Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

From the Eastside to Hollywood: Chicano Queer Trailblazers in 970s L.A.

03/09/2016

Say hi as you cruise by...cuz everybody is a star in Hollywood -Village People, 1977

In order to find our identity, we had to leave the Eastside.

A New Gay Dawning - Circus Disco button, courtesy of the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries.

The Chicano Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Stonewall uprising had empowered queer Chicano youth like myself to embrace our newfound sexual freedom. The Chicano student movement, especially, had instilled in us a sense of pride. In the wake of these heady events, we had the confidence to access another Los Angeles, a city our parents couldn't.

East Los Angeles during the mid-1970s offered few safe spaces for people like us. But Hollywood did.

From 1975 to 1982 were the explosive, underground disco years in L.A., and for the first time in the city's history predominantly gay and straight Chicano youth flooded Hollywood's dance floors.

Being out back than was to learn how to negotiate the physical and social landscape in order to find safety.

Being out back than was to learn how to negotiate the physical and social landscape in order to find safety - unlike today where people come out to their families, friends, coworkers, or even in cyberspace. To meet the demands of LA's queer youth, 18-and-over dance bars opened up in underutilized retail stores fronts, mini-malls, or warehouses in commercial zones. Many of these places were small - on the order of 3,000 square feet - which created an intimate, social atmosphere.

The dance floors of such Hollywood and North Hollywood clubs as the Outer Limits, Other Side, Paradise Ballroom, Sugar Shack, After Dark, Gino's II, and, ultimately, Circus were where we communicated with our bodies - an essential, enduring part of our queer development and identity. Many of these clubs and bars were intimate venues located in mini-malls, occupying retail store fronts less 3,000 square feet in size.

Whittier Boulevard, East Los Angeles, 1979. Photo by Anne Knudsen, courtesy of the Herald-Examiner Collection - Los Angeles Public Library.

The macho landscape of the Eastside was a hard place for queer youth to find a safe space to be ourselves. For our own safety, we had to learn how to read other people's body language and pick up subtle cues. I met my two best friends in the bus and at school. Both were shy social outcasts but our quirkiness brought us together. We became fast friends, came out to each other, and started planning to transform our lives by visiting a gay club we had heard about from a friend of a friend.

Though the journey from East Los Angeles to Hollywood was a few short miles, to me it seemed much further because my family never left the Eastside, and I didn't have a car.

After Dark matchbook, courtesy of the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries.

One Friday evening, feeling bold, I left my family, who were watching TV in the living room. I didn't know what I would find but I had to do it. Having the comfort of my entourage gave me the courage to make that trip to my future. I never would have been able to make it alone.

Our first trip to the club was by the Rapid Transit District bus. Nervously we met at the bus stop; it was still light out. We took the bus downtown to the corner of Fifth and Hill, from where all the buses to Hollywood departed.

We knew we were in the right spot when we met with a group of flamboyantly dressed African-American youth. As I looked around, I noted how, in the midst of all of downtown's activity, this corner gave off its own gay vibe. On one side of the intersection was the notorious gay cruising ground of Pershing Square, and on Fifth Street there was a bookstore where you could peek at magazines like Physique Pictorial and After Dark.

In the back of the RTD bus we found our temporary social zone. The bus engine groaned, and the black queens strained to talk smack over the noise. This was my community and we owned the city from in back of the bus.

Nightfall had taken over the light-manufacturing zone in Hollywood where we got off the bus. We headed to Arthur J's coffee shop to use the restroom and do some last minute priming. It was a typical looking LA diner with a big counter where people sat around - but all the customers were men. Here we invaded the quiet world of mainstream gay white culture.

Nestled between industrial buildings along the stretch of Highland between Santa Monica and Melrose was the Other Side dance club, located on the second floor. In the quiet of night under the darkness of ficus trees, as we gathered at the discrete entrance, other youth began to arrive with their entourages of sisters, brothers, friends, and neighbors. There were no rainbow flags or other obvious indicators of a gay space. We had our IDs out and ready to be checked.

I had butterflies in my stomach as I walked up the dark staircase and heard David Bowie's Fame. I hadn't known what to expect, but now I knew that I had found my Valhalla.

A disco ball spun above the dark room, and everything reflected in the mirrors on the surrounding walls. At one end a DJ stood at the disco altar.

