For queer people who are new to Toronto, going to a gay bar in the Village is a monumental experience. Having grown up in a conservative town, I was beyond excited to live in a city that was not only more accepting of my queer identity, but also had designated queer spaces such as the Church and Wellesley community.
Although COVID-19 put a temporary hold on nightlife, once restrictions were lifted, my friends and I attended a drag show at Crews and Tangos, a popular bar on the Church and Wellesley strip. Before the night began, some of us discussed how we were nervous that we would not feel welcome, or that we would not “fit in” at a gay bar because we were queer women rather than gay men. We got so worked up in fear of not feeling welcome that we even debated not going at all, but after some deliberation, we decided to begin our trek to the Village. Once we arrived, any remaining anxiety melted away and was replaced with pure joy. The DJ was playing music we loved, the club demographic was diverse and included queer people of various identities, and the people we met were all incredibly friendly. After such an amazing night, I thought to myself, what was I so afraid of?
Despite my first experience in the Village being incredibly pleasant, the more frequently I returned, the more I observed cracks in its welcoming appearance. The Village presents itself as welcoming to all queer identities, but there is no bar or club designated for queer women, making misogyny easily noticeable within the spaces shared by men and women. This discrepancy can be seen in various forms, from drag performers complaining that an audience is predominantly women, to gay men complaining when the bars they frequent are too heavily attended by women. While the Village continues to act as an inclusive space for all queer people, there appears to be a considerable division between queer men and women. The instances of misogyny I have observed only scratch the surface of prejudices that live within Toronto’s queer spaces. It is evident that queer communities often do not make the effort to be inclusive of all identities, and rather cater to their most privileged. In neglecting intersectionality, we fail to recognize that spaces exclusively welcoming white, cis, gay men are not truly inclusive to the queer community.
The issue does not end with misogyny: many problems such as transphobia and racism remain within the Village. From clubs that deny access to those who are not “male” to the exploitation of Indigenous artists, it is obvious that many of Toronto’s queer spaces are subject to the same deeply rooted discrimination that lies within Canadian culture. If anything can be learned from these observations of intolerance within Toronto’s queer community, it is that to be a “safe space,” marginalized communities must actively participate in intersectionality.
