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0. 2/20/2012 – Here/Queer Call for Submissions, by Riese
1. 3/02/2012 – Queer Girl City Guide: Montreal, Canada, by Sid
2. 3/05/2012 – Playlist: Here/Queer, by Riese
3. 3/05/2012 – Queer Girl City Guide: Portland, Oregon, by Lesbians in PDX
Meet LIPDX (Lesbians in Portland): a native Portlander, a Californian who’s lived here for over four years and a Northern Washingtonian also with four years of Portland-living under her belt.
alex, rachael and ashley of LIPDX
It’s an amazing city and has brought us together in the Queerest of ways. Here, we can be out and proud without fearing discrimination, and the city is not only jam-packed with queer ladies, it’s also well-equipped with Queer-positive laws, events, and resources. And yes, every day in this Queer Mecca is like an episode of Portlandia.
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Where To Get Your Drink/Dance On
It’s hard to believe, but there are no lesbian-specific bars anymore in Portland (R.I.P., The Egyptian Club). The city does compensate with plenty of Queer-friendly bars frequented by hordes of lesbians. Here’s a list of some of our favourites:
BARS:
Crush: Located in SE Portland, and known for its all-day Tuesday happy hour, where you can get a $3 mason jar whiskey and ginger. (Whiskey being the drink of choice for Portland lesbians.) Crush is a quaint neighborhood spot for a simple cocktail and some good eats.
1400 Southeast Morrison Street Portland, OR 97214
Bent
The Bye & Bye: An Alberta Street staple among the Queer ladies, The Bye & Bye offers a vegan menu and a heated back patio. Perfect for a cute date or a calm night with friends.
1011 Northeast Alberta Street Portland, OR 97211
The Florida Room: Located in NoPo (otherwise known as North Portland), The Florida Room is host to the ladies’ arm-wrestling competition. Most competitors are queer ladies with quirky names. On off days, The Florida Room is a perfect hangout complete with pool tables, a photobooth, and card games for loan.
435 North Killingsworth Street Portland, OR 97217
Holocene: Home of Gaycation, the events held at Holocene are all queer-friendly and cause you to break out your dance pants.
1001 SE Morrison Street, Portland, OR
Mississippi Studios (Bar Bar): Go to catch a show, hang out in the bar, or see an outdoor movie in the summer. Located on historic Mississippi Street, Bar Bar is known for its sweet happy hour and ability to attract some lovely ladies. It also hosts a newer queer dance night called MRS.
3939 N. Mississippi, Portland, OR 97227
Bar Bar
Foggy Notion: Home of Bent, this little bar in NoPo is a great hangout spot and hosts many Queer-friendly nights. This place is so small that you’ll have to talk to the person you’ve been eying for weeks or even months, because they’re probably standing right in front of you.
3416 North Lombard Street, Portland, OR 97217
The Know: Home to the queer dance “Dirt Bag” and other various queer-friendly nights. Located on super queer Alberta in NE.
2026 Northeast Alberta Street Portland, OR 97211
Sloan’s Tavern: Located in NoPo on Russel Street is an awesome queer-friendly dive bar without the typical Portland hipster pretentiousness.
36 North Russell Street Portland, OR 97227
The Tanker: Sitting at the base of Mt. Tabor on Hawthorne Blvd in SE, The Tanker is handy for catching a Blazers game on one of the big screens.
4825 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard Portland, OR 97215
Plan B: A bar/pub located in industrial SE, featuring many shows and themed nights. You can generally find queer ladies here.
1305 Southeast 8th Avenue Portland, OR 97214
Fez Ballroom: A three-story dance venue that also plays host to “Homomentum.” Also check out their occasional 90s and Bollywood nights. Find it using the giant “Fish Grotto” sign as your landmark.
316 SW 11th Ave
Goodfoot Lounge: A bar upstairs and dance/show venue downstairs, the Goodfoot is known best as a place to kick it with friends and play pool. Also: hit up their well-reputed Soul Night.
2845 SE Stark Street Portland, OR 97214
Yes and No: Located in Old Town, is a tiny little hipster hole in the wall. The inside is dark and you might trip over yourself, but you’re sure to fall right into the arms of a cute hipster queer girl. There’s different DJ nights and on weekends different themed dance nights. It’s also a chill place to just grab a drink after work.
20 NW 3rd Ave Portland, OR 97209
Foggy Notion
Record Room: Lesbian owned and sharing a wall with the feminist bookstore In Other Words, the Record Room hosts a nightly DJ session with amazing local girls who just love to spin. Enjoy beer or wine and a game of pinball while listening to a set, which may or may not be an entire night of nothing by Cyndi Lauper, but who’s complaining?
8 NE Killingsworth St Portland, OR 97211
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Queer-Friendly Strip Clubs
Devil’s Point: Sunday nights here are Strippereoke. Ever wanted to sing karaoke and have naked girls dance around you? Well, this is where that happens.