Everyone was mesmerized by the club's diversity that converged on the dance floor in such a vivid spectacle. This is where Latino, African-American, Asian, and white youth - outcast from various parts of the city - found each other. They danced. They mingled. They laughed together. And, unlike the predominantly male clubs down the street in West Hollywood or Silver Lake, the patrons here were both male and female, which eased the sexual tension.

Each dance was a visual performance directed by the person behind the DJ booth: bodies bumping, partners swinging, hands waving in the air, skirts swirling, and scarves flying to the hustle, the cha-cha, the bump, the bus stop.
LINK: https://www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/from-the-eastside-to-hollywood-chic...
See more stories from kcet

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

14/02/2026

Cineverse Acquires TV Monetization Platform IndiCue

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/02/2026

ESPN's Audiences for College Basketball On Track for Major Growth

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/02/2026

TCL Display Technologies Deployed at Winter Olympics

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/02/2026

Boston Conservatory Orchestra Helps Peter and Leonardo Dugan Complete Their Dream Piece

Boston Conservatory Orchestra Helps Peter and Leonardo Dugan Complete Their Dre...

13/02/2026

OBS Accelerates Shift to Cloud

Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) has provided an update on its adoption of the cloud as it continues on its journey to fully migrate to IT-based systems by 2...

13/02/2026

France Tlvisions Launches France 2 UHD with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos to Max out AC-4 Experiences for Winter Olympics Fans

France T l visions has successfully launched France 2 UHD featuring Dolby Vision...

13/02/2026

OBS Expands Athlete Moment,' Family Reunions to Capture Human Side of Winter Games

Partnering with Worldwide Olympic Partner TCL, OBS deploys connected Athlete Mom...

13/02/2026

Men's Figure Skating Photo Gallery

The men's figure skating long-form program is tonight, and it promises to be an exciting night for fans in the stands, fans at home, and even the production...

13/02/2026

Entertainment Takes the NBA Court in a Big Way

With new partnership between the league and NBC, workflows distinguish more between live, broadcast sound There'll be a lot new for the 75th NBA All-Star W...

13/02/2026

SVG GameDay, Episode 3: Sean Tabler - Producing Hockey in the City of Angels

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level have one major thing in common: the intensity and attention to detail ramps up dur...

13/02/2026

Teradek Introduces RF-X, Revolutionizing Mission-Critical Signal Redundancy

Teradek announces the launch of RF-X Auto Switcher, a revolutionary appliance designed to deliver flawless, uncompromised signal integrity for the world's m...

13/02/2026

Synamedia & Globecast Selected for FA Cup Cloud Distribution

Globecast and Synamedia announces that Pitch International (Pitch), the leading London-based sports marketing agency, has gone live with cloud-based distributi...

13/02/2026

Ratings Roundup: NBC Sports' Legendary February Hits Record Viewership Levels

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

13/02/2026

NBC Olympics' Amy Rosenfeld on the Drone Craze, Friends & Family Moments, Stamford's Role for Milano Cortina

Far from the action in the snow and on the ice, the team controls the production...

13/02/2026

2026 Daytona 500: FOX Sports' Mike Davies, George Grill on Working Within an IP-Based Compound, Solving the Ops Puzzle of the Super Bowl of Racing

The Daytona 500 is called The Super Bowl of Racing for a reason. Whether it's the culmination to five days of action on the track, the sheer size and scop...

13/02/2026

OBS Expands AI-Powered Content Workflows

For the Milano Cortina Games, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) is delivering more than 6,500 hours of content, with more than 900 hours of live action, sprea...

13/02/2026

NBC Sports Director Pierre Moossa Previews NBC's First NBA All-Star Production in 24 Years

After 24-year absence, NBC Sports returns to NBA All-Star Weekend with unique ca...

13/02/2026

Film Festival Watch: 18 Sundance Institute-Supported Projects To Watch at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival

By Jessica Herndon We may have just wrapped an unforgettable 2026 Sundance Film...

13/02/2026

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Amanda Kramer, the Writer-Director Behind By Design

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...

13/02/2026

Women in Podcasting Craft New Connections at Spotify's Galentine's Day Celebration in LA

This Wednesday in Los Angeles, Spotify brought together a group of podcast creat...

