Gay Customers Don't Want Their Bars to Be Like Straight Bars

A few more interesting things from our Faces online survey for us to think about...and for every straight bar owner who was thinking they could throw together a "gay night" on a slow night to empty gay pockets...84.2% of our survey respondents do not want gay bars to be like straight bars. Eighty-nine percent think that gay bars are an important part of our community...ninety percent think that gay bars give them a place to be themselves...80% said it was important for the bars that they patronize to support AIDS service organizations...70% said it was important that their bars support St. Louis Pridefest....67% said it was important for their bars to offer HIV testing and safe sex material...77% said it was important that their bars support gay owned publications like EXP and Vital Voice...and 90% said that whenever possible they try to support gay owned businesses. One remark we would like to add...there are many straight owned bars and restaurants that support AIDS service organizations...some support Pridefest..and a few advertise in gay owned publications (and quite a few gay bars have abandoned these publications yet they still get support from the community)...those businesses that reach out to us deserve the support and thanks of our community. We are not aware of any straight bars that offer HIV testing or safe sex material, which is kind of odd since straight people have sex too.