LOGO's "Real Momentum - Small Town Gay Bar"

Smalltown Gay Bar is the latest episode of LOGO's Real Momentum documentary series. The show exposes the life and death of gay bars in rural Mississippi. We're introduced to the various characters and patrons who find fun, frolic, and freedom in Mississippi's underground bar scene.

Tupelo, Mississippi doesn't sound like a hotbed of elicit activity or even gay pride. The town isn't very accepting of homosexuality as evidenced by interviews with some of the heterosexual locals. Residents may not be able to live proud as homosexuals in the daytime, but at clubs like Rumors and Crossroads they're free to have fun and express their individuality. The show explores the struggles of people who must live a completely different life in the "real world" but for two days a week they are free to let their hair, real or synthetic, down and be themselves.

It's hard enough for gay bars to survive in big cities. Fickle crowds, stringent liquor laws, and smoking bans make it so you never know the hot new bar to open up or if your favorite gay nightspot will close down. It' even harder to manage when you're trying to run a gay bar in the same state that launched anti-gay activist and hatemonger Reverend Fred Phelps, a religious coalition that's hell bent on broadcasting everyone who comes to the club, not to mention the fact that all your neighbors use the terms "homosexual" and "faggot" synonymously. The show follows one gay bar that must unceremoniously close its doors as a former gay bar is re-opened under the management of two former fans.

Smalltown Gay Bar explores the homophobic side of life for Mississippi gay and lesbians with interviews with local residents who aren't as progressive. Besides their severe distaste for the local gay scene they seem to maintain a fairly angry stance on all homosexuals. There are even appearances by Fred Phelps and the head of the American Family Association who spreads the religious message of stopping the "Homosexual Agenda."

The show shines a light on the silent dignity and the hometown charm of people who want to live their lives peacefully and have a place where they can let off some steam. If the show teaches us anything it's that we're all people, gay or straight. We all have our stressful lives and we all need an outlet to enjoy ourselves and relax.