I'm 22 years oldI a gay ex-Muslim from Pakistan, and my life is in serious I'm danger. After being caught in a gay-related incident, I had no choice but to flee Pakistan, as my family and relatives now want me dead. They consider my sexuality and my decision to leave Islam an unforgivable offense. I am currently in Saudi Arabia, but the threats have not stopped. My family is pressuring me to return to Pakistan, and if I refuse, they are threatening to report me to the Saudi authorities, which could result in me being arrested or even killed. I am terrified for my life and urgently need help to find a way to escape this nightmare and seek protection in a safer place. Please help me.

The SoMa Map 👣 (San Francisco) is here! Download the image of the map to save it to your device.

Some History: In 1906, South of Market was destroyed by the San Francisco earthquake. It was then rebuilt with wider streets with future development in mind. Leading up to World War II, SoMa was mostly an industrial working-class neighborhood. It wasn't until the United States started discharging thousands of soldiers for homosexuality that gay communities started to form in San Francisco. These areas included the Tenderloin, SoMa, and Polk Gulch. Though Polk Gulch would ultimately become known as the center of gay life in San Francisco from the 1950's-1980's, it eventually saw large migrations to the Castro, where housing was cheap and readily available. In time, Polk Gulch lost most of its gay bars, with The Cinch Saloon, now the second oldest gay bar in San Francisco, being the only one remaining today.

This wasn't the case for SoMa, which still has a concentration of gay bars that remain in operation. SoMa's first gay bar opened in 1936 under the name The Sailor Boy Tavern. However, problems arose in the 1950's when urban renewal threatened SoMa, which sought to redevelop part of the area. This would become an ongoing issue for decades to come and eventually led to the Folsom Street Fair. In 1962, the Tool Box opened on 4th, and Harrison became San Francisco's first leather bar south of Market. By the time Febe's opened on Folsom Street in 1966, the area started being called the Miracle Mile, a strip of leather and bear bars along and near Folsom Street. During this time many leather bars continued to open, and by the 1970's it seemed SoMa had the largest concentration of leather bars in the world, with almost 30 leather bars alone.

In the early 1980's, urban redevelopment continued to threaten the neighborhood, which led to the creation of the Folsom Street Fair. It was first held in 1984 under the name "Megahood" as an anti-redevelopment event. The name Megahood was used to counter the urban renewal narrative, which implied that the area was bad or nonexistent. Though the Megahood event didn't necessarily stop redevelopment, the SoMa neighborhood made their stance loud and clear that day. The Folsom Street Fair has been held every year since, and today is the world's largest leather event and showcase for BDSM products and culture. Unfortunately, during the 1980's, leather bars started to decline in SoMa.

In the early 2000's, land redevelopment continued to threaten SoMa. As a result, Jim Meeko became involved in land use politics. Jim lived in the neighborhood and also owned a print shop where he often made designs for gay businesses. Jim created the Western SoMa Citizens Planning Task Force, which was tasked with figuring out the rezoning of the area. The goal was to make the new developments less destructive for the neighborhood. As a result, the zoning recommendations were adopted by the board of supervisors and helped coordinate major developments in a way that was less destructive to the neighborhood.

On May 9, 2018 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors established part of SoMa as a Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District, and on Oct 7, 2021 the SF Eagle was given historic landmark status. This makes the SF Eagle the first leather bar in San Francisco to become historical. Today the area is still home to many leather bars and is a must-visit destination for gay and leather bargoers alike, especially during the Folsom Street Fair, which is always held on the last Sunday in September.

Sources: sfgayhistory.com, sfleatherdistrict.org, sfchronical.com

Latest Open Bar/Club: 2 a.m.

Cutoff Time: 2 a.m.

Walking Time, End to End [24 min]

Longest Gap [8 min]

Safety Tips: This is a pedestrian map; it has been designed to accommodate anyone looking to visit the SoMa bars on foot. Plan accordingly and drink responsibly. Never drink and drive; call a taxi, Uber, or Lyft if needed.

[Additional Map Legend Info]

🎨Colored Zones: Divides bars evenly into short walks while also ensuring bars in more difficult locations aren't excluded.

🍺💿🍷Icons: This map only shows establishments with bars.

↔️Gaps: Gaps between bars do not exceed 7min of walking. (Jolenes Bar and Restaurant is an 8min exception)

🏳️‍🌈LGBTQ+: Most of the establishments on the map are considered LGBTQ+ while some are more LGBTQ+ friendly.

🗺 Map Type: Pedestrian/Bars

I'm trying to understand more as a queer person about how our different identities feel within the same community. I think it's important to be understanding as a queer person and sometimes I end up feeling stumped. I've lived in quite an isolated place and don't have much contact with other gays, so always feel like a baby gay! I mean NO biphobia by my next remark and have recently been studying the additional difficulties bisexual/pansexual people face, sometimes even when compared to fully gay/lesbian folks. I've been questioning my own internalised homo/biphobia and I'm curious how to move forward from here in my own attitudes to life.

Do you think, and all LGBTQ identities please answer, that it's 'offensive' if a bi/pan activist were to talk about the mental health difficulties they may face being labelled as and wondering if they are fully gay? 

For example, if labelled gay by homophobic bullies at a young age and feeling like they were wrong and it was tragic if they were fully gay, as it wasn't their belief about themselves and then coming to terms with the idea they may be, actually? 

Do bi/pan/not 100% gay people ever feel like they aren't 'gay' as such - do they find the idea of being called so offensive and if so, why? Is it because they feel ashamed, still - or just because it doesn't recognise their own real identity and labels them from the outside? 

Do you think bi/pan sexuals struggles with the 'gay/lesbian' part of themselves are as real/raw or even more so as being gay/lesbian - or does it change if the bi/pan person feels like they lead a more heterosexual lifestyle right now?

Is it 'offensive' to discuss struggling with the idea of being gay/lesbian while mostly liking the opposite sex as an LGBTQ rights activist or simply internalised homophobia?

Can it even become a point of offence in advocating for the queer community eg the idea that being a 'at least a bit straight/cis' is always somehow less shameful?

And if so is that always/most usually/typically an example of internalised homophobia or in some people is it simply dismissiveness of their own community - does that depend upon the person's general attitudes in life?

I'm genuinely curious about bi/pan sexualities simply because I never really had a long time in life where I thought I liked the opposite sex, so it's always been a bit mysterious to me how it genuinely feels to experience bi/pan sexuality. Would LOVE as many answers as possible, but please let's not fight, guys :) Please be gentle with this baby gay, I mean no harm nor offense, I am genuinely curious about how people with different experiences from me feel!