Amsterdan Gay

The Dutch Paradox Gay bashings and sons of Arab immigrants — as Jurriaan Teulings investigates, Dutch gays are caught in the middle of a cultural clash. And that’s not all bad news. By Jurriaan Teulings Amsterdam has always been a city of good news. The world’s oldest extant gay rights group — the COC, for Cultuur en Ontspannings-Centrum, now more commonly known as the Center for Culture and Leisure — was founded here in 1946. In 1952 the COC opened a booming gay dance hall in the center of town, making the Dutch capital an important travel destination for queer Brits, Germans, and Frenchmen. The world’s first leather bar and first gay sauna soon followed. Add national antidiscrimination and hate-crimes laws and the 1987 unveiling of The Homomonument, remembering those persecuted because of their sexuality, another world first, and Amsterdam’s reputation as a free and liberal city, the “gay capital of the world,” was all but cemented. In 1998, the first Gay Games were held in the city. In 2001, Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen became a part of gay rights history by personally officiating at the first four same-sex marriages performed under the Netherlands’ groundbreaking marriage equality law. Four years later, some bad news came. Chris Crain, then the executive editor of the LGBT newspaper the Washington Blade, was severely beaten by a group of young Arabs (“with Moroccan features,” he said) on a visit to Amsterdam. There had been reports of antigay violence in the city before, but those were widely considered to be mere incidents. “Now,” says Dennis Boutkan, the chairman of COC Amsterdam, “everyone recognized that there was a rise in antigay violence and something needed to be done about it.” The problem, many said, was with immigrants from conservative Islamic cultures. “Despite the fact that about 50% of antigay violence in the Netherlands is attributed to [ethnically] Dutch perpetrators, the fact that Moroccan men [instigate] the better part of the rest of the offenses means they’re hugely overrepresented,” says Boutkan. But the explanation that their tempers are ignited by public displays of homosexuality, simply because these are an affront to their religious beliefs, is not sufficient. For one thing, the other large group of Muslim immigrants, the Turkish-Dutch, do not show up much in hate-crime statistics, argues Boutkan.

hree Gay Days: Amsterdam Part One
Here’s your must-have road map to 72 hours in one of the world’s gayest destinations. Where to stay, eat, play and meet in ultra-liberal Amsterdam.

With her glistening canals reflecting the facades of classic 18th-century homes, her boisterous sing-along nightlife and her libertine attitude toward sex and drugs, Amsterdam delights even the most casual visitor. A couple of high-profile bashing incidents have shaken up the local LGBT community; however, the Dutch capital is still one of Europe’s safest gay centers. There’s more to see here than you can wrap your tulips around, but three days should be enough for a brief, well-planned visit.

LAY OF THE LAND
Amsterdam is laid out in a series of concentric, horseshoe-shaped circles of canals (grachts) alternating with streets (straats). The main train station, Centraal, is at the top of it all. It’s a compact city, and most places are within easy walking or biking distance from one another. Cars have a hard time fitting through the narrow streets, but bicycle taxis like Wielertaxi (+31-6-2824-7550) can zip around efficiently. The local tram service is also popular.

All of Amsterdam is very gay-friendly, so you won’t sense the “gay ghetto” mentality common in other cities. Nonetheless, some streets and neighborhoods do have a higher concentration of rainbow flags, tank tops and leather chaps. The Reguliersdwarsstraat is home to trendy bars for the young hair-gel set. Along the Amstel River and the adjacent Halvemaansteeg, you’ll find an amiable mix of younger dudes, older guys and anyone else who loves to quaff a beer while listening (or singing along) to music. The leather crowd frequents the Warmoesstraat, in the heart of Amsterdam’s infamous red light district. The Kerkstraat is a quieter street, with some pleasant gay cafés and neighborhood bars. The Jordaan district is another quiet neighborhood, home to numerous cafés, bookstores and some excellent shopping.

STAY
Hotel Amistad (Kerkstraat 42, 1017 GM; +31-20-624-8074, fax +31-20-622-9997; from 75 EUR) is an artsy gay-and-lesbian accommodation, where breakfast is shared at common tables with the other guests. Afterward, the dining room turns into an Internet lounge.

The ITC Hotel (Prinsengracht 1051, 1017 JE; +31-20-623-0230, fax +31-20-420-4369; from 39 EUR) is a budget accommodation redeemed by its location right on a canal in a charming neighborhood. Ask to see your room before committing. There’s a bar and lounge onsite, and breakfast is served daily.

The Amsterdam House (’s Gravelandseveer 3-4, 1011 KM; +31-20-626-2577 or 800-618-1008, fax +31-20-626-2987; from 75 EUR) is gay-popular, offering seven apartments and seven houseboats with fully equipped kitchens — and a chance to experience “life on the water” as so many Amsterdammers do.

Banks Mansion (Herengracht 519-525, 1017 BV; +31-20-420-0055, fax +31-20-420-0993; from 209 EUR) is in a prime spot, just one block from the bars of Reguliersdwarsstraat. Guests enjoy a complimentary private bar, free movie channels and free Internet.

Design mavens may want to check into The Dylan (Keizersgracht 384; +31-20-530-2010, fax +31-20-530-2030; from 270 EUR), an oh-so-hip hotel in a lovely canal house on the Keizersgracht.

Another elegant boutique property is the Bilderberg Hotel Jan Luyken (Jan Luykenstraat 58, 1071 CS; +31-20-573-0730, fax +31-20-676-3841; jan-luyken@bilderberg.nl; from 139 EUR), with its 62 rooms showing off contemporary design in a converted 19th-century merchant’s land house.

outtraveler.com

Part One | Part Two | Part Three