13/02/2026

Spotify and LoveShackFancy Bring Galentine's Glam to NYC, Featuring Special Performance by Joshua Basset

Yesterday, Spotify and LoveShackFancy hosted a Galentine's and Gents Lunch a...

13/02/2026

L3Harris Successfully Completes First Phase of P25 Transition for Florida SLERS

The upgrade to a Project 25 network provides state agencies communicating on the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System flexibility to tailor the network to the...

13/02/2026

Riedel Opens Kuala Lumpur Office to Strengthen Global 24...

Riedel Communications has officially opened a new office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, marking a strategic expansion of its global Customer Success and IT software...

13/02/2026

ES Broadcast Hire duo celebrate 10-year anniversary with...

Two of ES Broadcast Hire's longest-serving employees recently celebrated a decade working for the company. Annie Breislin, Operations Manager, and Charles ...

13/02/2026

Disguise Opens Experience Center and Office in Atlanta

Disguise, the award-winning technology company powering global experiences, today unveils a new 8,000-square-foot office and Experience Center in Atlanta, creat...

13/02/2026

Mavis Expands External Camera Support with Accsoon SeeMo...

At BSC Expo 2026, Mavis announced full support for the Accsoon SeeMo series of iOS camera adapters across Mavis Camera and Mavis Monitor apps. This new integrat...

13/02/2026

Butcher Bird Studios Keeps Signals Flowing Seamlessly Acr...

Executing technically ambitious live streams, virtual productions, and immersive media today requires talent, creativity, and the right supporting technology. L...

13/02/2026

LTN makes key appointments and introduces new Technology...

Michal Miskin-Amir, Jonathan Stanton and Bobby Bond to lead technical advances amid surge in demand for LTN's IP video transport services as satellite capac...

13/02/2026

NATO Upgrades Broadcast Studio with Grass Valley Cameras

Grass Valley, the pioneering media and entertainment technology innovator, has won a competitive NATO-wide tender to provide the new camera system for NATO'...

13/02/2026

Digital Azul strengthens remote production strategy with...

Wireless IP intercom underpins agile, multi-location live production workflows Digital Azul, the independent production powerhouse specialising in complex liv...

13/02/2026

Actus Digital Sets a New Standard for QA Monitoring and C...

Actus Digital, a LiveU company, will unveil major new enhancements to its Actus X Intelligent Monitoring Platform at NAB Show (LiveU booth N1740), reinforcing i...

13/02/2026

FA Cup goes IP with Pitch International plus Synamedia an...

Globecast, a worldwide leader in broadcast services, and leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that Pitch International (Pitch), the leadi...

13/02/2026

Rai Selects Imagine Selenio Network Processor for IP Migration

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

CIMM Details Research Plans for 2026 and New Board Appointments

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

Teradek Unveils RF-A Auto Switcher

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

Spectrum Launches 'Invincible Wifi'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

Actus Digital to Introduce Actus X Platform Enhancements At NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

Sennheiser Wireless Spectera Solution Tackles Super Bowl LX With Ease

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

Nate Bargatze to Receive 2026 NAB Television Chairman's Award

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

UKTV Highlights Saturday February 14th - Friday February 20th 2026

What can I watch on UKTV this week?What can I stream on U this week? This guide highlights romantic dramas for Valentine's Day, alternative relationship t...

13/02/2026

New RT series tells stranger-than-fiction stories of Irish con artists

New RT series tells stranger-than-fiction stories of Irish con artists Swindlers airs Wednesday 18 February, 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player Swindlers, a...

12/02/2026

Chyron Merges Live Web Content and CG Graphics with PRIME 5.3

Chyron unveils PRIME 5.3, the latest software release of the company's powerful engine for live production graphics. PRIME 5.3 delivers the first official i...

12/02/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Interra Systems' Anupama Anantharaman on Protecting Live Sports Quality Across IP and OTT Workflows

The vendor's VP of Product Management explains how quality assurance, monito...

12/02/2026

LTN Makes Key Appointments and Introduces New Technology Organization

LTN announces the appointment of three experienced executives to lead its new Technology organization: Michal Miskin-Amir as EVP and Head of Technology, Jonatha...

12/02/2026

Riedel Opens Kuala Lumpur Office to Strengthen Global 24/7 Software and IT Support

Riedel Communications has officially opened a new office in Kuala Lumpur, Malays...