of ''Drum'' magazine, one of the earliest gay publications in the United States and the one most widely circulated in ...
was founded in Philadelphia; it is notable as the publisher of ''
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
'' magazine, one of the earliest LGBT-interest publications in the United States and most widely circulated in the 1960s,
and for its role in organizing many of the nation's
earliest LGBT rights demonstrations. The Janus Society takes its name from the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
two-faced
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
Janus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
of beginnings, endings, and doorways. The organization focused on a policy of militant respectability, a strategy demanding respect by showing the public LGBT individuals conforming to hetero-normative standards of dress at protests.
On April 25, 1965 over 150 people were denied service at Dewey's, a local coffee shop and diner at
219 South 17th Street in Philadelphia, near
Rittenhouse Square
Rittenhouse Square is a neighborhood, including a public park, in Center City Philadelphia. The park is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century.
The neighborho ...
. Those denied service were variously described at the time as “homosexuals,” “masculine women,” “feminine men,” and “persons wearing non-conformist clothing.” Three teenagers (reported by the Janus Society and ''Drum'' to be two males and one female) staged a sit-in that day. After restaurant managers contacted police, the three were arrested. In the process of offering legal support for the teens, local activist and president of the Janus Society, Clark Polak, was also arrested. Demonstrations took place outside the establishment over the next five days with 1500 flyers being distributed by the Janus Society and its supporters. Three people staged a second sit-in on May 2, 1965. The police were again called, but refused to make arrests this time. The Janus Society said the protests were successful in preventing further arrests and the action was deemed “the first sit-in of its kind in the history of the United States” by ''
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
'' magazine. In 2018 a
historical marker
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...
was placed at 17th and St. James streets to commemorate the Dewey’s sit-ins.
The
Annual Reminder The Annual Reminders were a series of early pickets organized by gay organizations, held yearly from 1965 through 1969. The Reminder took place each July 4 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia and were among the earliest LGBT demonstrations in the ...
s were a series of early
pickets organized by LGBTQ organizations, which took place each July 4 at
Independence Hall
Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Fa ...
beginning in 1965 and were among the
earliest LGBT demonstrations in the United States. The events were designed to inform and remind the American people that LGBT people did not enjoy basic civil rights protections. The Reminders were held each year until 1969, with the final picket taking place shortly after the June 28
Stonewall riot
The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of Ju ...
in New York City, considered the flashpoint of the modern
gay liberation
The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoffman, 2007, pp.xi-xiii. ...
movement. Reminder organizers decided to discontinue the July 4 pickets. Instead, they organized the
Christopher Street Liberation Day
The NYC Pride March is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQ community in New York City. Among the largest Pride events in the world, the NYC Pride March attracts tens of thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each J ...
demonstration held June 28, 1970, to commemorate the anniversary of the riot. In 2005 a historical marker was placed at 6th and Chestnut Streets to commemorate the Annual Reminders.
Philadelphia's first Gay Pride Parade was held in Rittenhouse Square on June 11, 1972. The event was hosted by several organizations including the Gay Activists Alliance, the Homophile Action League, Radicalesbians and groups from Penn State and Temple University. The route started down Chestnut Street and ended at Independence Park. Speakers included Barbara Gittings and Jerry Curtis.
In 2014, gay transgender man Lou Cutler became the first openly
transgender man
A trans man is a man who was assigned female at birth. The label of transgender man is not always interchangeable with that of transsexual man, although the two labels are often used in this way. ''Transgender'' is an umbrella term that inclu ...
to be crowned Mr. Gay Philadelphia. In 2020, Philly Leather crowned the contest's first non-binary winner, Mx. Philadelphia Leather Diamond d'Ant.
In 2021, after organizing PrideDay in June and OutFest in October for 32 years, Philly Pride Presents abruptly dissolved facing community accusations of mismanagement, racism, and transphobia. In the wake, a local group of LGBTQ+ volunteers reimagining pride formed a new group calle
PHL Pride Collective
The Gayborhood
Washington Square West
Washington Square West is a neighborhood Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The neighborhood roughly corresponds to the area between 7th and Broad Streets and between Chestnut and South Streets, bordering on the Independence Mall tourist ar ...
, commercially called Midtown Village, is mainly referred to as "The
Gayborhood
A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in rel ...
” by the locals."
Since the 1920s this area has been a mecca for fashion and entertainment. During the 1960s a transition from high-end stage performances and chorus lines into cheap adult entertainment took place. "Musical bars" on Camac and Quince Streets hosted gay and lesbian clientele but required a fee to mob connections for law enforcement to look the other way. The preservation of these bars around 13th and Locust Streets, through dealings with the mob, made gay culture appear more closely tied to illegal activity, which drew attention from the authorities.
