History Main / GayBarReveal

* Downplayed in the French series ''Syndrome E''. A Moroccan police officer who wants to secretly meet Commissioner Sharko slips him a note with the address to a cafe handwritten on it. He gives the note to a doorman who lets him into an ordinary basement coffee shop, but the policeman says he could get into trouble just for being here as the cafe is a hangout for homosexuals, which is illegal but not normally under police surveillance like a BadGuyBar would be.

[[RatedMForManly Manfred M. Manly]] wanders the streets looking for a burly bar where he can [[DrinkBasedCharacterization order his favourite]] GargleBlaster, proposition women with crude sexual {{Double Entendre}}s and watch manly high impact sports on a 30 year old television before establishing alpha male dominance by engaging in Greco-Roman wrestling with other patrons.

* Downplayed in ''Film/AStarIsBorn2018''. Jackson Maine gets lost driving in the city looking for a bar, and ends up ducking into the first establishment he finds. The doorman recognizes him and tells him that he doesn't think it's Jackson's kind of place. But once the doorman confirms that they serve alcohol, Jackson says it's his kind of place. Indeed, by the time Jackson figures out he's in a drag bar, he just laughts it off since he already has a drink in front of him.

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[[quoteright:350:[[WebAnimation/SanityNotIncluded https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/revealbar4.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"A very, very gay bar!"]]

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* ''ComicBook/TheFabulousFurryFreakBrothers'' - Fat Freddy goes home to Cleveland and stops for a drink in what he realizes is "a honky bar", inadvertently angers the blue-collar clientele, and gets booted out. He heads to what appears to be a young person's bar which is full of vicious bikers who beat him up. He staggers to a place called "The Gilded Lily" and thinks "Well, this looks like a nice clean place. At least I won't get assaulted here."

* One ''Out of the Gene Pool'' story had Sam and Zoogie go to bars to find a date. Sam express disappointment that one of the bars they go to barely has any women in it, and eventually realizes why when one of the burly men hits on Zoogie.

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' ''Fanfic/ThisTimeRound'' story "[[http://www.ttrarchive.com/cotc.html Checking Out the Competition]]" introduces the Steel Maiden Bar & Grill by having Adric follow Izzy there. Adric can tell there's something about the clientèle, eventually deducing that it's a ''minor character'' bar. Izzy, a former companion, is not happy.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12651319/1/Things-to-Do-In-Berlin-When-You-re-Bored Things to Do in Berlin (When You're Bored)]]'' Harry and Neville wander into a pub after visiting the Brandenburg Gate and it takes a few minutes before Neville points out that all of the patrons are male.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/{{Fanboys}}'', in which a BadGuyBar out in the middle of nowhere turns out to be a gay bar -- which the main characters realise after one of them casually uses a homophobic slur in front of the bar's many [[ManlyGay large musclebound patrons]].

* Done with masterful subtlety in ''Film/TheCryingGame''.

* One of the more famous examples is the Blue Oyster Bar, a RunningGag from the ''Film/PoliceAcademy'' movies. {{Jerkass}} characters will oftentimes be tricked into heading there, only to end up in the tight embrace of ManlyGay bikers, who are really good at the tango.
* ''Film/ConnieAndCarla'': The two female leads discover they're in a gay bar only after seeing two men they wanted to hit on kiss.

* ''Film/WaynesWorld2'' features a scene where Wayne, Garth, and two of their friends disguise themselves as a construction worker, a police officer, a biker, and a sailor to spy on Wayne's girlfriend. When they are discovered they take cover in an establishment called "The Tool Box" which turns out to be a gay bar. When the DJ sees what Wayne and company are wearing, he shines the spotlight on them and cranks up the Music/VillagePeople's "YMCA" which leads to a scene where the heroes perform the dance associated with the song (as [[Music/TheDoors Jim Morrison's naked Indian friend]] helps to fill in the one missing role).
* ''Film/ToughGuys'' centers around two gangsters let out of prison after decades inside and trying to make contact with people they used to work with. Needless to say the bar they used to hang out at has changed management. Unlike many examples, on being propositioned and realising what's going on, Archie simply downs his pint in one and walks out wordlessly.
* In ''Film/TheHeavenlyKid'', Bobby Fantana finds out that the bar that he once hung out in while he was living had turned into a gay bar in the 1980s.

