You'd have to either be in possession of an underground guidebook listing places considered 'safe' or rely on word of mouth. 'They were bottle clubs, you had a sign, a fictitious name in many cases to get in.' 'In many cases, they were private clubs with bouncers at the door,' Lustbader said. 'So bars became really safe spaces.'īut the gay bar of the past was much different than the one we think of today where every inch is covered in rainbow flags.
'People could lose their jobs, their families, employment, religious associations,' Lustbader added.