5305 SE Foster Rd Portland, OR
Sassy’s: Located right across the street from Holocene, you’ll often find yourself wandering into Sassy’s after or even during Gaycation. The girls all look like they came right off the Suicide Girls site and are super friendly.
927 Southeast Morrison Portland, OR 97214
Casa Diablo: The Cadillac of strip clubs. This is the kind of place where ANYTHING goes. Another perk, in typical Portland fashion, the entire menu is vegan.
2839 NW St Helens Rd Portland, Oregon 97210
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Queer Dance Nights!
Deep Cuts: Every first Friday at Rotture. Fun and easy-going, generally filled with a variety of ladies. Electronic music showcase with great DJs. Sometimes it’s packed, sometimes it’s not, but that’s the chance you take with a newer dance party.
Dirt Bag: Every first Thursday at The Know, get to know (haha, get it?) your NoPo queers in a riot grrl setting.
Gaycation: Every third Saturday of the month. The quintessential Portland queer night. Put on and DJ-ed by Portland’s own Mr. Charming, this is a perfect night for dancing with friends and the occasional makeout with a stranger.
MRS.: Every second Saturday of the month. Predominantly for the ladies. MRS is best known for their themed nights, such as Space Odyssey, Leather & Lace, and Twin Peaks. Held at Mississippi Studios in North Portland, it’s an awesome night to get your freak on.
Bent: Every second Friday of the month. Where dreams come true. The entrance will remind you of a fight club, and from the outside it looks like nothing is happening. You’ll be greeted by dozens of trendy ladies decked out in leather jackets with hot jams blaring and the dance floor bumpin’. Definitely a LiPDX favorite. Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll get to make out with a hottie behind the giant billboard outside, (one of us has).
Bent
Hot Flash: Every last Saturday of the month, this is a dance party geared towards the 35+ lesbian demographic. Has go-go dancers, and you could go here to pre-game before heading to Blow Pony.
Blow Pony: Every last Saturday at Rotture/Branx. A queer staple for Portland although recently we’ve found that far more men than women are in attendance. It’s fun if you’re effed up out of your mind and don’t mind losing all your friends the minute you walk through the door. Yet, you’ll find us here most of the time anyway.
Blow Pony
Crave: A party that comes and goes, when it stops, nobody knows! Held semi-frequently at SE queer hotspot Crush. The two lovely ladies who put on Crush have moved to sunny L.A. and periodically come back to Portland to throw the ultimate lady rager. New Year’s Eve was their last Portland appearance, the Facebook pictures say it all.
Tuesday nights at CC’s: Tuesday’s is ladies night at CC’s, Portland’s most famous gay nightlife spot. Summer time is best to explore this option, the crowd gets bigger as the nights get warmer.
Hott: Every second Saturday at Crush, this is Portland’s newest queer lady-focused dance night. It’s new so the groove hasn’t yet been found, but everyone loves the GoGo Girls!
Maricone at Matador: Held at the Matador in NW, find it on the first three Saturdays of every month. It’s a mellow night of drunken dancing queers and cheap drink specials in a dive bar.
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Where To Eat and Drink (Coffee)
Radio Room
+ Tin Shed, 1438 NE Alberta Street Portland, OR 97211
+ Dingos, 4612 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard Portland, OR 97215
+ The Bye and Bye, 1011 Northeast Alberta Street Portland, OR 97211
+ New Seasons, 1954 SE Division St. Portland, OR 97202
+ Cup and Saucer, 3000 Northeast Killingsworth Street Portland, OR 97211
+ The Observatory, 8115 Southeast Stark Street Portland, OR 97215
+ Gold Dust Meridian, 3267 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard Portland, OR 97214
+ Produce Row, 204 Southeast Oak Street Portland, OR 97214
+ Hungry Tiger Too, 207 SE 12th Ave Portland, OR 97214
+ Doug Fir Lounge, 830 East Burnside Street Portland, OR 97214
+ Ron Toms, 600 East Burnside Street Portland, OR 97214
+ Muu-Muu’s, 612 Northwest 21st Avenue Portland, OR 97209
+ Russel Street BBQ, 325 Northeast Russell Street Portland, OR 97212
+ Beaker and Flask, 727 SE Washington St Portland, OR 97214
+ The Radio Room, 1101 Northeast Alberta Street Portland, OR 97211
+ Jaw on Hawthorne, 2239 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard Portland, OR 97214
Tin Shed
Portland is plagued with coffee shops on basically every street corner. The perk of this is that almost ALL of the lady baristas are queer. Prepare for daily doses of eye candy as you settle into a coffee shop attempting to get work done. And here is a list of queer-centric cafes:
+ Jazzkat’s Coffee Bar, 1925 NE 42ND AVE PORTLAND, OR, 97213
+ 3 Friends Cafe, 201 Southeast 12th Avenue Portland, OR 97214
+ Bare Bones Cafe, 2908 Southeast Belmont Street Portland, OR 97214
+ PSU’s Food for Thought Cafe, PSU Smith Memorial Union 1825 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
+ Floyd’s Coffee, 1412 Southeast Morrison Street Portland, OR
+ Crema, 2728 Southeast Ankeny Street Portland, OR 97214
+ Oblique, 3039 Southeast Stark Street Portland, OR 97214
+ The Black Cat Cafe, 1203 Northeast Alberta Street Portland, OR 97211
+ Backspace, 115 Northwest 5th Avenue Portland, OR 97209
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Getting Sporty
+ NetRippers F.C. (“NRFC”) is Portland’s only Soccer Club for LGBTQ players and friends, established in 2006 by a group of Portlanders energized to promote the thrilling international sport lacking in our Portland LGBTQ community.
