Nudge nudge, wink wink. Gay men love to make a sly sex reference, preferably one that goes over the heads of straight people.
Many of our bars and clubs reflect this naughty sense of humour. We found 12 venues around the world that make reference to, uh, body parts and other aspects of gay culture. Here are some risque names that will make you giggle, at least on second thought.
Woody’s
467 Church St., Toronto, Canada
1579 S. 2nd St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin
4011 Cedar Springs Rd., Dallas, Texas
The Toronto Woody’s is legendary, a sports bar that also features drag. Founded in 1989, it was the model for the fictional Woody’s in the U.S. version of Queer as Folk (2000–2005), which was set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, though shot mostly in Toronto. (Weirdness inside weirdness: In the Queer As Folk universe, there’s a Toronto gay bar called Moosie’s, which is also based on Woody’s.) Milwaukee Woody’s opened in 1997, while Woody’s in Dallas opened in 2004. Both are sports bars. The name is perfect because it connotes 1950s wholesomeness—the man’s name or nickname that might come from Woodrow, Elwood or Heywood—while subtly referencing a slang word for an erection.
Firewood
C. de Caños Viejos 2, Centro, Madrid, Spain
That this gay fetish bar has an English name is not especially strange. There are Madrid gay cruising bars called Strong, Thick, Attack, Hot and Naked. But “firewood,” as an idiom, is ambiguous: it could suggest not only a horny erection but also perhaps a sexually transmitted infection in one’s wood, which is what might happen after attending one of their afternoon “t-sex” sessions. No judgment. DoxyPEP and PrEP are widely available in many countries.
The Cock, Cock Bar, The Cock Tavern
93 2nd Ave., New York, New York
Upper Level, 461 Church St., Toronto, Canada
340 Kennington Rd., London, United Kingdom
Another nickname for the male member, this time adapted from the name for a boisterous farmyard animal. The oldest establishment is, of course, the London one. A pub for 200 years, it became a gay haunt in 2000, closed in 2005, then reopened in 2017. It is likely that the name originally referred to roosters, but it became naughtier as time passed. The NYC location opened as a gay dive bar in 1998, clearly with the slang version of the word in mind. The exhibitionist tendencies of its clients and performers have resulted in it being raided during its first few years of business. Toronto’s Cock Bar is the newest of the trio and is a gay strip bar, perched above a danceclub.
The Stud
1123 Folsom St., San Francisco, California
Founded in 1966, The Stud is San Francisco’s oldest remaining gay bar. Not only was it instrumental in founding SF’s Folsom Street as an edgy, sexualized gay district, one has to wonder if the bar’s name also influenced gay bar names that followed. Pick a word that sounds mundane—a stud is a piece of metal that can be nailed into a structure—but also has a naughty meaning. In farming, a stud is a horse kept primarily for breeding, and nowadays we think of a stud as someone who is handsome and virile.
Numbers Cabaret
1042 Davie St., Vancouver, Canada
“Numbers” is not raunchy in the same way as words that refer to body parts and sexual activity. But it is a nod to casual sex. But it refers to a particular practice among gay men from the mid-20th century where guys would go to the bars and elsewhere, meet other guys and get their telephone number to arrange casual sexual encounters. A hot guy might collect a lot of numbers and refer to the guys he had met themselves as numbers. “A big, butch number was sitting opposite me,” wrote UK author Flame in 1984’s Flame: A Life on the Game. Numbers, Vancouver’s longest-running gay bar, opened in 1980.
Zum Schmutzigen Hobby
Revaler Str. 99, Berlin, Germany
Germans can be blunt about referring to sex acts. The name of Berlin nightclub Ficken 3000 (Urbanstraße 70, Berlin) translates as “Fuck 3000.” The infamous sex party Fickstutenmarkt is “Fuck Mare Market.” No guessing what happens there. So there’s something subtle and charming about Zum Schmutzigen Hobby aka “To the Dirty Hobby.” Whether the “dirty hobby” is homosexual activity or general queerness, that’s for patrons to decide.
Poof Doof
Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane & Perth, Australia
Surprisingly few queer business names are cheeky reclamations of pejorative terms. Toronto was once home to the alternative arts venue Videofag (rest in peace) from 2012 to 2016, and to a club called The Beaver (rest in peace) from 2006 to 2020. The handy thing about “poof” is that it’s not merely a disparaging term for gay men, it’s also the sound effect for a magical moment: Poof! To North American ears, “doof” sounds like a short form of the mild insult “doofus,” but Down Under it means an outdoor dance party. So interpretations could vary from “homo dumbie” to “magical festival.” This queer dance-music party promoter hosts regular parties in cities across Australia.
L’Homoerectus Bar by Spit It Out
Rue du Marché au Charbon 5, Bruxelles, Belgium
This is the gay bar name that seems most intent on conjuring images of naughtiness. There’s the image of “the excited gay” that’s more explicit to the casual observer than references to wood. And the presenting brand “Spit It Out” is a fetish boutique right next door. That name leaves us wondering: What’s the “it” that we’re spitting? Maybe it’s just a harsh opinion? But the bar itself is a low-key friendly and flirty spot for gay men to grab a cocktail.
