Celebrating Nashville’s LGBTQ+ community, past and present

This Is Nashville · Mar 18, 2022 · 50m

Nashville has changed a lot over the past handful of decades – and our city’s LGBTQ+ scene is no exception. The first gay bars popped up after World War II, and the number of LGBTQ+ establishments grew from there, peaking in the 1980s and 1990s with more than 20. None of them are still around today.

In recent years, increasing social acceptance has lead to the creation of new queer spaces in Nashville, like kickball leagues and roving dance parties, and has sparked conversations about the purpose of traditional spaces. There has also been a conservative backlash in the state legislature that…