NetRippers F.C.
+ The Timbers F.C. (PTFC) is Portland’s MLS team. You will find a lot a queer ladies in attendance at every game. The best spot to be during a game is in the stands with the Timbers Army.
+ Portland Trail Blazers is Portland’s NBA team, here you will also find a lot of queer ladies in the stands.
+ Rose City Softball is Portland’s LGBT softball league. www.rosecitysoftball.org/
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Collegiates
Portland State University is located in the heart of downtown PDX and boasts the largest student population in Oregon (i.e. lots of ladies!). PSU has nurtured the queer in all three of us as well as many others with its open community, classes, events and resources including the Queer Resource Center, Women’s Resource Center and Gender Studies department. The QRC hosts a queer prom each year, while the WRC holds The Vagina Monologues, Take back/Bike back the Night. PSU also hosts their Queer Pride week, which is one week before Portland Pride. There is also Trans Day of Remembrance.
Portland State University
Reed: In debt, awkward, brainy queers who throw crazy parties. Treat every single Reedie you meet as queer until proven otherwise. Snag an invite to their Queer Prom, Drag Ball or Fetish Ball if you can, or the (Un)Holy Grail: Renn Fayre. Communism, Atheism, Free Love!
PNCA: In debt, artistic hipster queers in the Pearl.
Lewis & Clark: In debt, granola queers, sometimes they come into the city on a bus called the RAZ. The Women’s Center is the main resource for women and queers of Lewis and Clark. They also put on their own Vagnia Monologues.
PCC campuses are located all over greater Portland. They offer cheaper entry level classes for Oregon and bordering state residents and many students cross over between PSU and PCC in their first couple of years.
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Support for LGBT Families
+ Beth Allen Law, LGBT lawyer, Portland OR lawyer, gay friendly attorney, Oregon LGBT rights.
+ SMYRC (Q Center), Since 1998 SMYRC has created safety and support for LGBTQQ youth in Oregon, through youth empowerment, community building, education and direct services.
+ Outside In (referrals), is to help homeless youth and other marginalized people move towards improved health and self-sufficiency.
+ Q Center
Prominent Social Activist Group
Basic Rights Oregon: BRO is an organization working in the areas of marriage equality, transgender justice, and racial justice in Oregon.
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Portland Gay Pride
Gay Pride in Portland is what you make it. Held every year the second to last weekend in June, most of us party the week before, all the way up to the Sunday parade. There’s a pride themed party or queers out partying every night of the week for Pride week; there are also a variety of day time picnics and gatherings. Many queers choose to participate in the famous World Naked Bike Ride that last year conveniently took place on the Saturday night of Pride weekend.
Portland Dyke March
The most epic Pride parties are Blow Pony, Gaycation, and the Redcap/Boxxes block party. Be warned though, the queers pile in by the masses and it’s a ridiculous scene of dancing and debauchery.
Saturday during the day is the Dyke march, where the lady queers descend onto the streets of Downtown Portland showing what we’re made of. It’s a fun way to gather with the community and a great excuse to get drunk in public.
If you make it to Sunday and can actually wake up, the Pride Parade is held in the West Side of Portland and travels down W. Burnside St. to the Waterfront Park where a festival is set up. Be warned though, the parade is a whopping four hours long and if you’re not drinking for every church group that passes by, you’re doing it wrong. Once it’s over, mosey on down to the Waterfront festival where the ridiculous amount of fences surrounding all the booths can make you feel like a caged animal. No matter, all the free swag and the likelihood that you’re still drunk from the week’s activities make it all better.
LGBT and Women’s Health Services
+ Planned Parenthood
+ A complete list of all the resources for women in Portland.
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LGBT Center
Q Center is a 501c3 non-profit organization that increases the visibility of and fosters connection within metropolitan Portland’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Questioning (LGBTQ) community. The center builds public awareness and support, and celebrates LGBTQ diversity through art, culture, and collaborative community programming.
Q Center
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Neighborhoods of Interest
All quadrants of Portland, (Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast, and North) hold something fascinating, interesting, and queer related. It depends on your mood, your eating habits, how much money you’re willing to spend, and at what distance you want to travel.
