Three row houses, a home with the progress flag in the window, a coffee shop, and a bar, with a flashing neon sign reading queering the district podcast above the buildings in the background.

what is the podcast?

Queering the District Podcast, will explore the role, history, and stories “third places” have held across time for the Queer community in Washington, D.C. Join us as we journey as far back as the 19th century and make our way back to the present day to see how various types of Queer “third places,” such as bars, parks, houses, and more, have evolved over time. Each season will focus on one “type” of “third place,” with season one focused on bars. You’ll hear from Queer elders, academic experts, and even that one drunk friend leaving a voicemail in their favorite bar as they share the stories of Queer folks who have and continue to gather in defiance, solidarity, and celebration across the District.

what is a third place?

The term “third place” comes from Ray Oldenburg, who describes a third place as a social setting that exists outside one’s home or workplace, which are considered an individual's “first” and “second place” respectively*. Oldenburg has a list of eight characteristics that classifies a place as a “third place,” which includes things like inclusivity and accessibility, having regulars, being low profile, and more. For the purpose of this podcast, we decided to take some liberties with what we described as a “third place” and build off this definition.

The Queer community, as with other marginalized groups, has had to be creative when gathering from the start. This means that some of the more traditional “third places” may not have been available to the Queer community. When who you are is illegal or dangerous to exist as in public, finding a place outside home and work may look a little different than cis, straight folks.

These places and spaces, while not traditional, are also extremely important to the Queer community today and historically. For many folks in the Queer community, one of the foundational places in your life, your home, may become hostile once your identity is discovered by others, whether you choose to reveal it or that truth is stolen from you. Even if you’re not rejected from the places you called home growing up, being Queer can be an isolating experience. If you don’t have others living the same experience as you, feeling the same things as you, it can be difficult to embrace those parts of yourself.

Once again, this adds another layer to the importance and creativity when crafting places others can call their ‘third place.’ A place that embraces what others have rejected. We also recognize that many of the iconic places Queer folks have gathered in isn’t always accessible to everybody. Some have a monetary requirement to enter or partake in (which not everybody has), some outright barred or harassed Black and other people of color out of their establishments, some have language barriers, some physically can’t enter spaces because there is no ramp or door wide enough, the list goes on and on.

It’s also important to note that the Queer community intersects with every other identity. For some folks, other facets of their identity may be more important to connect with. Whether that be finding people with the same racial or ethnic background, people who can speak the same language, or finding other disabled folks to relate to, sometimes its more important to connect with one community than the other, and the Queer community hasn’t always been the best at creating space for people to connect with all parts of their identity, not just their Queer one.

This is a discussion we will return to often in the podcast. While some spaces feel like a perfect “third place” to some folks, it could be unwelcoming or hostile to others. It’s an unfortunate truth and something that must be discussed alongside the absolute joy that radiates from these places as well. And trust us, there’s a lot of that to go around!

*Oldenburg, Ray. The Great Good Place: Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2005.

Language in the Podcast

We understand the importance of language and have made a few intentional decisions concerning language throughout this podcast.

We won’t be stating anybody’s pronouns in the podcast. For instance, we won’t be saying, “Abby uses she/they pronouns” in the middle of any episode. Instead, we’ve opted to simply refer to people based on their preference throughout the episode, this includes any honorifics or titles. Any labels used are labels individuals have elected to use themselves. We believe that the labels you choose, titles you claim, or pronouns you select or don’t select, is something that should be left to every individual, without any questions.

We also understand that language has changed a lot and will continue to change. The language we use today is not the language folks were using in the early 20th century. We’ve opted to use language most commonly used today when describing something from an outsider’s perspective and language from the time in which that story or person was living to describe individual experiences or identities.

The difficult and beautiful thing about language is that it isn’t one-size fits all, so while some folks may find an identity or label euphoric, others may find it upsetting. We hope everyone listening is able to find little pieces of themselves throughout these episodes, even if it isn’t with the exact same language you would use.

Who we are

Ellie and Abby sitting on a couch, smiling and laughing

A few years ago, we made the transition from the suburbs in Colorado to our first major city: Washington, D.C. Abby moved out here for school amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and Ellie followed a few years later after some gentle harassment from Abby. While we quickly realized the District is an extremely special place, we struggled for a while, and sometimes still do, to find our place in it. As Queer folks, we really wanted to find where people were gathering, and with so many different spaces, people, and history packed into one city, we struggled to find where we fit.

As we continued to fall in love with the city, we also realized how little we knew about local history, especially Queer history. If we were going to step into these spaces, we wanted to know what they have meant to folks in the District over time. After just a little digging, we realized this city was bursting to the seams with Queer history and spaces. A door opened that we didn’t want to, nor could, close.

It was from these two things: a desire to connect with others and to learn more about the Queer people and places that have shaped the District, that this podcast was born.