* A version occurs in Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{It}}'', where the landlord of a failing bar, the Falcon, is relieved when business picks up, in the form of quiet, youngish men who start patronizing his establishment. It takes him weeks to work out that his bar has become the unofficial gay bar of the town.

* In an episode of ''Series/InPlainSight''. While helping Mary clear one of her witnesses of a murder, Marshall visits the victim's favorite bar and talks with the bartender, who mentions that the victim always stood by his people. After wondering what that means, a confused Marshall looks around and realizes that all the patrons are male and many are holding hands.
* One episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' Tony and Kate were questioning a bartender about a murder victim. Tony starts hitting on the bartender while Kate realizes it's a lesbian bar. This is what makes them realize their victim was gay, and then shift their investigation accordingly.
* In the ''Series/MurphyBrown'' episode "The Anchorman", Jim Dial fulfills his dream of opening a classy English-style pub, and it quickly becomes popular among the gay crowd. The trope is averted in that the customers are never shown as oversexualized leather daddies or weird crossdressers; Jim only realises what's happened when someone points out to him that all of his customers are men, and some of them are holding hands. Otherwise, it's just another spot where businessmen go to socialize after work.

* An episode of ''Series/{{Coach}}'' had this. The title coach (of American football; guess his attitude) ended up concerned that one of his players, Terry, was less than heterosexual. He ends up in a peaceful bar talking with the student, and everything is fine. A slow dance tune comes on, and two young people go to have a quiet dance on the floor behind Coach Fox. They have a gender in common... It's played surprisingly straight considering the premise of the show and the time it was made, and still managed to be funny. The bar patrons in the reveal are just regular guys, not an assortment of stereotypes. Coach Fox is uncomfortable with the situation, but not freaked out or horrified. He agrees to treat Terry like any other player on the team. For starters, a player in training is not allowed to stay out late, so Coach offers to drive Terry home. A couple of other players recognize Coach Fox leaving with the young man:
-->'''Players:''' Coach! What are you doing there?\\
'''Coach:''' ''[awkwardly]'' Oh... uh... I'm just taking Terry home. ''[realizing how that sounds]'' Damn!
* Played straight on ''Series/TheParkers''. When Nikki and her friends investigate Professor Oglevee's shady new girlfriend, they track her to the bar where she works and comment on the lack of men there. When the bar's manager informs them that yes, the girl in question is gay and yes, it's a lesbian bar, Nikki and her friends act like it's the fifth level of Hell, though they do stick around for awhile.

* Played with in [[https://pin.it/7o8bLyX this]] promotional pic for ''Series/{{Glee}}'' from ''Rolling Stone'' -- it's obviously a ManlyGay hangout, but it's more "Wrong Gay Bar Reveal" as the hapless patron is [[FlamboyantGay Kurt]]. (Saved from UnfortunateImplications by the regulars not looking [[BlackComedyRape predatory]] but equally dubious about ''him'', perhaps due to him being clearly underage and holding a martini)

* ''Series/WillAndGrace'' had an episode where Will and Jack had to babysit Karen's mother-in-law when they already had tickets for the opening party at a nearby gay bar, so they take her along. The poor, senile old lady didn't realize where she was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBQ4j8I2bCA until it was too late...]]
* In the ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' episode "Go West, Young Man", Del and Rodney go to a wine bar, and while Rodney has his drink, Del tries to chat up two characters in dresses we only see from the back. He quickly returns.
-->'''Del:''' Drink up, we're leaving.\\
'''Rodney:''' Yeah? Are they a couple of ravers?\\
'''Del:''' No, they're a couple of geezers!

* Happened on ''Series/ThirdRockFromTheSun''. Twice, actually. The first time, the aliens walked into an obvious gay bar and Sally cluelessly picked up a man who mistook her for a drag queen. The second time involved a misunderstanding in which Dick thought he had discovered another alien, but had actually been MistakenForGay. Soon, Dick was hanging out at the local "alien bar".
* Referenced in ''Series/{{Leverage}}''. Eliot is questioned about a bruise on his face and replies "how was I supposed to know it was a lesbian bar?" The incident is never mentioned again.