Gayborhoods
The Gayborhoods in Portland vary, there is not one specific Gayborhood, most neighborhoods attract specific types of queers depending on what area of town they are located in. There is NoPo, which houses Mississipi St. and the St. John’s area. In NE, Alberta Arts district, Irvington, Hollywood, as well as Laurelhurst. SE Portland holds Stark, Belmont, and Hawthorne boulevards, also Clinton St., all of which are hotbeds for queer spotting and Queer friendly shops and restaurants. NW Portland has trendy 23rd Ave. and 21st Ave., both are also great for queer spotting or spending a sunny day moseying around. SW Portland does not have many queer-centric offerings, but it is where Portland State University is located.
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Places to Avoid
Anywhere of outside of Portland proper…Portland is a liberal bubble in a conservative state. In the Portland metro, the odds of getting harassed are slim. Like anywhere, you have the occasional pocket of sketch but it’s a very safe city to live in. However, parts of the suburbs, especially Gresham, can get a little scary (skinheads, etc) and when you road trip out of the city to the smaller towns, you will definitely get some looks if you are wearing your pants too tight or hair is too gaysymmetrical.
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LGBT or Feminist Bookstores
In Other Words is a non-profit feminist bookstore located in North Portland and setting for the popular bookstore skits on Portlandia. They host a poetry night called Dirty Queer, supply the local colleges with gender studies textbooks, and host many other community events. They are also the location and inspiration for the Feminist Bookstore seen in the series Portlandia.
14 NE Killingsworth Street Portland, OR 97211
In Other Words
Powell’s is our independent book mega-store with multiple locations throughout the city including the City of Books tourist attraction downtown and a smaller location on trendy Hawthorne – both with local coffee shops attached. Powell’s is an institution in Portland’s history and hosts book talks and guest authors, which are often free.
1005 W Burnside Portland, OR 97209
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Performing Arts or Arts Groups
+ Homomomentum: A queer variety show held once a month at The Fez in downtown PDX complete with singers, dancers, comedians, and a wide range of unique performances.
+ Peep Show at Red Cap
+ Portland’s Lesbian Chorus
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Dating scene
Portland is a great city to be a single queer lady. This town is very body positive, sex positive and accepting of gender variant identities. In a recent study based on dating website statistics, Portland was named one of the most sexually active and promiscuous cities in the country (do with that what you will). OkCupid is all the rage among the PDX ladies which is great for meeting a variety of folks and makes queer dance parties all the more voyeuristic and interesting. Stay here long enough and you’ll have your own version of The Chart forming in your head. With all of our coffee shops and obsessive food & drink culture, we are never short of a place to take your date, even on a budget.
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LGBT Events
+ Chunky Dunk: A body positive swim day that happens at a local pool during the summer.
+ Gay Skate: A queer roller skate night at the Oaks Park hanger, also home of the Rose City Rollers derby league. Gay Skate is sponsored by QPDX.com
+ Lesbian Arm Wrestling at Florida Room
+ F-Holes Queer Music series
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Salons for Alternative Lifestyle Haircuts
+ Bishop’s & Rudy’s are two local chain barber shops that cater to everyone and they do it cheap. If you want a trendy haircut, these places offer walk-in appointments and Bishop’s will offer you a cold Miller High Life while you wait. You are guaranteed to walk into any of the shops and find a queer lady behind one of the chairs that can meet your hair needs.
+ Beauty Bar
+ Grace Salon is higher scale salon that makes their own hair products and will really give you their time for your money. They offer an apprenticeship program for new stylists and their staff boasts several trendy queers.
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Best Tattoo Artists/Places
Portland loves tattoos. The end.
Icon Tattoo
+ Icon: An amazing group of artists, mostly ladies, who gave the LiPDX girls a great set of matching unicorn tats on their asses during one of their flash sales for Friday the 13th.
+ Mama Tamma at Adorn
+ Scapegoat, Vegan Tattoos
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Etc.
She Bop is our local female-owned and centered sex toy shop located in the N Mississippi neighborhood. They offer a positive environment, helpful staff and a range of high quality sex toys. The shop also offers classes and workshops such as The Joys of Toys! & Exploring Burlesque: Striptease Salon. (909 North Beech Street Portland, OR 97227)
Bitch Media is a feminist culture commentary magazine and blog with offices based out of Portland. They have a lending library and support local businesses.
Dogs Dig It: Is a lesbian owned and operated doggy daycare located in SE Portland. (1132 Southeast Salmon Street Portland, OR 97214)
Out Loud Radio: Portland’s Queer radio show that airs on KBOO community radio.
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The Great Outdoors
Portland is bordered by the Pacific ocean, the Willamette & Columbia rivers, and Mt. Hood. Plenty of queer ladies flock to the nude beach at Sauvie Island, there is a spot at the end of the nude cooridor where all the queers flock to. Picnicking at the bluffs at Overlook Park in North Portland is a summertime favorite. One can also float the Sandy River at Rooster Rock or the Clackamas River in the summer, accompanied by some beers in the next inner tube over. During the winter, Mt. Hood Ski Bowl hosts a ladies’ nights on Tuesdays that offers cheap lift tickets.
