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| Laura Douglas-Brown is editor of southern voice. She can be reached at lbrown@sovo.com. |
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HOME > VIEWPOINT > EDITORIAL
By: LAURA DOUGLAS-BROWN
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We all know the stereotype about lesbians and money. I’m so tired of hearing that we’re bad tippers that I give 20 percent even for crummy service. But last week made me wonder if this particular stereotype doesn’t have some basis in fact.
We kicked off our whirlwind weekend of events celebrating the new Southern Voice with a “Hot Off the Presses” party at Hoedowns on Thursday, traditionally lesbian night at the venerable gay country bar (See page 29). The club was packed and tons of fun. But if I overheard this conversation once, I heard it 100 times: “I don’t want to pay $5 for the Hoe.”
The miffed girls were referring to the new $5 cover charge at Hoedowns, one in a number of changes by new co-owner Ben Elliot generating buckets of buzz around town. His decision to bring in drag performer Charlie Brown several nights per week has stirred the most controversy; it’s a major change for the bar, previously probably the only gay club in town not to have drag. Elliot cites business reasons for the addition, and I’m not weighing in: patrons will vote with their feet on that one.
But there’s no drag at Hoedowns on Thursday night, unless you count what a drag it was to hear everyone complaining about the cover charge. And mind you, these are the same women who complain about the lack of lesbian nightlife in Atlanta.
Coincidence? Hardly.
Atlanta currently is home to close to 30 clubs targeting gay men, and not one single bar catering completely to lesbians every night that it’s open. (Eye Candy, originally billed as a women’s club, now hosts male-oriented events on Saturday nights).
That could change dramatically in the coming months, when at least three lesbian clubs are slated to open: Paris Decatur, the new My Sisters’ Room, and Six Degrees. (See story, page 37).
Add those to weekly events at mixed gay bars — including events produced by Traxx Girls, women’s nights at Phase 1 and Tower II, Thursday nights at Hoedowns and Saturday nights at Jungle, where the Court of Kings drew a huge crowd March 24 for their first night at the venue — and Atlanta lesbians could soon have more nightlife options than any time in at least the last decade.
BUT IF WE want these clubs to survive, we have to be willing to pay for them. While a few gay bars still exist without cover charges, our male friends regularly pay $5, $10 or even more to enter popular bars on regular nights, and $20, $50 or more for special events. Is it any wonder, then, that bar owners and party promoters cater to them and not us?
Whether through nominal cover charges, frequent visits or buying plenty of drinks and generously tipping bartenders and performers, Atlanta lesbians have to prove that we can be a viable market for nightlife venues. If we want them to show us the party, we have to show them the money.
SPEAKING OF SHOWING US THE MONEY, that’s exactly what the Human Rights Campaign needs to do with the proceeds of their massive local fundraising dinner.
HRC, which is based in Washington and bills itself as the nation’s largest gay political group, has a flurry of great events coming up in Atlanta – some put on by the national office, others sponsored by the Atlanta organizing committee.
On Friday, HRC sponsors a panel discussion here on gay issues in sports, featuring major gay former professional athletes, timed to coincide with the NCAA Final Four in Atlanta. (See story, page 1). Earlier this month, HRC hosted a “Claim It: Your Truth, Your Faith, Your Sexuality” forum at Atlanta’s all-male, historically black Morehouse College.
Upcoming HRC events include the annual HRC bowling fundraiser on March 31, a Women’s Final Four watch party on April 3, and the group’s signature black-tie Atlanta Dinner & Silent Auction on May 5.
The events come as HRC faces a tide of criticism from gay bloggers on the right and left, focused on whether the agency accurately reports its membership and effectively advances its mission. Some valid questions have been raised, though the back-and-forth can start to sound like so much inside baseball for people not given to following the intricacies of Washington politics.
But HRC also frequently gets questions from those of us outside the Beltway on how the money ...
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