What began as a regular club night, founded three years ago by Teddy Edwardes, soon evolved from the event ‘C U Next Tuesday’ to LICK, the now permanent club in Vauxhall. Thanks to the opening of LICK club last weekend, London’s lesbian scene broadens to a whopping TWO clubs.
“The audience reflects the source, gay clubs are by and for gay men, and women are afterthoughts at best and intruders at worst,” says Loveless. Just due to the impact of having a core group of queer women at its centre, that in turn ripples out into the community.” “My club isn’t a lesbian club, but I’m a lesbian and I run it, so naturally there are more queer women present. Meanwhile, Alexandra Loveless hosts the regular club night, Nice Mover at VFD. Between this and The Chateau, an exciting queer scene is taking shape now in South.” “We’ve had political parties like our ‘Dykes Against Microplastics’ and parties honouring the lesbian activists that were instrumental in the Gay and Lesbian Liberation movement of the West Coast of America in the 1970s.”Ĭeleste continues, “In the midst of all the news of queer spaces closing, we’ve had some new hope this week in the form of a brand new girl bar opening: LICK in Vauxhall. The likes of Pxssy Palace, BBZ, and Butch, Please are gaining popularity, whilst in the East London two of the best known LGBTQ+ venues, Dalston Superstore and Vogue Fabrics Dalston (VFD), are hosting lesbian nights of their own.Ĭeleste Guinness began working with Dalston Superstore 18 months ago to create her night, Female Trouble, “a typical Female Trouble party aims to be a Venn diagram where activism, dyke-drag and lesbian in-jokes intersect,” she says.
No club to go to? Thankfully, some women are solving the problem by creating their own events. This being said, individual club nights led by women are popping up more and more frequently. Gay men are the default and clubs run by gay men often favour programming that appeals to their own interests over considering the wider LGBTQ+ audience. The duality of homophobia and misogyny sees women left behind in the gay scene when spaces aren’t actively working to include them. All I wanted was a drink and a dance, now I’m having an identity crisis.”
“Do I need to shave my head and only wear dungarees? To be asked to prove my queerness in front of the same people I’m seeking acceptance from taps into something bigger. “My sexuality was questioned by a gay man – on Pride of all f***ing days – because I didn’t fit his perception of queer,” says Hannah Connolly. Only last weekend, during a Pride event of all places, a lesbian friend of mine was asked “are you even queer?” whilst outside of a gay club. Queer women need their own space to feel comfortable without being pressured to dress, dance or behave in a certain way. Whilst nights at Heaven and G‑A-Y market themselves as LGBTQ+ inclusive, they remain undoubtedly dominated by men. As London’s LGBTQ+ district you might think lesbians would flock to Soho on a Friday night, when in fact, of the 30+ gay venues only one is designed for women. It’s not that lesbians would prefer a quiet night in, but simply that we have absolutely nowhere to go. The belief is that we would rather stay in bed with our cats and a cuppa than go to the club – when realistically, lesbians want to dance, get drunk, and let their hair down just as much as the next person. There is a common myth that lesbians prefer staying in to going out.