To prove her bonafides as an LGBT ally, she name-dropped the gay bar in Lansing that her mother took her to as a young woman. She also mentioned a little vacation town on the shores of Lake Michigan: Saugatuck.
The small town of 875 is often described as a gay enclave in West Michigan—a sort of Fire Island for well-to-do Midwestern gays. After hearing Big Gretch give the place a shoutout, and being slightly disgusted by the show host’s crude joke about a “soggy-tuck,” I decided to drive over and find out: Is Saugatuck really that gay?
The short answer is no.
The rainbow flags and iced lavender lattes might scream “GAY,” but is anyone that gay here? I was suspicious.
My first stop was Oval Beach, a lovely stretch of sandy shore. As I laid claim to a spot on the beach, I surveyed my surroundings: beautiful young families with beach towels and sunglasses, brightly colored plastic buckets and shovels spread all around, old married couples walking along the water in sun shirts and water shoes.
As far as gays go, there were two old queens bickering in the parking lot, but the only speedo I saw was on a jacked dude with a woman on his arm and a child on his hip.
I walked up the beach and made small talk with vacationers. A woman named Emily shared that she and her husband take two weeks off every summer to come out here “because it’s good for the kids to experience gay culture.” They work in law and had a nanny with them to help with the two kids.
Downtown Saugatuck has enough rainbows to make a leprechaun feel right at home. Nearly every storefront has one in the window, and many more have them hanging outside, dancing in the wind. Even the crosswalks to city hall are painted in rainbow patterns. Sodom and Gomorrah might’ve burned, but Saugatuck’s pride flags seem desperate to remind God that He at least promised no more floods. Or, if they’re not a message to God, they’re a message to visitors: We love gay people here.
Honestly, it’s unnerving. They insist too much, as if trying to prove something. I might’ve believed them initially, but now I think they’re trying to trick liberal-minded people planning vacations in West Michigan.
Just like the beach, the streets were full of families.
The top deck of the Butler Bar overlooks beautiful boats afloat in Kalamazoo Lake, which spills into the Kalamazoo River, and out into Lake Michigan. An older couple sat next to me. While the man looked over the menu, his poor wife looked bored to tears sipping on an Aperol spritz through a straw. But then a bartender in a too-tight polo, a puka-shell necklace, and a single hoop earring came over. He looked her up and down, threw on a faux angry face, and demanded she present him her ID.
“Who gave you that drink? Show me that ID before I send you back to high school!”
She replied: “Oh stop that, I’m 56 and I’ve made my peace with it.”
“Yeah, sure. ID and skin-care routine now.”
The sweet woman’s spirits had lifted, and the bartender moved on. She began to chat with me across a few barstools and pulled her husband into the conversation too. He told me they lived “not too far from here;” and she told me, “This is the best place for dinner and drinks. You can’t have a bad time around the party people!”
The bartender came back with the couple’s food and some fresh banter, then he turned to me, dropped his accent, and asked if I needed another drink. I asked for a shot and my tab and walked back into town.
Passing a Mexican restaurant, El Burrito Feliz, I dipped in for a quick beer. Since I wouldn’t be able to see what the town is like at night, I asked the waiter. He told me, in Spanish, that as the families finish up dinner, the gay guys hit the bars. Saugatuck is gay, but only at night.
I finished my beer and took in the gauche decor. From the ceiling hung colorful umbrellas with tribal designs, and tropical flowers and birds adorned the walls. I’m Mexican, but I’m not this Mexican. I doubt anyone is. But I bet it’s fun for gringos to feel like they’re in the real Mexico for a little bit.
Then it dawned on me: In the same way Americans love to say “gracias” for their tacos, wealthy white liberals love to say “slay” to their waiters.
Saugatuck commodifies its gay reputation and sells a sterilized form of gay culture to the masses. The gaudy rainbow flags are like the murals on a Mexican restaurant, and the waiters even speak to you in a special accent, playing into caricatures to make old women’s days and earn nice tips.
So, is Saugatuck gay? Sure. But not that gay. If it were, I wouldn’t have gotten so many dirty looks for smoking cigarettes.
Caleb Wallace Holm is social media editor for Michigan Enjoyer. Follow him on X @calebwholm and Instagram @calebwallaceholm.
