Gay men banning hetro's and lesbians from their 'gay' club... WTF ?

[eggman]

Has anyone said anything about singing at least 3 Kylie songs, with at least one of those having a full choreographed dance move, so that you can get in through the door?

 

[Beatlebot]

Plenty of gay venues already have policies like this in place, though I am not sure why The Peel felt the need to legitimise it like this.

I think you'll find if you have a nice quick chat to the bouncer to assure him you are cool, they will let you in anyway and you can enjoy a great night out.

The Peel was having a problem with their patrons and they have addressed it. It is really no different from other venues that have door policies on dress, class, or gender ratios. Sure it would be great if all of us could mix in together and drink all night without problems, but I think we all know that that is not going to happen, unfortunately. Some people out there, whether rich, poor, gay or straight, turn into complete dickheads when they drink and ruin it for everyone else. This is less likely to happen if they are in a venue where they perceive everyone accepts them for who they are. I'm all for equal rights and all that, but I don't really want to have to deal with it when I'm just going out for a drink, and neither do most gay people I suspect.

 

[who_can_say]

Gay clubs in Europe do this, well, at least the ones I was at in Berlin. To get in to them you had to ring the doorbell and they would buzz you in. I thought it was pretty funny and asked a friend about it. He said it was to stop naive people wandering into the club not knowing that it's a gay venue. And the gay clubs in Berlin let you have sex on premises in the backrooms (like in Queer As Folk, if you've seen it).

If Im out at a gay club (rarity), I just want to be in an environment where I can be myself and not have to worry about some drunk dickhead wandering up slurring "Are youse a poofta?", something I get every now and then when Im at my local straight pub with my mates (who, after a few beers, like to try and find me a husband). It's all about being comfortable in your environment.

In response to Swify's post before, let's see two men try and have a pash in a non-gay pub. You wouldn't just get evil stares - you'd probably either get bashed right then and there or have someone follow you and do it in the street.

 

[Chaos Butterfly]

The problem I have is who determines this, and how ? Obviously it leaves the door open for a huge amount of discrimination against someone because of how they look or act, and often based on their sexuality.

I am not down with hypocricy people.

Generally it is down to the bouncers that decide anything about who gets let into a club, and regardless of house rules, some bouncers are absolute fucking twats and if they decide that they don't like you, they won't let you in anyway.

I'd love to head down there with my boyfriend and try and get in... it'd be pretty hilarious, as we are two of the least faggy gay guys you ever met

CB

 

[zephyr]

I am going to this club tonight as I walk past it every night anyway and Im fucking going in there. I would absolutely love it if they tried to stop me.

 

[zephyr]

Ill make it an issue when I am being discriminated against. What if I have a gay friend who is holding their birthday there.. or even just a few friendly drinks.. and I cant go ?

None of you have mentioned the fact that they have banned lesbians too... can someone address this ?

Oh come on, you're a great kisser. You want in? Its easy enough to do. Pretend.


The crowd that go there don't seem the friendliest anyways- the pack that hang around the front of the place are the same people night in- night out. Maybe thats the people not being let in anyore though.

They need less meth and more MDMA in that club for sure.

 

[Strawberry_lovemuffin]

I know one method they use at The Peel - not necessarily to figure out if you're straight, but to weed out newcomers. They ask you at the door if you've been there before, and if you say "yeah" they ask you to describe where the toilets are.

I came across this when I went there while at uni. This was a good ... 12 years ago (showing my age)... so yeah it's nothing new. It doesn't bother me at all if gay clubs want to keep their clientelle gay-friendly, or their atmosphere comfortable for their patrons. IMO it's no different to other nightclubs discriminating against you on basis of your image so they can prevent their coolness being infected by your boganness. In fact, the latter is a much less defensible position really.

 

[swifty]

In response to Swify's post before, let's see two men try and have a pash in a non-gay pub. You wouldn't just get evil stares - you'd probably either get bashed right then and there or have someone follow you and do it in the street.

well first off all, it wasn't a pash, it was a quick kiss goodbye, and secondly that sort of thing just doesn't happen too often anymore, plus there's a time and a place for everything gay or straight. There's a huge difference between a peck to say good bye and a complete public sexual mauling - I think if I saw someone mauling each other in public - gay or straight - I'd be putt off by it, but if I saw a couple - gay or straight - give a quick kiss good bye, then it wouldn't bother me.

