Scenes

[flexibeast]

not_in_denial has just posted about the toxic attitudes that permeate the Melbourne queer scene. Combined with today's news that heterosexuals can legally be excluded from queer venues here in Melbourne, which raises questions of whether those of us queers who aren't "visibly" lesbian or gay would be allowed to attend such venues, i am reminded me of the old Groucho Marx quote along the lines of I don't want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member. :-/
 

Comments

[indigo1.livejournal.com]

hah. the peel has been refusing to let straight-looking people in forever anyway. i recall quite a few times standing in a line out the front with a bunch of lesbians waititng to be judged by the door bitches to see if we looked queer enough to be let in. not that they really wanted any women at all in there...

[sunflowerp]

This marginalizes the "by the book" bisexuals, never mind those whose sex, sexuality, and/or gender are more fluid or less readily labelled. I'd have thought Melbourne was a large enough and sophisticated enough city to have got past that stage by now.

IIRC, I came upon your LJ because I saw you listed as a member of Unnatural Pagans and wondered if you were another person I associate with the "Hierodule" moniker. It's quite evident you're not, but you have many interesting and thought-provoking things to say. May I friend you? (No reciprocation necessary; just because you interest me doesn't mean I'll interest you.)

Sunflower

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Heh, so were you and/or the dykes in question eventually permitted to enter the blessed domain?

[superbbluewren.livejournal.com]

I must say that I find the Peel Hotel's actions rather disturbing for the reasons you suggest. Are all those straight acting boys going to be excluded? I think not. So how will a bouncer be able to assess a person's sexuality at the door? Bouncers have more than enough power to be discriminatory as it is.

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Well, it appears that the owner of the venue in question actually wants to keep it gays-only (http://www.theage.com.au/news/NATIONAL/Pub-owner-defends-gays-only-entry/2007/05/28/1180205127908.html):

"recently (with) the amount of heterosexuals and lesbians, some guys are saying to me over the last year or so ... we don't feel comfortable anymore."

Whether those same guys would also have an issue with e.g. bi men is an open question at this point . . . .

As for friending me: Sure! Thanks for the compliment. :-)

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

*nod* As someone on the Bi-Victoria e-list suggested, Rather than ban all heterosexuals, why not just take action against the patrons who are behaving offensively to gay patrons i.e. treating people on their merits?

[indigo1.livejournal.com]

yep. i do a pretty good 'butch', even in a dress...

[haggis.livejournal.com]

That's a de facto policy that's been in place in Manchester for a while. I know several people who have been turned away from bars/clubs on Canal St (Manchester's gay village) specifically for being bisexual and some people who have been quizzed on their favourite magazine etc in order to 'check' they are sufficiently gay. (To be fair, it's quite rare and seems to be becoming rarer.)

There's a law coming into force in the UK (Equality Law on "Goods and Services") that will make it illegal to turn someone away on the grounds of sexuality, whether gay or straight or bisexual. It's not clear how effective it will be or what effect it will have on gay venues (Canal St is a common destination for hen nights etc, and hence there are a lot of straight people around too.)

[flexibeast.livejournal.com]

Hmm - so on what grounds are bisexuals being excluded? i mean, i understand the need for safe spaces - i'm a strong proponent of the idea - but do gay guys need a "safe space" from bi people in the same way that they need it from heteronormative society in general?

[haggis.livejournal.com]

I haven't heard any justifications apart from prejudice on the part of the bar owners/bouncers. In one case, the place has a stated policy of wanting a mix of 90% gay/10% straight but has turned away bi people.