EXPLAINER: Masks, Money & Massive Pile-Ons – The Global Drama Over US Lesbian Venue, Last Ditch Bar
The policy shift drew online mockery after Fox News and Senator Ted Cruz amplified the Globe article, patrons said.
- Last Ditch, a lesbian bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts, ignited a firestorm after announcing a mask-optional Saturday night, transforming the venue into a global cautionary tale shared by Fox News and high-profile critics.
- Facing $72,000 in debt from co-founders' departure, the owner relaxed the venue's strict, long-standing mask policy to attract non-masked customers and increase revenue. The shift alienated core clientele who demanded continued COVID-19 precautions.
- A Boston Globe investigation exposed internal grievances from a contentious September 11 crisis meeting, where ten attendees clashed over accessibility and DEI standards while others joined via Zoom, with tensions escalating immediately.
- Sisters Against Disablement organized a protest outside citing accessibility failures, while inside, participants argued over language and implementation, revealing ideological fractures within the community.
- The controversy transformed the small bar into a symbol of "DEI" mindset extremes, drawing mockery from Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz and others, highlighting the volatile intersection of identity politics and post-COVID community expectations.
16 Articles
16 Articles
The hunt for Britain’s wokest bar
Annalisa Quinn is an editor at the Boston Globe magazine, and through a mixture of good fortune, good journalism and good writing, she published the perfect story for our times last week. On 31 August, a lesbian bar in western Massachusetts called Last Ditch posted on Instagram that ‘it is with love we inform our immuno-compromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional’. Previously, KN-95 face masks were the minimum …
The queer bar "Last Ditch" had a mask mandate until recently. When it relaxed the policy to avert financial ruin, it triggered strong reactions – none of them positive.
Lesbian Bar Project Co-Founder: Purity Politics Could Destroy Our Remaining Spaces
This article was originally published by Uncloseted Media. As a professional lesbian and Massachusetts native, I’ve recently been asked by a lot of folks what I think about the saga unfolding at Last Ditch. The now-viral story, first reported by The Boston Globe, centers on a Western Massachusetts lesbian bar that lifted its mask requirement for one night a week to help drum up business. The decision ignited an intra-queer controversy that has b…
Sydney Morning Herald
‘I hope your venue gets firebombed’: The small-town lesbian bar left reeling after a ‘woke’ backlash
When Last Ditch ended its COVID-style mask requirement to attract more customers, it became a source of global amusement and served as a cautionary tale about the hazards of being accessible to the point of absurdity.
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