Sauvies Island
Diversity
In 2010, the census showed the city was 73.9% White (405,938), 8.8% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) (48,285), 7.8% Asian (42,785), 7.8% Black or African American (42,711), 2.8% Native American (15,523), 0.6% Pacific Islander (3,564), and 3.0% from other races (16,347). Portland also is ranked 7th in the nation with the highest LGBT population. About 9% of Portland identifies as L, G, B, or T.
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Safety
Q Patrol is a citizens foot patrolling program to help prevent gay bashing from occurring at downtown establishments after some attacks that happened against some people that were perceived to be homosexual or transgendered. It is strictly volunteer and is coordinated by the Q Center.
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Cost of Living
Fairly inexpensive: $500-$1200 average monthly rent for an apartment, $300-$600 for a room in a house. Transportation costs are low and no car is needed. Public transportation is also very useful, with two types of rail trains and and an extensive TriMet bus system. Portland is also bike-tastic: it’s one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country, with bike paths galore and a solid community. In the summer many cute ladies ride their bikes around wearing tank tops and you can see all of their tattoos.
Even the street signs in Portland are bike-friendly
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Queer-friendliness of the City
Portland is a very queer-friendly city. Within the city limits, queers are seen everywhere and go relatively unnoticed by the general population. Walking around town, you’ll see many different business with the HRC equality sticker hanging on a window, or a rainbow flag. Portland makes us queers feel very welcomed.
The overall atmosphere of the city is SUPER friendly. When walking around on a sunny day, expect smiles and nods from strangers and friendly waves. People in Portland are very chill, accepting, and friendly overall.
The GLBT communities get along very well with one another here in Portland. Because most of the queer events are all-inclusive, all the communities intermingle, which sets the tone of acceptance and friendship all around. Also, Basic Rights Oregon lists all of the laws and rights that queers in Oregon have on their website.
Part of an ongoing series of Queer Girl City Guides.
Strippereoke? I’m SO in!!
How fortuitous…I’m about to buy tickets to PDX for spring break! Is the club scene friendly to nearly-but-not-quite-21 year olds?
Unfortunately it’s mostly 21+ for clubs. Lots of all ages shows, though
It’s been a few years and they keep changing their name, but I think there’s an underage queer friendly club around here. I’m pretty sure it’s called Escape or The Escape, it might have changed since I’ve been, but I remember it not being terrible when it was under a different name.
Also, though, a new lesbian-owned bar (that is not strictly a lesbian bar) opened recently, also under the name of The Escape Bar. I remember reading this situation in reverse: you know, how to find The Escape Bar without accidentally ending up at the underage club. So just fair warning. :)
Don’t forget New Seasons – best place to check out queer women while grocery shopping!
This makes me really excited for my internship this summer!
Yay Portland! The city that has gotten me the most action I’ve ever had. I love that town and can’t wait to move back and grow a garden with chickens. Because Portland’s that kind of town.
my hometown! you think it can’t all be true, but it’s all true. PARADISE. imagine growing up here. experiencing the rest of the world was a very rude awakening.
Yey, super helpful list! My wife and I have been living in Portland for about three months now. We love it here and are already familiar with lots of stuff on this list but it’s good to find out more. Went to Hott at Crush last month (second Saturday) and I would definitely recommend it. :) As far as cost of living goes, i have questions. We have a Portland address but are not downtown (about 12 minutes from) and we pay over $900 for our apartment. Looking downtown, like the Pearl District, and we cannot find a place even close to $900. Unless you’re below poverty level to get a place with income restrictions, its all like, well over $1200. When you move out of the city a bit to where rent is a lil cheaper, then you definitely need a car because everything is farther. So where is the area close enough to the city to solely use public transportation but still falls below like, $1000 a month?
I would never want to live downtown/Pearl anyway! I hardly count that as real Portland. Look at inner-SE, NE and N. I live near SE 39th and Hawthorne, which is incredibly convenient for pretty much everything, I’ve never driven in my life, and I live in a 2 bedroom apartment that costs 975 a month (but I have a roommate and pay half of it). There are totally cheaper places too, though.
Ah, thank you for the suggestions! Ideally, I would love to not have to drive anymore… But we don’t want to pay more than like $1000. Also don’t want to have to share a space… So we’ve been looking. :) I do like Hawthorne but I don’t want my neighbors to be like, right on top of us. :) Are you in an apartment in that area then?
I’m in an apartment. It’s a pretty small building. There are six units, all two-bedrooms, and it’s one story, so there’s no one above us. It’s one of those U-shaped brick buildings that are everywhere. It’s pretty quiet, has a tiny yard, onsite laundry, etc. You probably won’t find a house for less than 1000 in a neighborhood you want, but I’m sure you can find a nice apartment. The Hawthorne/Belmont/Division Clinton areas are great, but I also have a lot of friends who live in NE and love it–Irvington, Alberta, around there. If you want to go a little cheaper take a look at Kenton and St. Johns (in North), Woodstock and Lents (SE) and Multnomah Village (SW). The trick here is that there just aren’t that many rental properties available. Check everyday online (I like housingmaps.com), but then also check property management company websites (Capital, American, Fox) and look around the neighborhoods you’re interested in. Get in application in as soon as you possibly can if you have any interest in it. The only reason I got the first apartment I applied for in Portland was that I saw the sign they put up before it went on Craigslist.
