Tea dances (gay event)
Sunday Tea Dances is an American event located in New York City, in the 1950's and 1960's practiced among the homosexual community.[1] The name references events that had been taking place in America and England since the 1880's.[2] The were events included tea service and involved dancing, and a place for singles to meet.[3]
History
The events began in New York City in the 1950's and 60's who wanted to meet and socialize, opportunities were limited because of social and legal oppression of gays. It was illegal in the middle 1960's for bars in New York City to sell alcohol to people known to be gay.[4] Hence, gays also began to hold "tea dances." In New York City, these generally took place on Fire Island Cherry Grove and the Pines on Sunday afternoons. By being there rather than in the city, they were less likely to attract the attention of the police. And serving tea rather than alcohol made them more acceptable and less law-defying. Because they were held in the afternoon, attenders could catch a ferry back to the city and be ready to work on Monday morning.[5]
Eventually after homosexuality became more accepted and legally protected, the tea dances were subsumed into nighttime club events.[2]
References
- ↑ Group, Sinclair Broadcast (2018-07-10). "Tea Dance Isn't What You Think—It's Actually Way Cooler". Cincinnati Refined. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Very Gay and Interesting History of the Almost Lost Tradition of the Sunday Tea Dance". Back2Stonewall. 2019-05-26. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
- ↑ "StackPath". www.citybeat.com. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
- ↑ Spataro, Lady Bunny,Joanne (2018-04-23). "The Tea Dance Is Part of NYC's LGBTQ Living History". Vice. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Huff, Rebecca (2018-10-30). "Cincinnati is reviving the lost tradition of gay tea dances for a new generation". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
External links
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