 

[vanth]

Is it true that they've banned lesbians? If so that kind of sucks, there aren't many lesbian-orientated clubs/nights and I suppose they're effectively banning women. What about fag hags??

 

[eggman]

One of the pubs near my place banned shorts... i though that was bad enough

 

[who_can_say]

and secondly that sort of thing just doesn't happen too often anymore

Because we live in such a tolerant, understanding society. Teh gays don't get bashed at all anymore....8)

 

[gher]

Has anyone said anything about singing at least 3 Kylie songs, with at least one of those having a full choreographed dance move, so that you can get in through the door?

Does Jimmy Barnes' rendition of Dancing Queen count?

 

[Raz]

Is it true that they've banned lesbians? If so that kind of sucks, there aren't many lesbian-orientated clubs/nights and I suppose they're effectively banning women. What about fag hags??

The Peel hasn't banned lesbians, though they do have men-only nights regularly. The Laird, which is just down the road from the Peel, is a gay pub that has banned all women fullstop....mebbe that's what you're thinking of?

And yeah, it does suck....don't get me started on the divisiveness of the fekkin gay "community", oy.... 8(

About this "no dirty breeders" rule....I'm really of two minds about it; on the one hand, I emphatically agree with the idea that if we (we being queer people) want to be accepted for who we are, that's a two way street. If the only reason this rule were being put in place was because some stupid fags think boys and girls kissing is icky, I'd be dead set against it. And having spent an embarassingly huge portion of my life at the Peel over the years, I can pretty confidently say that I have never seen any violence directed at gay guys there from straight people. I have seen some straight guys who have walked in the place without realising what it is getting their backs up a bit, but I figure that's to be expected when you're exposed to something which is such a departure from what you're told is normal...doesn't bother me at all as long as they're not assholes about it. What happens way more often is that you get the tourists who are just in from the 'burbs looking at all the funny gay boys and their funny ways. People who treat me like I'm the feature attraction in a fucking carnival sideshow piss me off, and in my experience that's way more commonplace than actual overt violence. But overall, my experience with straight people in gay bars has been overwhelmingly positive, and on principle I totally support it.

...Having said that, I just came back from Oxford Street in Sydney a month ago, and that really shocked me. I was at Stonewall, and once the nearby straight clubs closed the room started filling up with sketchy musclehead straight boys who were giving the death stare to anyone too faggy who dared look at them or even be near them. They were all fucking completely disrespectful, two guys tried to start a fight with me because they bumped into me when they came charging in and it got to the point where I had to leave because I was about to punch some cunt in the head....and while I will quite happily give it a go if I have to, I'm also not stupid enough to think that I wouldn't get the shit beaten out of me.

So I don't like it, but I can understand it. Principle is one thing, but you don't uphold a principle when the cost of that is people being victimised in the one place they're supposed to be able to feel safe.

 

[WitchDoctor]

yeh i dont believe in these blanket bans, the bouncers should just be doing their job and getting rid of the trouble.

but heck, im a dude im used to getting discriminated against on the doors of clubs/pubs..

 

[yellowfrog]

I've never minded when two people go the pash in a nightclub, regardless of the gender of those involved. There's something so primal about two people making a connection. Love is beautiful, and lust comes in a close second. In fact, I've never understood why others find it off-putting. Can't you just celebrate the fact others are having a good time? You don't have to go and join in!

I can understand though, that this isn't a perfect world people want to have a drink without getting hassled. So I can understand why a club/pub might keep out people liable to hassle the main patrons. Could be a bit annoying if you're an ocker type who just happens to be gay though.

 

[preacha]

I've never minded when two people go the pash in a nightclub, regardless of the gender of those involved.

whereas i DO have a problem with it. hetero or gay, keep your PDAs to holding hands or pecks on the cheek

only time this rule can be broken is if R Kelly is playing in a club like setting, and you are bumpin' 'n grindin' in an hipster-ironic fashion

 

[katmeow]

Just for reference...

A MELBOURNE pub catering for gay men has won the right to refuse entry to heterosexuals in a landmark ruling the owner says will keep patrons safe.

The owners of Collingwood's Peel Hotel applied to ban straight men and women to try to prevent "sexually based insults and violence" towards its gay patrons.

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal last week granted the pub an exemption to the Equal Opportunity Act, effectively prohibiting entry to non-homosexuals.

