If you are a student at the University of Michigan, you have most likely heard of Necto Nightclub's Pride Friday. One of only two queer nightclub nights in Ann Arbor (the other being LIVE's Candy Bar on Thursday nights), Pride Friday is the most popular by far. Flocked to by queer students and others from around the area, many allies also love to accompany their queer friends to enjoy drag shows, shunning of societally determined behavioral constructs, and free cover before 11pm with a valid MCard. For the U of M queer community, it is often a given that if you are going out on Friday you’re headed to Necto at some point. While this can be compared at the surface level to Cantina Tuesdays or other bar/club trends, things go much deeper. Specifically, the attraction to LGBTQ clubs comes from their purpose as a place for coping.
A queer person’s first trip to an LGBTQ club is an experience they never forget. It is as if a new world opens up that has never been experienced. People are free to express their gender identity as freely as they wish without fear of repercussions, PDA is not only acceptable but encouraged, and everyone is there to love one another. Average everyday life does not provide this to the queer community, which makes the LGBTQ club a space for identity and community formation, as well as a coping mechanism.
Interestingly, LGBTQ clubs take advantage of both territory and community coping strategies. By providing a change in territory where queer people can go, especially when they are experiencing directed attention fatigue from the stresses of life as a sexual minority, the LGBTQ club fosters community. Through seeing the freedom of the community within the walls of the nightclub, a person is able to gain understanding and explore their identity. The opportunities to gain knowledge from others, be it through direct interaction or simply watching them, provides a queer person the ability to understand their community and model behavior that they would like to engage in. Additionally, being in a space of people who are also queer allows for a queer person to develop their sense of self- and have a sense of being needed. This exploration of self is only available when engaging with community, and this in and of itself is the power of the LGBTQ nightclub.
Additionally, the LGBTQ club could be thought of as a preferred environment for queer people. For many queer people, when given the opportunity they prefer to go to a queer club over a non-specific (and inherently heterosexual) club. In short, this phenomenon relates back to the queer club as a means for territory and community coping as they are expressly supported there. In writing this blog, I compiled the opinions of many queer people, and one statement stuck out to me in terms of preference. When asked why he prefers LGBTQ clubs, LSA Junior Austin Carter said "Queer nightclubs create an open atmosphere where people like myself who don't fit into this bubble of heterosexuality can come and be themselves without feeling ashamed or judged."
Finally, on a more politically driven note, I see the queer nightclub growing to be more important in the way that it was back in the 1960s and 1970s. With the hateful rhetoric of the President-Elect and his Vice-President, who believes in conversion therapy as a means for "correcting" gayness among other homophobic notions, hate crimes against the LGBTQ community are growing in this country. For instance, just this week a 75 year old gay man was attacked for having a rainbow bumper sticker on his car. With all of the hate in this country, there is going to be increased directed attention fatigue because queer people are constantly hearing of these stories and having to try to focus on life's tasks while being afraid. Long story short, the queer nightclub has always served as the place for queer people to cope, and it will continue to serve that purpose.
Additionally, the LGBTQ club could be thought of as a preferred environment for queer people. For many queer people, when given the opportunity they prefer to go to a queer club over a non-specific (and inherently heterosexual) club. In short, this phenomenon relates back to the queer club as a means for territory and community coping as they are expressly supported there. In writing this blog, I compiled the opinions of many queer people, and one statement stuck out to me in terms of preference. When asked why he prefers LGBTQ clubs, LSA Junior Austin Carter said "Queer nightclubs create an open atmosphere where people like myself who don't fit into this bubble of heterosexuality can come and be themselves without feeling ashamed or judged." Finally, on a more politically driven note, I see the queer nightclub growing to be more important in the way that it was back in the 1960s and 1970s. With the hateful rhetoric of the President-Elect and his Vice-President, who believes in conversion therapy as a means for "correcting" gayness among other homophobic notions, hate crimes against the LGBTQ community are growing in this country. For instance, just this week a 75 year old gay man was attacked for having a rainbow bumper sticker on his car. With all of the hate in this country, there is going to be increased directed attention fatigue because queer people are constantly hearing of these stories and having to try to focus on life's tasks while being afraid. Long story short, the queer nightclub has always served as the place for queer people to cope, and it will continue to serve that purpose.
With the June 12, 2016 attack on Pulse Nightclub, where 49 people were killed and another 53 injured (most of whom were queer people of color), the LGBTQ nightclub as a place of coping is directly under attack. This raises a question that many are still pondering: how does one cope with an attack on their community when the attack took place in the locale where they normally go to cope?
Very thoughtful application of this course to an important (and timely) topic. In particular, your question at the end and think that is deserving of a lot of thought and attention. How can we find new ways of coping when our territories and communities are threatened, and we do not have the support that we need to cope from society?
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