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The existence of gay clubs, an issue of segregation?
People with different sexual orientations are still treated as “different” by mainstream society in most parts of the world. Sometimes, the extreme of this type of discrimination is the positive aspect of it. Some gay people think this positive discrimination even damages their acceptance by society.
“We are against gay clubs”, said Atanas Lozanov, the president of the Bulgarian Youth Media Network during the Media vs Integration Conference in Vienna. He is gay himself. He declared that he never goes to gay clubs in Sofia because he likes to have fun in places where everybody goes: heterosexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals and metrosexuals.
Atanas considers that gay clubs are similar to hospitals where people with mental issues are isolated from the rest of the world. He doesn’t agree with putting people with non-heterosexual orientations into the so-called LGBT (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transsexuals) category. “People with these orientations are also part of society, they don’t need a special category to be put in”, explains Atanas.
The organization he is presiding in Bulgaria was one of the entities opposing the gay parade held in Sofia last month, since the participants of this kind of manifestations are not usually an accurate representation of gay people. Being loud and extravagant in showing your sexual orientation is not what gay is all about, according to Atanas. And this is what other people get to see during a gay parade. “Many participants are transsexuals who are prostitutes in their daily life. This is not the face of gay people”, Atanas concludes.
Commercial niche
Kate Morton, a Belgian participant at the conference in Vienna, believes that the point where discrimination begins is when somebody defines himself or herself as being different. Because this “different” identity will be perceived as such by the other people who will then start treating you differently.
For Yannick Brusselmans, a heterosexual Belgian member of the European Youth Press participating at the conference in Vienna, the existence of gay clubs are just a commercial niche. “It’s just like you have sports’ bars or live music bars that address directly a certain audience and are trying to make that audience feel at home”. From Yannick’s point of view, gay clubs are obviously a good place to meet a partner for gays or lesbians. “But nothing stops people to visit regular clubs as well, not only gay clubs. So in this sense it is not a segregation, it’s all about catering to the needs of a commercial niche”.
Maciej Szulc, an expert in queer culture, adds that people that go to a gay club also do it because they feel the need to be in an environment where they can find people with a common ground, that share the same ideas and experiences.
Posted in | 08.07.09
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