It is true that gay people can feel comfortable galavanting anywhere, from Eastie’s waterfront to Somerville’s Davis Square. With a proud history of supporting gay rights and a large LGBTQ population, Boston is unsurprisingly one of the most inclusive metro areas in the country.
The Theater District is home to multiple clubs that regularly host big-name DJs and queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race (season 14 winner Willow Pill performed the week after she won), and Back Bay remains filled with gay-friendly neighborhood haunts. Sections of Dorchester, once the epicenter of Boston’s Irish Catholic working-class, are now miniature gayborhoods - complete with Sunday tea dances. Like nearly every other city, Boston has seen a decline in LGBTQ-specific venues in recent decades.īut those who only mourn the past are missing out on an exciting and innovative present. Longtime revelers lament the loss of Paradise and its sweat-soaked basement with no cell service and lots of jockstraps city stalwarts reflect fondly on the days when Fenway was known for cruising instead of glistening high-rises. The conversations about Boston’s gay nightlife scene often center around the closings of cherished establishments and rapid gentrification of once-gay neighborhoods.
