Small-Town Pride

Abstract

This article traces the “shadow geographies” of the 1980s gay bar scene in Ohio’s capital, Columbus, and contrasts it with the emergence of LGBTQ movements in Midwestern small towns. Urban gay bar scenes have declined since at least 2009, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only hastened their demise. At the same time, pride events have emerged in the communities like Parkersburg, West Virginia; Washington, Pennsylvania; Marysville, Ohio, and; and many other cities and towns with populations under 50,000 people. The decline of urban gay bars does not mean the demise of LGBTQ activism; it just means that we should look for activism outside of urban centers.