VCAT deputy president Cate McKenzie said if heterosexual men and women came into the venue in large groups, their number might be enough to swamp the gay male patrons.

"This would undermine or destroy the atmosphere which the company wishes to create," Ms McKenzie said in her findings.

"Sometimes heterosexual groups and lesbian groups insult and deride and are even physically violent towards the gay male patrons."

Some women even booked hens' nights at the venue using the gay patrons as entertainment, Ms McKenzie said.

"To regard the gay male patrons of the venue as providing an entertainment or spectacle to be stared at, as one would at an animal at a zoo, devalues and dehumanises them," she said.

"(This exemption) seeks to give gay men a space in which they may, without inhibition, meet, socialise and express physical attraction to each other in a non-threatening atmosphere."

Pub owner-manager Tom McFeely said the move was necessary to provide gay men a non-threatening atmosphere to freely express their sexuality.

"If I can limit the number of heterosexuals entering the Peel, then that helps me keep the safe balance effectively," Mr McFeely told Southern Cross radio today.

Mr McFeely said that while the pub welcomed everyone, its gay clientele had expressed discomfort over the number of heterosexuals and lesbians coming to the venue over the past year.

"We've had instances in the past where, for example, a buck's night has come up to the Peel or a hen's night - our whole atmosphere changes immensely," he said.

Mr McFeely said that prior to the ruling it was illegal to refuse entry to a large group of people based on sexuality, making gay male clients uncomfortable and unable to freely express their sexuality.

He said more than 2000 venues in Melbourne cater to heterosexuals, but his pub was the only one marketing itself predominantly to gay men.

"We're the only one out of 2000 venues in Melbourne. Those heterosexuals have other places to go to, my homosexuals do not," he said.

"The only place they can feel comfortable and safe is the Peel and that's the reason.

"I want to protect that and 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."

Mr McFeely said most of the regulars at the hotel had responded positively.

A spokeswoman for the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Lobby Group said she believed the ruling made the Peel one of only two men-only venues in Melbourne.

"This exemption was not sought to exclude members of the community but to try to maintain a safe space for men to meet," the spokeswoman said.

She said gay men at the Peel had recently been ostracised and made to feel like "zoo animals".

"It's sad that members of our community would have to go to the VCAT to preserve their rights," the spokeswoman said.

"This is one of the only free venues with live music in the area, so certainly some people may feel a bit unhappy about the decision."

The Peel attracted criticism in April over an ad for a gay Anzac Day party that showed a near-naked man in a slouch hat.

The hotel used a Shrine of Remembrance guard as the unwitting star of an ad for an Anzac Day eve bash. The ad was published in gay magazines and on the venue's website.

It was withdrawn after intense criticism from the Victorian RSL, which called it a "desecration of the Anzac spirit".

From here

 

[Beatlebot]

The Peel attracted criticism in April over an ad for a gay Anzac Day party that showed a near-naked man in a slouch hat.

The hotel used a Shrine of Remembrance guard as the unwitting star of an ad for an Anzac Day eve bash. The ad was published in gay magazines and on the venue's website.

It was withdrawn after intense criticism from the Victorian RSL, which called it a "desecration of the Anzac spirit".

That's discrimination right there. Once we have addressed this kind of discrimination properly then maybe we can concentrate on all drinking together safely. Until then we can't blame them one bit for wanting their own space.

 

[psycosynthesis]

Who gives a shit? The Peel play shit music, is full of faghags and sleazy guys. I am not homophobic at all, in any way shape or form. Live and let live. This doesn't change the fact that this paticular establishment is not high on my list of places to go for a ripping night out. If you're into 90s pop, dudes in leather vests and not much else than the Peel is the place for you. I've been there once, it was barely tolerable when my drugs were working and horrible when they stopped. I got hit on a fair bit, and then reprimanded when I told the dudes I was straight. "Don't be like that I'm just being friendly!".

"Being Friendly" is dancing quite sexily near me and then telling me I'm cute? BULLSHIT.

I really don't understand why such a fuss is being made out of this, as the majority of the people who would have a problem with this ruling would not be likely to willingly enter a homosexual establishment anyway.

 

[Strawberry_lovemuffin]

If you're into 90s pop, dudes in leather vests and not much else than the Peel is the place for you.

Make some of those guys straight and add in free chardy and that pretty much sounds like my perfect night out!