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Shortly after the Stonewall riots, John Wilkinson, an openly gay staff writer of the underground newspaper Willamette Bridge, responded to an anonymous classified ad that had been posted to the paper but not included in its publication. The gay communities in Portland started to become visible through local media. Portland even has a Two-Spirit Society that is gaining in popularity. Although this specific term is relatively new, the concept of having two spirits (a person embodying two genders) in indigenous populations has been around for generations that predate LGBTQ. In fact, Native Americans/First Nations have celebrated Two Spirit people for millennia. Portland has been active in pushing for inclusiveness for the LGBTQ community for over 50 years. The history of Portland’s LGBTQ community In 2008, Portland became the first large city to have an openly-gay mayor after Sam Adams was elected. There are also lots of gay sports leagues and dance clubs, a large amount of LGBTQ owned businesses, and many community organizations. The city is home to drag queen Walter “Darcelle XV” Cole who has held the Guinness World Record for being the oldest drag queen performer in the world since August 15, 2016. The LGBTQ community in Portland is quite extensive. From Queer Film Festivals, Drag Performances, Pride Parades, Dance parties, relaxed bars and more, members of the LGBTQ community who live, work or visit Portland will find the Rose City to be a fantastic gay-friendly city, here is a LGBTQ Guide to Portland, Oregon… The LGBTQ community in Portland