Passing Up P-Town
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| A couple of bears in P-town |
They might see me as a heretic, but I’m not a big fan of P-town. While other gays flock there during the summer, I prefer staying in my own backyard.
This view is so controversial that, last Saturday night at dinner, when I told our friend Michael about my plan to write this post, he was so stricken that he asked me six times why and how I could do it. I thought he might lunge across the table and stab me with his butter knife.
As I told Michael, the only time Joe and I visited P-town was during Bear Week in the early 2000s. This annual event bills itself as the world’s largest gathering of bears. In case you are very naive, a bear in LGBTQ slang is a man who is both beefy and hairy, not a large, short-tailed mammal like Smokey. Many human bears are into leather, but the leather community also includes many who don’t qualify as bears.
Aside from not relating to these and other kinks, I also see little reason to spend time in a gay Mecca.
This aversion also includes gay bars, “gayborhoods” like New York’s Chelsea, San Francisco's Castro, Boystown in Chicago, or even Cleveland’s Lakewood. Fire Island never did it for me, either.
I understand that, historically, gay establishments and communities were places where people could relax and connect with like-minded individuals. The emancipation from heterosexual norms was a strong draw.
But Provincetown is just not “me.”
As I told Michael, the only time Joe and I visited P-town was during Bear Week in the early 2000s. This annual event bills itself as the world’s largest gathering of bears. In case you are very naive, a bear in LGBTQ slang is a man who is both beefy and hairy, not a large, short-tailed mammal like Smokey. Many human bears are into leather, but the leather community also includes many who don’t qualify as bears.
Aside from not relating to these and other kinks, I also see little reason to spend time in a gay Mecca.
This aversion also includes gay bars, “gayborhoods” like New York’s Chelsea, San Francisco's Castro, Boystown in Chicago, or even Cleveland’s Lakewood. Fire Island never did it for me, either.
I understand that, historically, gay establishments and communities were places where people could relax and connect with like-minded individuals. The emancipation from heterosexual norms was a strong draw.
But Provincetown is just not “me.”
I know people who go to Provincetown every summer. In fact, Michael and his husband Matt are going twice this year.
Once in a lifetime was enough for me. I don't particularly enjoy being in an all-gay bubble and generally prefer big cities, even in the summer, over quaint little towns.
Sorry guys, but if that means sacrificing my gay bona fides, I’m okay with it.
Sorry guys, but if that means sacrificing my gay bona fides, I’m okay with it.
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ReplyDeleteWe will be on Cape Cod staying with friends in Wellfleet in August and there's usually a walk around and meal in PTown included some time during the visit. I find a mix of folks there and it's always good for some people watching. I wouldn't stay there, though. Too crowded for me for sure! Lisa Wallace
ReplyDeleteIn the '70s and '80s I went to Provincetown every summer. Brief visits usually, often not overnight as my lover Christopher's family had a summer house in Harwich. Stayed at the Boatslip or with Congressman Gerry Studds, who had a condo there and later a really nice house. Fun gay bubble back then in my view. The town swarmed with cute young people, and, this was key, a lot of talented writers and artists. It was bohemian. But I think that has changed. P'town is now far too expensive for most young people and has been for over 20 years. The result is that the bars and tea dances are grayer than of yore. Fatter and hairier too, especially during Bear Week. Nothing wrong there but I gather the result is a decidedly less lively scene. As for artists and writers, I don't know how much of that scene has survived. P'town's too pricey for them, too. A shame. Used to be a lovely little tacky disco-honky-tonk beach town. With superb restaurants and loads of sexy guys. A few years ago someone I know went to tea dance at Boatslip and was dismayed that it had the vibe of a gay dentists' convention.
ReplyDeleteLewis Gannett