The Last Ditch, a pay-optional lesbian bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts, is at the centre of a viral dispute after changing its mask policy for Saturday nights. The venue, which opened last year, had previously required patrons to wear face masks at all times except when actively drinking or eating. The bar’s website stated: ‘Masks are required when not actively taking a sip of your drink or taking a bite of a snack. Lower, sip, and lift! We keep KN95 and N95 masks available at our door in case you forget yours.’
Policy change sparks backlash
The venue has now announced that Saturdays will become ‘mask-optional.’ The change was casually included on a poster promoting a new club night, which many critics took as too flippant, failing to address the issue with the care it deserved. As a now-viral article in The Boston Globe reported, one commenter wrote, ‘just say you’re being complicit in a mass disabling event and get it over with,’ while another said, ‘I hope your venue gets firebombed for robbing my fellow immunocompromised people of their Saturday plans just to scrape extra revenue from ablists [sic].’
There were some 400 comments in the end, many of which were accusing the venue of failing to take the Covid pandemic seriously. This is in spite of the fact Greenfield hasn’t seen a single reported Covid case for two months.
Bar response and further criticism
A subsequent statement from the bar said it was ‘sorry to disappoint valued community members with access changes by a casual announcement’. It added that its ‘diverse disabled immunocompromised team makes sense by multiple open-community meetings, feedback form review, and advice from intersectional business advisors/elders’. Still, that wasn’t good enough. There was backlash to this, too, as many criticised the institution for failing to include alt-text.
The Last Ditch also believes no one should be turned away for not being able to afford their cover charge, a policy which includes ‘unhoused people.’ The Guardian has pointed out that while this is ‘very generous,’ it’s ‘also a formula for losing money.’
Internet reaction
Ever since, the internet hasn’t been able to look away. One TikToker has labelled the saga the ‘story of the year.’ Over on Reddit, @nfounder said ‘the difference between gay bars and lesbian bars is so funny. Just absolute queer chaos and debauchery vs absolute queer order and restriction’. Meanwhile, @chicitygirl93 alleged they ‘got blocked for saying it’s complicated and we need nuance cause bars need $$$.’ On TikTok, @alyssanoelx said ‘can these people lay low, it’s almost the midterms,’ while @Cootpunch joked ‘the mask lesbian community, not to be confused with the masc lesbian community.’
