By Dr. Laura McGuire
Welcome to the third installment of Traveling While Queer! Join me as I journey across the country to discover our shared queer history and sightsee in some of my favorite cities. Along the way, we will explore hidden havens, places of LGBTQ significance, and help you to plan a top-notch gay getaway. Our next stop is bringing that heat—welcome to Miami!
Why I Love Miami
As a proud ‘80s baby, I grew up singing along to Will Smith’s “Miami.” This colorful southern party town has long been a favorite for LGBTQ people looking to flaunt their stuff on South Beach and drink and dance the night away at famous venues like The Carlyle Hotel (as seen in The Birdcage). Having lived in Florida for over 20 years, I’ve always wanted to explore Miami more. This past fall, I finally got my chance to check out what this hot spot has to hold.
LGBTQ History
Miami is one of the most LGBTQ-friendly places I’ve been in a while. The city has a thriving queer community, but unlike the cities we’ve visited before, Miami’s LGBTQ rights movement didn’t receive national attention until the late 1970s. In 1977, the Dade County Commission passed an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians in employment, housing, labor unions, and private education. This anti-discrimination ordinance was seen as a huge success for Miami’s LGBTQ community—that is, until celebrity singer and “family values” activist Anita Bryant got wind of it. Bryant, a spokeswoman for the Florida Citrus Commission and a former beauty queen, set out on a nationwide LGBTQ witch hunt, also known as the Save Our Children campaign, to successfully repeal the Dade County nondiscrimination ordinance and others like it. But despite this backlash, Miami’s queer community remained resilient. In response to the ordinance’s repeal, a group of gays and lesbians formed Pride South Florida, now known as Pride Fort Lauderdale, to continue to fight for the rights of the LGBTQ community in southern Florida. When drugs and crime hit Miami particularly hard in the ‘80s, the LGBTQ community helped save the city from ruin by promoting and increasing gay-specific tourism. Today, Miami and its super gay-friendly island to the north, Wilton Manors, are home to some of the largest LGBTQ communities in the United States; Wilton Manors has the second largest gay male population in the nation, beat only by Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Must-Sees
Ditch the high-priced accommodations of downtown Miami to stay at one of the adorable boutique hotels in Wilton Manors, such as the Ed Lugo Resort. While in Miami, check out Little Havana and Wynwood, both great places to support offbeat artist communities, as well as to capture the best Instagrammable moments. Beat the heat by visiting the Vizcaya Gardens & Museum, a stunning former mansion that is now an oasis of art and flora in southern Florida. While you’re still in an artsy mood, swing over to South Beach to visit the World Erotic Art Museum—a destination that is definitely not your mama’s museum. Plus, as you stroll through South Beach, you’ll notice the plethora of Pride flags waving above head, marking this area as LGBTQ-inclusive. Finally, you can’t leave Miami without checking out the city’s stellar queer venues and catching a world-class, unforgettable drag show. We recommend The Broken Shaker at the Freehand Hotel Miami, The Palace, and, for female-identified folks, the pop-up SheLife Events.
