Burlington, Vermont, has been without a gay bar for 11 years; however, the opening of Mister Sister is causing more controversy than celebration for the local LGBT community.

 

Owner Craig McGaughan chose the name because he felt it reflected the inclusivity he hopes the bar will represent in the town.

 

“It is a term that has been used among gays and drag queens for decades intended to be positively gender-bending,” McGaughan said in a statement. “Mister Sister is for the Misters and the Sisters, those that identify as both and everyone in between. The official description of Mister Sister is ‘a gay bar for him, her and them.’ I have been very intentional in using a pronoun that isn’t specifically male or female as a way to include anyone that identifies as part of the LGBTQ community.”

 

Many people are not having it.  Local resident Wiley Reading, who identifies as a trans man, told the Burlington Free Press that he felt “‘mister sister’ [was] a transmisogynistic slur, and it [was] deeply uncomfortable.”

 

"It antagonizes and excludes a large portion of the community, and especially a portion of the community that has historically been left out of the conversation or marginalized," Reading argued.

 

“Personally, I do find the name offensive,” added Josie Leavitt, director of the Pride Center of Vermont. "I know Craig, and Craig is a good man. … His unwillingness to meet [with us] is what I’m finding to be the most troubling.”

 

A similar issue over the term "mister sister" erupted a few years ago when B52's singer Kate Pierson released a single with the same name. She said it was an anthem for drag queens but was roundly criticized by members of the trans community.