The lumping together of prostitutes, drug dealers, and homosexuals provoked police raids on gay bars up into the early 1980s. During this time, demonstrations at Independence Hall for gay rights sought to raise the community from an underground and lascivious group into a more unified community and political entity.
This same area of the city remains an epicenter for gay culture today.
This Washington Square West district was selected to undergo gentrification in the mid-1970s and up to one-fifth of the old structures were razed.
Shortly after the project began, federal assistance was discontinued and the district's demolished lots sat unoccupied during a long recovery period into the 1990s. Mayor
Ed Rendell
Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philade ...
promoted a new era of gentrification which helped Washington Square West regain its footing and transform into a healthy, economically viable community by the early 2000s.
In 2007, 36 rainbow street signs were mounted throughout intersections within 11th and Broad Streets, formally recognizing the Gayborhood as part of Philadelphia culture.
There are additional neighborhoods in Philadelphia with sizeable and/or growing LGBT populations:
East Passyunk Crossing has been dubbed by some as the "New Gayborhood", and
Mount Airy has a significant number of lesbian households.
Community Organizations
Galaei
GALAEI fights for access, opportunity, sexual empowerment, and economic justice while fighting systemic oppression, structural racism, discrimination, and white supremacy.
Mazzoni Center
The
Mazzoni Center
Mazzoni Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit health care provider in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that serves the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
About
Mission
To provide quality comprehensive health and wellness servi ...
, established in 1979, is the only healthcare provider in Philadelphia that operates specifically for the LGBT community. The center's array of HIV/AIDS-related and general health services benefit over 30,000 individuals annually. Community programs are open to the public that include focus groups and outreach programs. Other health care services include HIV and STD testing, food and housing options, mental and behavioral health services, and LGBT legal services. The center seeks to break down cultural insensitivity that LGBT individuals may encounter in mainstream healthcare systems by communicating through knowledgeable health care and preventative services counselors.
Philly AIDS Thrift
Philly AIDS Thrift is a charitable organization founded in 2005. Its goal is to raise money and distribute the proceeds to local organizations involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
PHL Pride Collective
PHL Pride Collectivewas formed by LGBTQ+ community members in 2021 following the abrupt dissolvement of Philly Pride Presents following accusations of mismanagement, racism, and transphobia.
The Collective is working to reimagine Philly Pride to be more community oriented, more revolutionary, and more in the spirit of LGBTQ+ Pride than ever before.
William Way LGBT Community Center
The
William Way LGBT Community Center
The William Way LGBT Community Center is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and nearby communities, located at 1315 Spruce Street in Philadelphia in the Gayborhood.
...
, founded in 1975, was founded as the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Philadelphia. It maintains an archive of local and regional LGBT information and culture, curates exhibitions, and offers community support.
Bars and entertainment
A diverse range of gay-friendly businesses and organizations are located within Philadelphia. Some of these destinations include bars, nightclubs, performance theaters, shops, health centers, restaurants, and adult theaters . Popular bars and nightclubs includ
CockatooLevel Up Bar and Lounge (formerly Jock, formerly Boxers PHL)
Knock Restaurant and BarStir LoungeTabu Lounge & Sports Bar(former location of iCandy)
Tavern on Camac The Bike Stop
UBar(formerly Uncles), Voyeur (formerly Pure), Toast Walnut Bar & Kitchen (formerly Westbury), and Woody's.
Politics
Mayor of Philadelphia
The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Jim Kenney.
History
The first mayor of Philadelphia, ...
John Street was elected in 1999 with the help of LGBT activists. After his election he selected over twelve LGBT persons to work in the transition team.
[Haider-Markel, Donald P. ''Gay and Lesbian Americans and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook'' (Political participation in America). ABC-CLIO, January 1, 2002. , 9781576072561. p]
145
Media
The oldest LGBT weekly newspaper is the
Philadelphia Gay News
''Philadelphia Gay News'' (PGN) is a lesbian, gay, bisexuality, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) newspaper in the Philadelphia area. The publication was founded in 1976 by Mark Segal, who was inspired by activist Frank Kameny when they met in 1970 ...
, founded in 1976. Its purple vending machines are found in
Center City.
Events
The city hosts many LGBT-related events including Equality Forum, Blue Ball, the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference,
Pride Parade
A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...
, and
OutFest
Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...
.
See also
*
LGBT culture
LGBT culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture (indicating people who are queer), while the term gay culture may be used to mean "LGBT culture" o ...
*
Homosocialization
Homosocialization or LGBT socialization is the process by which LGBT people meet, relate and become integrated in the LGBT community, especially with people of the same sexual orientation and gender identity, helping to build their own identity ...
References
^ Nickels, Thom Gay and Lesbian Philadelphia, Arcadia Publishing, 2002
External links
Mazzoni CenterPHL Pride CollectiveWilliam Way LGBT Community Center
{{LGBT Americans by location
LGBT history in the United States