Stepping Out
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            The author begins with a lucid and refreshingly clear-eyed analysis of the bar and club scene. To his credit, he avoids cheerleading platitudes. No doubt, bars could be fun, but door policies were often racist and/or misogynistic. And while bars could be meeting places and venues where hook-up dreams were realized, they were often sites of rejection and alienation. There were unwritten rules of separation that were supported by the reputations of certain bars, driven by economics, that often led to exclusionary policies based on age, race, gender identity, HIV status, or other criteria.

            Different bars and regions became notorious for specific scenes. From drag to leather, Hilderbrand takes us into bars and their distinct, loyal followings, including drag bars Mary’s (Houston) and The Jewel Box Lounge (Kansas City) and the leather-infused D.C. Eagle (Washington). His extensive research pays off: in addition to lengthy chapters on specific bars and trends, he also includes “Interludes,” shorter entries on specific aspects of gay life such as the Gay Switchboard in Philadelphia, a help line that provided tips for the curious or support for those longing for connection.

            The book also points to two interesting facts about gay bars during their heyday, something not immediately apparent: as straight people began to frequent bars less starting in the 1960s, gay people’s bar habits surged: “The stark divergence in these parallel bar scenes indicates that bars served a different and essential purpose for lgbtq+ people—even if the majority of lgbtq+ people never actually frequented bars.” Hilderbrand also points to the correlation between the rise of gay bars and that of the gay press. So-called “bar rags” were so named due to their reliance on gay bars for advertising and distribution; typically copies were stacked up on counters and free for the taking. The queer press, of course, was vital to building a sense of LGBT identity and community, as well as a political consciousness on a broad range of issues. One cover of an issue of Planet Q is especially chilling, featuring robed KKK members protesting the existence of a gay bar in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The bars and this unique strain of alternative journalism were inextricably linked.

            The book concludes on a less than uplifting note: the waning fortunes of LGBT bars at the present time. Gentrification, online hookup apps, and, ironically enough, the greater mainstream acceptance of queer people have all contributed to this decline. Hilderbrand punctuates the book with a stinging reminder of why the bars were needed in the first place, as he visits the site of the Pulse nightclub massacre, where 49 clubgoers were gunned down in 2016. “Pulse,” he concludes, “was no longer a nightclub but was a symbol of collective pasts and political aspirations.”

            The Bars Are Ours is a remarkable achievement and essential reading for any serious student of contemporary queer history.