Chicago’s sapphic scene is growing beyond the bar as new queer collectives make way for more options.
For years, queer nightlife has been inseparable from bars. Dimly lit dance floors, strong drinks, heavy flirting and a moment to disappear from the mainstream. But in Chicago, a growing network of independent queer collectives is separating themselves from the usual, expanding nightlife spaces that vary from sober to definitely 21+.
Organizations like Garden Of Collective are the prime example of that change. Known for their sapphic socials, Garden Of hosts everything from craft nights to themed club extravaganzas. Previous events had matchbook and lighter decorations, full moon ceremonies, and even a sapphic, religious-themed bar night for lesbians born in December.
Founder Eden Strader created a sapphic community that revolved around the goal of building friendship. That intention is what drew drag queen Winter Diorr in.
“I started showing up to all of the events. Eventually, even if I wasn’t booked, I [was] just in there as if I was booked,” said Diorr. “And so I asked to be on the mic if Eden wanted me to introduce the drag performers for her one night. And she said yes. And it [has become] a regular thing since then.”
A trans woman and drag performer, Diorr performed at Garden Of events before being announced as the official host during Garden Of’s one-year anniversary celebration in April. She could finally be in a space where her drag persona was separate from who she was as Winter.
“Being able to come in here and commune with other sapphics and be a community, it’s so much fun and it feels so relaxing. It definitely filled a space in my heart that I’ve been looking for for a very long time, and I’m glad that I feel comfortable doing it here,” said Diorr.
There are many collectives like Garden Of taking center stage in the queer scene, especially for sapphic and women-presenting individuals. But before that, many people in the LGBTQ+ community, and their first experiences within the queer scene, happened in established bars outside of Chicago.
Queer, bisexual comedian and filmmaker Gemma Clarke experienced her first sense of belonging in New York.
“The first time I felt like that was in New York, actually. And my friend and I from college went to Stonewall and I was like, I want to go to a lesbian bar, so he brought me to Cubby Hole,” said Clarke. “And that was my first time being in a bar, seeing a bunch of gay women and being like, yeah, you know? And just feeling safe. That was huge … because there weren’t really lesbian bars in Chicago at all.”
A lesbian bar in Chicago didn’t exist at the time. Outside of that, less than 20 lesbian bars were in the U.S. altogether.
“We haven’t historically had spaces at all. And we are out here,” said Clarke.
Just a decade ago, the main bars in Chicago were directed towards gay men. Boystown was the only known place for queer people to go out, and if you weren’t gay, your experience was determined by how included you felt.
New bars like Dorothy’s, Nobody’s Darling, and Babes began opening up in the early 2020s, spreading into neighborhoods like Humboldt Park and Andersonville. These were the beginning of spaces that highlighted lesbianism and queerness outside of the only known gay neighborhood.
But even today, Roscoe’s is still one of the most prominent gay bars that everyone goes to. Whether you’re lesbian, trans, queer, questioning, Roscoe’s is a bar you will have been to at least once. It’s a rite of passage.
With Roscoe’s attracting a mix of identities comes the tension of inclusivity, and how far that goes when broadening the crowd of people to those who might identify as heterosexual.
“I think anyone who wants to go into a queer space said something about their queer identity, their quote-unquote straightness, you know? I think that they could be exploring their self-actuality,” said Clarke.
These gay and lesbian labeled spaces are for people who identify as such, which is in itself a necessity. But as people are figuring out their identity or supporting these spaces as an ally, spaces outside of these specific bars become all the more needed.
A Thursday night at Roscoe’s on the crowded dancefloor, two-dollar vodka cran in hand and watching Doechii and Lady Gaga’s most recent music video is still a really good time.
Collectives like Garden Of are simply looking to expand queer social gatherings into alternatives that fit everyone’s wants and needs, not diminish those spaces completely.
“I feel like people are so isolated and having trouble finding people to collaborate or work with, in addition to social events. I think it’s really nice to have a space,” said Dori Chaput, a queer woman who recently moved to Chicago with a work-from-home job.
Sitting in a sapphic coworking studio, iced coffee in hand, she talked about what spaces like these offer to the community that bars don’t.
“I just don’t want to drop so much money to go out, especially if I don’t really know anyone,” said Chaput. “It’s really nice to have a space [where] we’re all just here coexisting, getting to know one another.”
Boystown is no longer the only option, it’s one of many. A night out can still mean a crowded dance floor with cheap drinks, but it can also look like a craft night, a coworking session or a room full of strangers looking for new friends. It’s the balance that sapphics and queer people have been looking for.
In a city where the LGBTQ+ community only had a small neighborhood to call their own, new collectives and organizations are hosting fun events to create something long-lasting.
If you identify as sapphic or queer, check out Garden Of and other organizations on Instagram.
Garden Of Collective: @gardenof.collective
Dama Productions: @_damaproductions_
BaQyard Babes: @baqyardbabes
The Lesbian Social Club: @thelesbiansocialclub
Header Image by Winter Diorr
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