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(The historian Rictor Norton suggests that streets once called Cock’s Lane and Lad Lane may lend a few clues.) Before the 18th century, historians Jeffrey Merrick and Bryant Ragan argue, sodomy was like any other sin, and its proponents like any other sinners, “engaged in a particular vice, like gamblers, drunks, adulterers, and the like.”īut in the late 17th century, a certain moral sea change left men who had sex with men under more scrutiny than ever before. Less overtly referenced were gay brothels, which seem harder to place than their heterosexual equivalents. In documents from the prior century, there is an abundance of references to, and accounts of, gay men in London’s theaters or at court.
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It’s hard to unpick exactly where molly houses came from, or when they became a phenomenon in their own right. A 19th-century engraving of London as it was in the later days of the molly house. But wherever they were, in these places, dozens of men would congregate to meet one another for sex or for love, and even stage performances incorporating drag, “marriage” ceremonies, and other kinds of pageantry. They might be in a brandy shop, or among the theaters of Drury Lane. Their locale gives some clue to the kind of raucousness and debauchery that went on within them-one was in the shadow of Newgate prison another in the private rooms of a tavern called the Red Lion. A whole molly underworld found its home in London, with molly houses, the clubs and bars where these men congregated, scattered across the city like stars in the night sky. Sometimes, this was a slur sometimes, a more generally used noun, likely coming from mollis, the Latin for soft or effeminate. In 18th and early-19th-century Britain, a “molly” was a commonly used term for men who today might identify as gay, bisexual or queer. Every evening of the week, Ward wrote, at a pub he would not mention by name, a group of men came together to gossip and tell stories, probably laughing like drains as they did so, and occasionally succumbing to “the Delights of the Bottle.” In 1709, the London journalist Ned Ward published an account of a group he called “the Mollies Club.” Visible through the homophobic bile (he describes the members as a “Gang of Sodomitical Wretches”) is the clear image of a social club that sounds, most of all, like a really good time. One visit to this long running bar and you will know why locals call it “DC’s Queer Cheers.Like men’s club houses, molly houses were also places people went simply to socialize, gossip, drink and smoke. Let any of the friendly bar staff know you are visiting and they will be happy to introduce you around and get the conversation started.
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If you are looking for an attitude free place, something often hard to find in a larger city, the Green Lantern is the place. Be sure to check out the special events page for a complete listing of parties and events. The Green Lantern also hosts many special events and theme nights ranging from dance parties featuring the best of today’s music to a monthly leather party on the second floor.
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Make sure you check out the Lantern on Facebook and Twitter for the most up-to-date information and events. The Green Lantern offers something for everyone, be it a happy hour drink after a long day at work or hundreds of shirtless men out on a Thursday night, kick starting their weekends. Other DC bars have tried to imitate this event, but the Lantern was the first to offer this long-running event. Make sure you do not miss the Lantern’s famous “Shirtless Men Drink Free” event every Thursday night from 10pm-11 pm. The second floor bar offers a more club-like atmosphere with great sound, lighting and video systems. This is the one place in DC where everyone gets along with each other. Open for happy hour everyday at 4pm, the first floor rectangular, granite-topped bar lends itself well to easy interaction among both long-time regulars as well as new arrivals. Now open for over 10 years, the “Lantern,” as most regulars call it, has long been known for its exceptionally friendly and welcoming staff. Located in a brightly lit alley just off Thomas Circle at the southern end of Washington DC’s trendy 14th Street corridor, the Green Lantern offers a comfortable friendly ambience that will make anyone feel right at home. A DC institution and a favorite neighborhood bar offering something for everyone is really the best way to describe the Green Lantern.