Cincinnati offers numerous ways to meet and connect with transgender individuals.
From night venues and supportive communities to online dating sites – the possibilities are endless.
Whether you’re interested in friendship or exploring dating opportunities with trans men and women, we’ve got you covered.
So buckle up, as this article will guide you through the most effective ways to mingle with trans in Cincinnati.
Table of Contents
List of TG Friendly Venues in Cincinnati
1) Bars and Clubs
What we love the most about night venues here is that you’ll find a lot of spots that host drag shows.
You’ll meet trans people at these places 8 out of 10 times – with the exception of some gay bars.
But don’t worry because we’ve excluded those from this list and have filtered out only bars and clubs that cater to TGs.
Good Judy’s – This is a hotspot for trans individuals. You’ll generally find a young and rowdy crowd here coming together to enjoy drag shows and loud music.
The Birdcage – The best place for people who want to dance. It has a mix of queer, trans, and cis individuals, and the general age is 40+.
Drink prices are a bit higher, which explains why you won’t see many young folks here.
Home Base Tavern – If you want a change of pace from the crowded spots then this cozy bar is a great place to chill and grab drinks with trans folks. Bonus points for the staff here who make you feel at home.
Bloom OTR – Friday and Saturday nights are the best here if you want to meet trans individuals as that’s when they also host drag shows. The energy is high on these nights, thanks to the young crowd.
Main Event – An LGBTQ+ dance bar that hosts drag shows from Monday to Saturday.
As you can see, the performances are great but the only drawback is that the bartenders here are a bit rude and sometimes overcharged.
2) Community Centers and Organizations
While Cincinnati doesn’t have an LGBT+ community center, you will find several TG focused organizations.
I’ll start with CrossPort, which acts as a support group for the trans community.
They host meetings on the second and fourth Monday of every month and allow not only MtF and FtM trans but also allies of the community.
You can also meet trans individuals by volunteering for the Cincinnati Pride event.
While the pride parade itself is hosted in June, there are a lot of meetings volunteers need to participate in beforehand.
That can open different avenues for you to connect with the trans community.
Lastly, Transgender Advocacy Council also hosts many monthly support meetings and events so keep an eye on their calendar.
3) Trans Dating Sites
Online dating sites have been gaining traction among the trans community in Cincinnati.
It isn’t uncommon to meet trans folks on apps like Scruff. While the app was primarily designed for gay people, it’s currently seeing a surge in trans users.
It’s one of the few platforms that offers the feature to only show trans profiles in your recommendations. You can use Scruff for both platonic relationships and casual stuff.
But if you’re really looking for the latter, then we’d suggest going along with TSDates instead as it’s a well-known site for finding trans hookups.
4) Online Groups and Pages
You can also meet trans through online groups on Facebook and other social media platforms.
We’ll start with Cincy Straddlers as it’s one of the largest private LGBTQ+ groups in Cincinnati.
With around 2,000 members, they frequently host events and local meetups.
Then you have Cincinnati LGBT where members do seem to be active but since it’s a public group, it has a lot of spam posts.
Another one Transgender Community of Greater Cincinnati. This group is not as active as it once was, but you’ll still see trans folks posting here from time to time.
Moving on, you can also find trans-focused events on sites like Meetup and Eventbrite.
5) Other LGBT+ Spaces
Cincinnati has many more LGBT+ owned businesses and spots. Honestly, it’s hard to mention them all, so we’ll just talk about some of our favorites.
Starting with Sidewinder Coffee, it’s a coffee shop with a laidback atmosphere where you can often find groups of trans folks chilling together.
Then you have TreeHouse Cincinnati, a popular LGBT+ hangout spot. They host events and fun movie nights that are perfect for making some friends.
Lastly, if you’re looking for a more unconventional place then Functional Fitness is a trans friendly gym with some amazing and inclusive trainers.
What It’s Like to Be Transgender in Cincinnati
Cincinnati is generally a safe place for trans individuals, as long as you’re in the right part of the town like Northside.
One thing for sure is that it’s definitely nowhere close to Columbus in terms of inclusivity.
While you will find a ton of inclusive spaces, you should also get ready to encounter jerks in your daily life.
Trans men and women who do not “pass” will especially have a hard time adapting to the city.
But if you can go past that then I do think that the quality of the LGBTQ+ venues here is great, and the drag community is also growing.
It even offers far more options than Cleveland which is certainly commendable.
So if you can learn how to ignore insensitive remarks then Cincinnati isn’t bad.
Wrapping Up: Enjoy Meeting Trans in Cincinnati
Based on everything we’ve discussed, it’s fair to say that Cincinnati is neither transphobic nor trans friendly, it’s 50/50.
Your experience is mainly based on the area. If you’re staying near the Northside, you’ll come to love the city.
However, if you venture somewhere into the suburbs, then things will be a bit different.
Regardless of what happens, you can always visit the venues we’ve discussed throughout this article.
In case you prefer a more laid-back approach then online dating sites and communities are always an alternative.
But feel free to also explore other unconventional ways to meet TGs, and if something works, then let us know in the comments!