There are awesome apartments on and around N/NE killingsworth that are under 1000. Great neighborhood, right by the florida room, in other words bookstore, record room, mississippi st, alberta. quick Max ride from downtown. 10 min bike ride from downtown and of course lots of lovely ladies. also, the friendliest section of portland in my opinion.
Se, Mississippi area, sometimes Woodstock are all pretty cheap.
What a great list! I’m moving to PDX in a few weeks and can’t wait to check out the scene. Anyone know of a lesbian/women’s basketball league there? Thanks!
#RCTID
This is perfect timing! I just moved to Portland two weeks ago. One thing worth mentioning is that Portland has not one but TWO women’s rugby teams (The Pigs and ORSU). Rugby isn’t necessarily gay in and of itself, but if you like to watch women tackle each other, this is the game for you!
Portland also has 2 tackle football teams in the WFA!! ;)
Can someone please do Toronto pleeeeaasssseee? :D
It’s sad that Portlandia (and other things) has made people think that Portland is this perfect liberal heaven.(Also sad that Portlandia isn’t funny anymore.) It is very nice and quite liberal, I grew up there and live really close by, but it isn’t the heaven everyone tries to portray it as. There are plenty of conservatives in the city and lot of liberals in the surrounding area. Portland isn’t a liberal bubble. THe bookstore In Other Words is literally a block from where I used to live, and it was the first of many gentrificating business’ to come. That area of town has changed dramatically since it opened, lots of the people that lived there before have now moved, and hardly any of the business that were there are around anymore.
I’m glad you said this because I have a similar viewpoint, even though I am in no way native. We moved here from the Midwest and we absolutely love it here. In fact, we plan on staying here forever and ever. The reasons behind that, though, have very, very little to do with the gay community and everything to do with everything else. I love Oregon and would highly recommend it to anyone but i think the liberal paradise thing is a bit reaching. If I would have relocated exclusively for that, I think I would have been a bit disappointed. Yes, there are more gay events and such out here but day to day, it is not so different from other places. People in general are nicer and more relaxed and open but I have still come across conservatives and homophobes and people who make me repeat that I have a wife and not a husband because they don’t get it…and then call her my friend or partner anyway. Like I said, it is more gay-friendly than lots of places but I’m not quite sure I’d classify it as a liberal and queer Mecca.
Good fucking G-d I love Portland.
this is awesome! and so many of these things are within a two block radius of me…i am never leaving my immediate surroundings ever again. very nicely done!
Hey, I’m new to town and want to get out and check out the scene. This is me putting myself “out there” whcih is something I don’t usually do… but you seem chill. Would you be interested in taking my info, getting to know each other over text/email? I promise I’m not a creeper, just doing what I did best at the playground as a 5 year— “hi my name is Fig, want to be my friend?” status. :)
Thank you thank you thank you for this! I’ve been in Portland for a year now and still haven’t quite figured out the gay scene (besides Blow Pony of course).
the Reed part is so trueee. And it makes us super-stoked when non-Reedies come to Queer Prom so please do. Last year my drunk self was a money-taker bracelet putter on-er so I got to eyeball EVERYONE.
The only problem with queers in portland is that most people are kind of queer in the non-gender conforming (see also: hipster) sense so it can be hard to determine asymmetrical from gaysymetrical haircuts. I also don’t really like portland in general, but that is another discussion. I do love new seasons though.
This is the problem with every “advice for identifying queer women” thing I have ever read: every portlander looks like a lesbian. So much plaid and doc martins and scarves and asymmetrical haircuts and face-piercings and boi-ish looking straight girls.
I can’t agree with this enough – it seems like EVERY Portlander looks like a lesbian. Not only does it completely throw your radar off trying to figure out if a queer-looking girl is actually queer or not, but if you happen to accidentally not look particularly queer (me!), it’s hard to get noticed.
Also, I seem to meet a lot of women who identify as queer, but practically speaking, only rarely (if ever) actually date women and are mostly interested in men. I’m not particularly bothered by that per say, but it’s definitely confusing and can be frustrating…
I haven’t met any “theoretical” queers, but also I generally don’t ask people. Maybe some of the women I know who look queer but I think are straight are really queer, and are just currently dating men, or have only told me about the boys they have crushes on. Whenever I see one of my housemates wearing plaid and rainbows and clunky boots I want to tell them: “Those are gay things, and you are ruining it for the gays.” But then I think that it is no use, that in Portland, everybody will wear the gay things no matter what their orientation.
Also, my straight sister was recently telling me about her sudden realization that all of her clothes are very lesbianish.
WARNING: The Timbers are a soccer team, not a feminist or lesbian organization. That thing on their logo is a hatchet, not a labrys.
good to know
Don’t forget the Portland Pilot women soccer games!! Lots of lesbians there too.
This is so perfect, I’m going to Portland to see Brandi Carlile with the Oregon Symphony in May!!!!
