Baltimore

‘Heated Rivalry’ fandom exposes LGBTQ divide in Baltimore

Hit show raises questions about identity, cultural representation

Published

6 months ago

February 16, 2026

(Photo courtesy of Crave HBO Max)

By JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | “Heated Rivalry,” the surprise gay hockey romance that has captivated global audiences and become a cultural phenomenon, has inspired sold-out parties celebrating the characters from the steamy series, including in Baltimore.

For some, love of the show has exposed the loss of a once-vibrant gay nightlife in Charm City and splintered its LGBTQ community. It also brings up layered questions about identity, cultural representation, and the limits of identity politics.

In Baltimore, the majority of the parties also appear to be missing a key ingredient that has been a part of the show’s success: gay men at the helm. Last month, women hosted a dance party at Ottobar, a straight establishment.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

Related Topics:“Heated Rivalry”Baltimore featured

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Baltimore

The fight to save one of Baltimore’s last gay bars

Leon’s closed in July after its owner’s death

Published

2 days ago

August 25, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Leon’s opened in Mount Vernon in the 1950s and bore witness to many eras of the city’s evolving queer culture. From left, Leon’s staffers Stacey Antoine, Karen O’Donnell, Joseph Leloudis, Damon Wallace, Brandon Gruszczynski, Tina Wallace, Sanchez Sanders, Cade Granger, Adam David Bencomo, and Sam Smith. (Photo by Kaitlin Newman for the Baltimore Banner)

By JULIE SCHARPER and WESLEY CASE | Soon after Jim Becker came out as gay in 1967, he ducked into a Mount Vernon bar called Leon’s.

In the dark, smoky bar, men used pseudonyms for fear of being outed, as homosexual acts were illegal in Maryland. Bartenders, wary of vice squad raids, would blow a whistle if couples leaned in for a kiss.

But to Becker, arriving at Leon’s was a kind of homecoming. He could explore his identity, connect with other gay men and build community in the anxious years before the 1969 Stonewall uprising, a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ rights movement.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

Baltimore

The government pressured USA Rugby to ban transgender women. A Baltimore team refused to comply.

Ferals is a women’s-plus team within the Flamingos

Published

1 month ago

July 20, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Harper Ockert runs drills with teammates at Utz Field in Patterson Park during rugby practice with her team, the Ferals. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher of the Baltimore Banner)

By KYLE GOON | It was midmorning, and the March winds lashed against the faces of the players on the Ferals rugby team as they suited up at a park in Frederick. The turf was frozen.

Harper Ockert, 24, wrapped her left knee with tape, stabilizing her joint for the jarring hits to come. She had struggled to sleep the night before, but her anxiety was not strictly about the game.

She and her teammates were preparing to defy newly enacted rules set by the sport’s governing body. A nervous energy thrummed in her chest as she considered what her defiance meant.

Ockert is a transgender woman who plays for the Ferals — the women’s-plus team within the Baltimore Flamingos rugby club. Three of her teammates are trans women, too. They had played games for the Ferals before, but this match at Walnut Ridge Park was the team’s first since USA Rugby had shifted its policy to allow only people assigned female at birth to play women’s rugby.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

Baltimore

Popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s to temporarily close after owner’s death

Ron Singer passed away on July 7

Published

1 month ago

July 17, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Leon’s Backroom Bar in Mount Vernon. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

By WESLEY CASE | Leon’s Backroom, Baltimore’s oldest gay bar, temporarily shut down after service on Wednesday night, according to a post on the business’s Instagram page.

The announcement comes a little more than a week after the death of the Mount Vernon bar’s owner, Ron Singer, who died at 66 on July 7.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.