Queer at The Club — The Importance of Sapphic Spaces
By Mya Tran
I turned twenty-one a few months ago. Yes, thank you, happy birthday to me. As many of you will notice, twenty-one is the legal drinking age here in the good ol’ United States of America. I didn’t immediately go crazy for my birthday. I waited to be with all of my friends and we created a plan. We wanted to go to a lesbian bar. Lesbian bars are hard to come by in general, with only a few existing in the US and more closing everyday. Generally queer clubs and gay bars are far more popular than lesbian and sapphic spaces.
When I told my father that I wanted to try going to a lesbian bar, as a bisexual femme, he responded by sending me a link to an LGBT support group in town. A funny and easy misunderstanding, but when I explained to him that I meant a bar, he didn’t really seem to understand why I couldn’t just go to a gay club. I’m generally accepted there and would probably have a good time, why couldn’t I just go somewhere easier?
I’m not turning my nose up at gay bars. Truly. I enjoy them just as much, but there’s something sacred about going to a space designed for you. So, at 10:30pm, my friends and I piled into a Kia Soul and drove an hour to southern Indiana, the only place in my state with a lesbian bar. It’s called the Backdoor. It’s tucked away in an alley, decorated with framed photos of unicorns and has graffiti almost pouring out of the bathroom walls. The custom cocktails are named stuff like “Kitten Power” and “Pillow Princess” and yeah, over priced, but it was worth it to feel safe.
I wanted to go to a lesbian bar as my first bar experience because I wanted to go somewhere that I knew I could relax in. No awkward stares, no straight coding, somewhere where my friends and I could be ourselves. To be free. Sure, we can do that at a gay bar, but there’s an added level of safety in a space that’s designed for women who like women. I don’t have to worry about being judged for flirting with a girl and buying her a drink, and I don’t have to put myself through the common storyline of a girl who is only okay being attracted to girls when she’s drunk.
My experience at the Backdoor wasn’t crazy. I danced with my friends, spent about $40 on drinks, got McDonald’s and went home. But it was an invaluable experience and I desperately want to go back to that 12 by 12 dark room with the sticky floors and the DJ who plays music made by lesbians for lesbians. It just fuelled my belief that there should be more sapphic spaces even more. Everyone in the bar come from all kinds of backgrounds and were all ages and there we all were, united by our desire to be in a place that was safe. A place for us.
About the Author
Mya Tran is an incoming junior at Butler University, in Indianapolis, IN. They are currently studying English on the creative writing track and German. Growing up in a small college town with limited queer role models, Tran has spent her life with her nose in the books, looking for someone to relate to.