I’ve only visited, but I love Portland. The Goodwill bins are definitely worth a visit, though the ones in Seattle are better and cheaper. Casa Diablo was the only strip club I went to but it was really fun and memorable. Potato champion (a food cart… um, somewhere?) has good vegetarian poutine. I find veg friendly poutine in every city I go to. Dirty Queer was fun and the flip book people are cool.
POTATO CHAMPION. SE 12th and hawthorne.
YES THERE EXACTLY
I’m probably going to stay somewhere off air bnb, but does anyone know of a good place to stay with a (friendly, super well trained) pit bull in Portland?
As if I wasn’t already convinced enough that I need to move to Portland this fall, but this solidified it.
Lewis & Clark also has a Queer Prom, and a Queer Resource Center, and an, albiet not very active Unisex (they do a few things each semester; I say not active because I don’t think they have public weekly meetings, and I think most of the queer ladies spend more time in the womyn’s center), but also a Gender Studies department, and a gender symposium every year, and a student run genders and sexualities yearly-journal, and your description didn’t mention any of these things!
On the streetcar to the Portland airport, an intoxicated homeless man sang me and my girlfriend a love song to “spread the lady lovings.” Fond spot in my heart after that.
Aah, Portland. I lived there for just a few months, and it was wonderful. I still dream about moving back…
Especially cause I didn’t really get in to the queer scene when I was there are all (I know, what was wrong with me?). I need to go back to take full advantage.
holy shit holy shit. when i was in high school i envisioned portland to be the “land of the lesbians/gaymos” (an ideal world, if anything). i wanted to go to school at PNCA but then i realized i couldn’t afford it. booooooo. i’m def going to portland sometime though.:)
you had me at “$3 mason jar whiskey and ginger”
Soooooo guess where I’m moving? Screw going home to Seattle!
The Fixin’ To in St. Johns also has a queer night called Sweet Tea on the first Thursday of the month.
I’ve always wanted to visit Portland and reading this article has greatly increased said desire.
Also, I love that “Salons for Alternative Lifestyle Haircuts” is a thing. Creating a salon list for the top queer cities seems like a good idea. I’d even volunteer to compile the information!
Wait, people still move to Portland?
I kid. I’ve lived here for nearly 9 years and have become jaded. I remember every time I visit somewhere else in the US just why it’s so damn comfortable, though.
I traipsed through Portland last summer and went to Sinferno, sex industry night at Dante’s. Ridiculously hot gogo dancers, contortionists, vaudeville, fire eating, poi… I do believe there was a visiting circus when I went. It was definitely the best night I had when I was there.
I’m still a little bitter after getting wait-listed for Reed College…
However, I do wear my Reed sweatshirt with pride: communism, atheism, free love! \m/
Yay Portland. Yay Oregon!!!!!!! Just get rid of the rain and I will move back, I promise.
In Other Words looks suspiciously like Women & Women First…
Now I want to live here and ride my bike in the rain every day.
Ugh, I want to move to Portland tremendously so. It’s the promised land. Seriously.
As a closeted teenager living in Oregon, it’s kind of tough, especially in the ultra-conservative small town I live in. However, there was one time when my family visited Portland. My mom was confused by the setup of the streets (we nearly crashed about three times) but at one point we ended up going through some smaller streets to get to a main road. Around there, I saw a building (I think it was a store?) with a rainbow flag outside, and I felt weirdly safer. Even though I was in a car driven by a mother in a bad mood, had nearly crashed a few times, and had been denied going to Powell’s, that one, simple rainbow flag made my day.
When I feel like the world hates all things gay, including me, I remember that flag, and remember that there’s hope if I can just persevere long enough to get out of this hellhole. If I do decide to stay in Oregon (I probably won’t), I will almost certainly live in Portland.
Thanks so much for this guide! I’m waiting hear back from PSU currently, so I could be moving there over the summer. Regardless, I’ll be visiting soon to meet up with some friends and I’m very excited.
Great article. I’ve been a few times to Portland and loved the energy, but never been there long enough to really see the sites and enjoy it as whole. You guys have an amazing comics community too. So between the comics, the queers and the overall awesomeness it’s one of those place I would really love to live for a spell.
Also a newer gay bar the Local Lounge on MLK and Fremont is a good and free event space for birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations etc. It’s also a hangout for RCSA lady softball players.
Does anyone know whether the strip clubs listed above are 18+ or 21+? It’s my 18th birthday next week and a friend has promised me a lap dance.
YOU GUISEEEE
The Black Cat is seriously the best. I went to a moustache night there in February. It was the best party ever.
“Treat every single Reedie you meet as queer until proven otherwise.”
FACT. True story, I once spent an hour running around the campus in search of a single heterosexual.
Anyone know when homomomentum occurs?
Funny enough I am in one of your Photos!! Ba ha ha Cheers :)
Know what would be awesome for these city guides? Suggestions on places to stay.
I’m thinking about visiting but have no idea where to stay. Anyone have any hotel recommendations?
