Greggor Mattson & Krista Burton

media release:  A Room of One's Own is thrilled to welcome Greggor Mattson and Krista Burton for an evening of conversation on queer nightlife centering both their books Who Needs Gay Bars?: Bar-Hopping Through America's Endangered LGBTQ+ Places and Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America

This is an in person event at A Room of One's Own.

About the books

Who Needs Gay Bars?

Jarred by the closing of his favorite local watering hole in Cleveland, Ohio, Greggor Mattson embarks on a journey across the country to paint a much more complex picture of the cultural significance of these spaces, inside "big four" gay cities, but also beyond them. No longer the only places for their patrons to socialize openly, Mattson finds in them instead a continuously evolving symbol; a physical place for feeling and challenging the beating pulse of sexual progress.

The question that frames this story is not asking whether these spaces are needed, but for whom, earnestly exploring the diversity of folks and purposes they serve today. 

Moby Dyke

Lesbian bars have always been treasured safe spaces for their customers, providing not only a good time but a shelter from societal alienation and outright persecution. In 1987, there were 206 of them in America. Today, only a couple dozen remain. How and why did this happen? What has been lost—or possibly gained—by such a decline? What transpires when marginalized communities become more accepted and mainstream?

In Moby Dyke, Krista Burton attempts to answer these questions firsthand, venturing on an epic cross-country pilgrimage to the last few remaining dyke bars. 

Greggor Mattson is the author of a book and articles about gay bars in such venues as Slate, The Washington Post, and Lit Hub. He is Professor and Chair of Sociology at Oberlin College & Conservatory, and lives in Ohio with a chihuahua named Howie.

Krista Burton is the creator of the popular blog Effing Dykes and was a frequent contributor to the online magazine Rookie. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Elle, and VICE. She lives in Minnesota.