After viewing the documentary, Free Beer Tomorrow (2025) and speaking with its directors, Luster Singleton and Julie Applegate, there was a lot of discussion about recognizing queer spaces. The documentary included many interviews from locals in Columbus who frequented the Summit Station bar, and how it shaped the queer community and provided a safe community space for people to express themselves. Summit Station did receive backlash, as the bar and the patrons were targeted by police several times in attempts to make the formed queer community less visible. The bar eventually shut down in 2008, due to a variety of factors, but also due to the increasing visibility and acceptance of queer identities.
"Free Beer Tomorrow" event poster for Ohio University 26 Oct. 2026
Celebration of queer identity has become more commonplace since the events of this documentary (1970-2008). The popularization of social media and online forums has broadened connection between queer individuals, finding local queer community, and opened discussion for queer politics, identity, and place. Although discussion regarding queer influence onto place is relatively new, there are thousands of people who share their opinions and experiences as they exist within their identity.
Discussion surrounding transgender and nonbinary identities is contested not only outside but also within queer communities. There is disagreement between what different identities mean to the community and how individuals with these identities are perceived. In the discussion of gender, the perception and performance of masculinity and femininity have become weapons against transgender and nonbinary people who don't conform to the "ideal" performance of their identity.
This idea of conforming to gender performance, especially in this setting, is outdated, and yet there are many people in the community who think this way. I, myself, identify as Genderfluid, a label that exists underneath the nonbinary umbrella and can be described as a shifting expression and perception of my own gender over time. I have been told that I am "not trans enough" from other queer individuals to be considered nonbinary due to how I choose to express myself. I know close friends who were similarly perceived to not be performing their gender "enough" in accordance with their identity. In both physical and digital settings, the trans identity is weaponized to justify why some perceptions of gender and identity are "more correct" than others.
With this conflict in mind, it can feel very isolating to find another queer community to become involved in. During the discussion with Luster and Julie, they both remarked that people are "scared to talk to each other", especially in organic settings. The growing divide between organic and random conversation and the weaponizing of queer identities is leading to the isolation of younger queer individuals from queer space.
Now, this isn't to say that all queer spaces are disappearing, but the meaning and experiences of these spaces are becoming something completely different than what was discussed and experienced in Summit Station between 1970 and 2008. Since Senate Bill 1 (SB1) was put into effect in Ohio, DEI centers were removed from public colleges and included the Women's Center, Multicultural Center, and the LGBTQ+ Center at Ohio University. Queer spaces in Athens now exist largely in the bar scene, but largely concentrated in bars such as Casa, the Union, and Tony's. Unlike the Summit Station, visiting these bars doesn't necessarily mean you are a part of the queer community, but many queer individuals love visiting these bars over others since these businesses reflect their values.
Queer spaces now, have shifted to exist more commonly in private spaces (amongst friends) rather than public or third spaces (bars or queer centers). Although, with the increased usage of the internet and social media platforms, many people have flocked to online communities. Online queer communities are difficult to define, but like bars in Athens, queer individuals will flock to digital public spaces that are welcoming and that they enjoy being around. Some spaces that have a large queer influence like Archive of Our Own (AO3), Tumblr, and Discord, are all spaces where creativity can be shared accessibly and the space can be representational. Online space is not only limited to these sites, as games like Minecraft also have a large capacity for creativity and the ability to choose people and groups to become involved in.
Instagram post from Minecraft celebrating LGBTQ+ identities
With the expansion of the internet in recent decades, most of us have grown up with social media platforms and the digital influence on our lives. I would be very interested to see what your experiences of online public space have been like, especially now considering it in the frame of class discussions.
References:
Applegate, Julie and Luster P. Singleton, directors. Free Beer Tomorrow. Ohio History Connection, 2025.
Applegate, Julie and Luster P. Singleton. "Guest Lecture: Free Beer Tomorrow Discussion." GEOG 3270, 27 Oct. 2026, Ohio University, Athens. Guest.
Free Beer Tomorrow. "Free Beer Tomorrow." Watch Free Beer Tomorrow, Ohio History Connection, 2025, https://watchfreebeertomorrow.com/about
Henry, Meghan. "Ohio University to Close Pride Center, Women's Center and Multicultural Center Due to New Law." 10 WBNS, 10 WBNS 10TV Web Staff, 30 Apr. 2025, www.10tv.com/article/news/education/ohio-university-to-close-pride-center-womens-center-multicultural-center-due-to-new-law/
Minecraft [@minecraft]. "Minecraft is proud to support and uplift LGBTQIA+ communities ..." Instagram, 9 Aug. 2023, https://www.instagram.com/
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