Gay Guide to Johannesburg
South Africa's post-apartheid constitution was the first in the world to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and in 2006 the country became the first in Africa to legalise same-sex marriage. Johannesburg is where the movement first took to the streets: on 13 October 1990 the city held Africa's first Pride march, with activists including Simon Nkoli at the front.
The scene is small and spread out, and its heart is Melville, the bohemian suburb whose 7th Street holds Ratz, one of the city's oldest gay bars and known for its karaoke nights. Liquid Blue, a few doors down, doesn't bill itself as a gay bar but has become a key hangout, particularly for Black queer Joburg, and Xai Xai Lounge, a Mozambican restaurant and bar on the same strip, has long been gay-friendly.
North of the centre in Illovo, Priscilla's at the Illovo Muse centre is a relaxed cocktail bar and restaurant with weekly themed nights. The Rec Room in Ferndale, Randburg, has been the city's main men's steam room for nearly two decades, and Therapy, a party founded by DJ Stuart Hillary in 1996, still pops up every few weeks. The GALA Queer Archive, also based in the city, preserves and shares South Africa's LGBTQIA+ history.
Johannesburg Pride ends a month of October events with a march and street festival on Katherine Street in Sandton. Soweto Pride, organised since 2004 by the Forum for the Empowerment of Women, takes place in late September and keeps the township march political, with Black lesbian, queer and trans women at its centre.