Gay bars once served as the centre of gay culture and were one of the few places people with same-sex orientations and gender-variant identities could openly socialize. Other names used to describe these establishments include boy bar , girl bar , gay club , gay pub , queer bar , lesbian bar , drag bar , and dyke bar , depending on the niche communities that they serve.
Gathering places favoured by homosexuals have operated for centuries. Reports from as early as the 17th century record the existence of bars and clubs that catered to, or at least tolerated, openly gay clientele in several major European cities. The raid led to the executions of John Hepburn and Thomas White for sodomy.
It is not clear which place is the first gay bar in the modern sense. In Cannes , France, such a bar had already opened in , and there were many more in Berlin around In the United Kingdom and the Netherlands gay bars were established throughout the first quarter of the 20th century. The oldest gay bar in Beijing is the Half-and-Half, which in had been open over ten years.
It now claims to be one of the oldest gay bars in Europe. The very first gay bar in Europe and probably in the world was the Zanzibar in Cannes on the French Riviera. The Zanzibar was opened in and existed for years, before it was closed in December In the s and s the police and authorities tolerated homosexuals as long as the conduct was private and out of view, but gay bar raids occurred and there were occasions when the owners of the bars were involved in facilitating the raids.
Lesbians rarely visited gay bars and instead socialized in circles of friends. Lesbians who did go to bars often originated from the working class. Since the s, the Le Marais district is the center of the gay scene in Paris. In Berlin , there was gay and lesbian night life already around , which throughout the s became very open and vibrant, especially when compared to other capitals.
