Dani’s Queer Bar opened last month in Boston, becoming the city’s first dedicated lesbian bar in decades. The bar joins a nationwide trend of more than a dozen new queer women-focused venues opening since the height of the Covid pandemic. Founder Thais Rocha spent over two years planning the space, which is intended to cater to Sapphic, trans, and non-binary community members. The bar was made possible in part by a grant awarded by Mayor Michelle Wu’s Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion. The opening of Dani’s was met with excitement from attendees like Stevie Dickie, who emphasized the importance of having a space specifically for queer women and trans and nonbinary individuals in a male-centric environment.
Before Dani’s, Boston had not had a dedicated lesbian bar for at least two decades, reflecting a nationwide decline in such spaces since the 1980s. However, there has been a recent resurgence with the opening of more than a dozen new Sapphic spaces since 2020. These spaces are seen as vital for providing shelter, community, and like-minded connections for queer women, according to Erica Rose of The Lesbian Bar Project.
For attendees like Renee Gannon, having a permanent brick-and-mortar space like Dani’s is a welcome change from mobile nightlife events. Kristen Porter, a longstanding figure in Boston’s lesbian community, highlighted the importance of Dani’s embodying inclusivity by having “Queer” in the name and providing a permanent space for LGBTQ gatherings. Overall, the opening of Dani’s Queer Bar is seen as a significant step forward in creating a space for the queer community in Boston.
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