Lesbian gay club

Abbie Holmes explores the unavoidable presence of the male gaze in queer nightlife spaces. My second thought is to look down at myself; blue jeans, white lace tank top, skinny gay guy to my left, and realise. The next day I make more of an effort, Bermuda shorts, tits out in a way that would be tacky and garish on any other occasion and my hard work is rewarded.

This makes sense, among the unrestrained chaos that is the main stage queue to see the Sugababes, you realise you can count twenty-five people in front of you before you see another girl. The male gaze has reared its ugly head and evolved. Where the fuck are all the lesbians? To some extent, that guy was right. Venture into Vanilla and you will find a fair few lesbians.

The story is as depressing outside of the UK. With only thirty-two venues in the Gay and a grand zero in Australia, it does not require a grand amount of observation to conclude that spaces for queer women are few and far between. For most queer women, there is simply no space left for them in their own club.

Nightlife venues are uniquely problematic for women. As violence against women remains steady, it is no surprise that we are so wary about being vulnerable at night. Pair that with over-sexualisation, homophobia, and transphobia that queer women are forced to navigate, and a perfect storm is created.

In a tale as old as time, spaces continue to cater to men and ignore lesbians, whether they be queer or not. The issue is not just social, but also economical. Queer women are getting priced out of their communities. With women earning 86p to the pound, gay women in a relationship are less likely to amass wealth than two men, pricing both the owners and clientele out of the cities in which lesbian spaces would thrive.

Without our own communities standing steady, we are forced to carve a place out for ourselves on the edge of others. Despite every obstacle seemingly trying to eradicate club lesbians for women, we are thriving, just quietly.

She should be at the club: the decline of the lesbian venue

In larger cities, it is not difficult to find groups of queer women, you just need to look beyond the surface of alcohol- based venues. Most feminist clubs and discussion groups, whether this be book clubs or online streaming platforms such as Lesflicks are filled with queer women.

But though some suggest that this is our fate, being more attuned to quiet nights in with a girlfriend and a cat than the club, I am not so pessimistic. September 29, September 27, twssmagazine. We need to protest, not party. Artwork by Abbie Holmes. View at Medium. Like Loading Leave a comment Cancel reply.