* Done very subtly on ''Series/{{Southland}}''. [[spoiler:John Cooper]] is seen at bars several times during the show, but only the most attentive viewer would realize that all of the patrons are male. There's not even a sudden reveal of it being a gay bar. His homosexuality is briefly alluded to in a line in one episode in season 2 and casually confirmed in a bedroom scene in the 3rd season.
* In a segment on ''Series/HarryEnfieldAndChums'' the Scousers go to London to look for work. One of them ends up in a bar that is very obviously a gay bar, except to him. He thinks it is a working men's club. The reveal happens next morning when he wakes up in bed next to a big, burly dude.
* Played with in ''Series/HoustonKnights''. A detective goes to question two people exiting a pickup bar, only to find they're both women. His partner is surprised when he later turns up with information he got from the lesbian bar. "I like a challenge."
* One episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSVU'' had a rather awkward, painful version of this trope where it happened the day after going there. A male teenager who'd come in from out of town had told a taxi driver to take him to "the nearest bar" and wound up horrified when one of the regulars tried to pick him up. He started a bar fight and had to have it explained by the officers arresting him that he'd been dropped off at a gay bar.
* In ''Series/{{Galavant}}'' Richard says that his father warned him never to go to the Enchanted Forest and that Dad and his friend "Uncle Keith" once went there on a camping trip and Keith never came back. It turns out that the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4BTjLZlIO0 Enchanted Forest]] is a pub, with an all-male clientele run by Music/KylieMinogue. Galavant realizes what's going on immediately and cheerfully notes he's never been to one before, but Richard doesn't figure it out until after they've left.
* In ''{{Series/Ratched}}'' the title character is shocked when Gwendolyn takes her to a 1940s lesbian bar for a nightcap, having not realized until this point that Gwendolyn thought she was "one of us" and that it was a date.

* The Music/CharlieDanielsBand song "Uneasy Rider '88" is about two Texas good-ol-boys who find themselves in a gay bar in Houston Texas. The narrator catches on sooner than his buddy. They end up freaking out and starting a fight.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS3E4OneIfByClamTwoIfBySea One If by Clam, Two If By Sea]]", after the Drunken Clam shuts and is replaced by a British pub, Peter and his friends start looking for a new place to hang out. They eventually come across a lesbian bar called ''The Cherry Pit'', and seem quite happy that they have good sports on TV. Upon realizing that the girls at the bar are not making out because they're lonely, they demonstrate something like the 5 stages of Grief in regards to male comprehension of Lesbianism (surprise, arousal, rejection/dejection, acceptance) then leave. Quagmire takes the time to throw in a penetration joke, of course, and gets punched all the way out the door and onto the street.
** In the same episode the trope is inverted when Peter mistakes the newly British Clam for a gay bar.
* The spinoff series ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'':
** There's an episode where Cleveland and his friends accidentally go to a gay bar, oddly one of the "signs" is fat chicks. It's also where Cleveland discovers that his co-worker Terry is gay.
** There's also the time where Tim goes to a bear bar in New York. He assumed it was a bar for actual bears, turns out, it's a bar for that other kind of [[TheBear bear]].

* Some off-screen hilarity on ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': Hank ends up talking with a gay couple about dog breeding and, wanting to chat more, asks, "Do you and [[ComicallyMissingThePoint your brother]] have a time to grab a beer?" The couple says they know a place, and later Hank relates the advice which he got from them "before it all went horribly wrong."

[[quoteright:350:[[Machinima/SanityNotIncluded https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/revealbar4.png]]]]

* In the ''Machinima/SanityNotIncluded'' comic "Bar", where Lyle is sitting at a (supposedly) obvious gay bar.

* One ''Series/MadTV'' sketch had [[FunnyForeigner Miss Swan]] end up in a [[UnusualEuphemism "monkey in the bush"]] bar. She led them in a rendition of ''[[Music/{{ABBA}} Dancing Queen]]''.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Downplayed in ''Film/AStarIsBorn2018''. Jackson Maine gets lost driving in the city looking for a bar, and ends up ducking into the first establishment he finds. The doorman recognizes him and tells him that he doesn't think it's Jackson's kind of place. But once the doorman confirms that they serve alcohol, Jackson says it's his kind of place.

* ''Connie and Carla'': The two female leads discover they're in a gay bar only after seeing two men they wanted to hit on kiss.

* One 1990s issue of ''ComicStrip/PugadBaboy'' has matrons Debbie and Barbie going into a bar and ordering Cokes … and being taken by surprise when macho dancers come up to their table. Did they really order Cokes, or …