Might be to late but ACE Hotel is a great place to stay. Pet friendly too.
fantastic! thank you.
This has to be the best guide I’ve ever read! I just arrived in Portland today so these tips on places to go have been very helpful
Ladies, I just went to this queer/trans yoga thing in NoPo, and I figured y’all might want to know about it. It’s only $5 (or more if you want to make a donation), and the instructor is super cute!
http://www.northportlandyoga.com/dev/portfolio-item/queer-trans-yoga/
Better link:
http://www.northportlandyoga.com/dev/portfolio-item/queer-trans-yoga/?class_id=143
I live in Portland and work at Rudy’s Barbershop on Division, we are all queer! It’s True! I love our community and I love everyone I work with! Portland is the best and most excepting city I’ve ever lived.
Coming into Portland this coming Thursday till next Monday… Have no specific plans but just heard from other friends that Portland is an amazing place… Any must do that locals would know of that are not generally listed on top 10 lists? Also, where are great shopping stops(shoes,clothing)… not to pricey but cute boutique like stuff that I wouldn’t find on the east coast.. Lastly and most importantly, I checked out and jotted down all the bars autostraddle recommended, however, I also know that girl parties tend to travel and change venues frequently. What is the latest whereabout of the best party/bar to be at this coming thursady, friday and saturday in portland….
BTW, the autostraddle site is awesome and I can’t wait to be in portland =)
im 17, and getting ready to move there, i was wondering if theres anything for me to do? ive always lived places where its not particularly normal. i live in louisiana right now, new orleans is pretty accepting. however, where i live now is a whole bunch of bible thumpers who hate me and my girl for being us. hopefully i can have her visit and get her to move out there with me. ive noticed all the clubs are 21+, so is there stuff for people my age to interact with adults? i find most lesbians are crazy at my age, so i try to stay away from them lol.
Rose City Rollers don’t make the queer cut for sports?!
I highly recommend going to a bout, or if you’re feeling up to it joining Fresh Meat or the Rosebuds if you’re under 18!
Could anyone comment on how trans-friendly any of these places or events are? It might seen unneccessarily paranoid but particularly since I don’t pass very well.. or at all, actually, that I wouldn’t be welcome in these spaces.
Thank you so much for such fabulous information about Queer PDX! I am in the process moving to SE Portland, after thinking about it for almost twenty years. What can I say, I was always encountering something around the next corner I turned in San Francisco that kept me occupied. But I kept dreaming of Portland; I have never watched an episode of Portlandia, fearing that it would ruin that yearning sensation that I have stored away like a fine wine.Yes, I have always longed to come to Portland and now, after reading your blog, I know why. I am finally going to scratch that PDX itch and drink her with gusto. Cheers, Zed
I just want to say that Fresh Pot Coffee on Mississippi is the lady queerest coffee shop I can think of. The baristas are ultra babes and I see them at queer events all the time, and all my friends hang out there. So it’s pretty queer!
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There is nothing “queer friendly” about Sassy’s. It’s a strip club that’s managed to market itself well to male and female hipsters. But it’s really just an overpriced bar with “vegas-style” fake-boobed strippers who don’t really interact with the audience at all. The only difference between that and your not queer-friendly strip bars is the clientele, most of whom dont go to strip bars and need to be constantly reminded to “tip” and “dont touch the dancers” and “dont be a d-bag” by the DJ.
Meanwhile, you left off Union Jack’s, which isn’t “queer friendly” but stocked with dancers of all types and relatively normal, boring, middle aged men that are respectful and interested in the stories and lives of the dancers.
Hey Autostraddlers,
I’m new to Hood River and was wondering if any of you are knowledgeable in the service/nightlife industry in or around Hood River to chop it up. I can take a trip out to Portland as well if you’d like to meet out there.
Instagram @janicepaik
Thank you!
I am looking for data collectors in the Portland area to work on a government sponsored research study called RESPECT LGBT. To be successful in this position you will need to have firsthand experience and knowledge of the local LGBT nightclub scene in the Portland area. You also will need to be able to network within the community to help get things done. Including but not limited to, effectively communicating with establishment owners and managers as well as respondents. You will need to know when and where to find people who identify as LGBT and are between the ages of 18 and 24.
Here is the link to apply in Portland
http://chj.tbe.taleo.net/chj06/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=HEADWORK&cws=43&rid=16874&source=ex_ref&utm_source=ex_ref&utm_medium=email&utm_content=bstevison&utm_campaign=rti_respect
Feel free to email me with ant questions. bstevison@headwaycorp.com
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I would love to see a more updated list.. Am planning for a weekend out but I’m sad to see that a fair number of places have closed down since 2012
This guide is definitely outdated. The PDX of 6 years ago is nothing like it is now. For one, the cost of living has skyrocketed and only continues to increase. I wish I could write my own guide but I don’t really frequent the places on this list. Hopefully someone will eventually find time to update it ?
Scrolled through your site and I see nothing in here specifically for seniors. I want to move to Portland but I need to find events and activities that support this population.
fabrikadan