Iowa city gay bars

This guide is written by Ariel Godwin, an Autostraddle community member! The Queer Girl City Guides are compiled and written by volunteer community members who are excited to share their favorite places and experiences with you. They cannot be iowa verified by Autostraddle. We also recognize that cities change and venues close with time.

Due to team restrictions, these guides may not always be up-to-date as time goes on. Feel free to share your own info about these locations in the comments! Despite my initial mistake, it became clear to me that the love of writing pervades every brick and cobblestone of Iowa City, and its designation as a UNESCO City of Literature remains an irresistible draw for poets, essayists, and authors of every variety.

To be perfectly honest, my first three years of school in Iowa City disappointed me. Compared to my city, Austin, the whole town seemed claustrophobic and uncultured. Since graduating and moving beyond the prescribed borders of campus, though, my opinion has changed. The negative aspects of campus life and my first run-in with Midwestern weather — i.

Image via Iowa City Pride on Facebook. Iowa City Pride is the summer event of the year, every year — it takes place in late July but I start looking forward to it in May. While you might expect it to be a small affair in a quiet town, the reality is a multi-block, day-long celebration.

The parade has expanded from the LGBT community to encompass activist groups like Veterans for Peace; progressive politicians like to march as bar, and this year I gay a state senator and candidate for Governor among the parade-goers. As joyous and affirmative as it is, I hope Iowa City Pride continues to take steps towards welcoming diversity and being more inclusive every year.

Well might you ask. Image via Studio 13 on Facebook. The neon-lined entrance welcomes visitors for drinks, dancing, karaoke, and more. Studio 13 serves as a kind of catch-all for the whole LGBT umbrella and the sole hub for queer activity — which can be a mixed bag for queer women in particular, as the demographic seems to skew towards gay and bi men.

Queer Girl City Guide: Iowa City, Iowa

On drag king nights, however, queer ladies are out in force: the drag kings bring an awesome, friendly atmosphere to their performances and I always feel at home there. As far as queer party havens go, you could do far worse. Even better, there are a ton of campus orgs that welcome queer ladies. Gamma Rho Lambda is a relatively young chapter dedicated to diversity: despite their sorority designation and their name GRL!

Get it? Another org, Trans Alliance is specifically aimed at the transgender and non-binary communities; they host a yearly Trans Week of Action and have a focus on education and activism. Located just on the west side of the river, the LGBTQ Resource Center is a cozy little cottage that hosts events for both UI students and the community, as well as being a general-use safe space.

A library and kitchen round out the safe space and are open for use by queer students and community members alike.