Mascs, Masks, and Clown School

why are my straight coworkers laughing about a lesbian bar?

Ashley sudeta

My parents always tell me to follow sports so I have something to make small talk about, but lately I’ve been faring just fine by discussing a lesbian bar in western Massachusetts. It’s almost surreal how everyone I meet is familiar with the situation. I expected my queer friends to know about it, but to have straight coworkers also laughing at the situation was surprising. Honestly, it’s hit the point that it’s a little uncomfortable how many people know about the debacle around Last Ditch, a closed lesbian bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts. It makes me wonder what it is everyone finds so amusing about it and how it impacts their view of the queer community.

As a lesbian, the events that transpired before Last Ditch’s closing filled me with a sense of familiarity. I often feel like lesbians and queer women are expected to hold themselves to a higher level of responsibility when it comes to being socially conscious and protecting others. Because of this, I wasn’t surprised there was outrage about a maskoptional night or concern about whose voices were being centered. When I joke about the bar, it’s because I know how conflicts like that happen and I see people I know in it.

I can’t help but wonder what straight people think when they talk about the “Covid conscious lesbian bar.” Are they gawking at it in bewilderment, like the characters are in a freak show? Are they using it to mentally build a profile of what “acceptable” vs “unacceptable” queer people look and act like? The possibilities make me weary.

The fact journalists from the Boston Globe chose to cover the controversy at Last Ditch deeply disappoints me. The story has certainly provided fuel for the anti-LGBTQ movement in the U.S., and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the Boston Globe’s intent. So while I enjoy laughing about the “Covid conscious lesbian bar” with my friends, I’d be happy for straight folks to keep it out of their mouths.