FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Music

Why Clubs Like Pulse Are So Essential to the LGBTQ Community, According to New Yorkers During Pride

"If you lived in the middle of nowhere and there was a gay bar 20 miles away, that would be your only sanctuary."

Photos by Rebecca Smeyne.

Last night, thousands of New Yorkers gathered in front of the historic Stonewall Inn in Manhattan's West Village for a vigil to commemorate the 49 people killed this Saturday at the gay club Pulse in Orlando. The tragedy was felt particularly deeply among the LGBTQ community, who have long turned to clubs and bars as spaces to congregate, socialize, and seek refuge from a discriminatory society. We spoke to some of the attendees last night about what nightclubs like Pulse mean to the queer community and whether or not, in light of this tragic news, they still plan to go out and celebrate during Pride.

Advertisement

1. Katsumi (Left) and Marui (Right)

THUMP: Why are clubs like Pulse important to the LGBTQ community?
Katsumi: It's not just a nightclub. I've had straight coworkers who were comparing [Pulse] to any public building or their straight uncle going to a nightclub. But it's really a representation of community.

Marui: [Gay clubs] are places where people can go and feel safe. To hear it being compared to a convention center or something that has nothing to do with any type of minority group is really jarring and upsetting.

Are you planning on attending Pride?
Marui: I feel personally that as a queer person I should be representing myself as much as I possibly can. I realize that there are some people who are not in a position to do those things and I know it's a privilege to be out and it's a privilege to be able to go to events. I feel extremely fortunate to be able to do these things. While I'm in this place, I should be doing as much as I can.

2) Steve (Left), John (Center), and Tommy (Right)

Why are clubs like Pulse important to the LGBTQ community?
Steve: I grew up on the French Riviera, where it was very conservative and very hard to be myself. I started going out when I was very young—about 15. Gay clubs were the only places where I could really be me and be able to kiss someone or hold their hand without being judged by anyone.

Tommy: We tend to forget, because there are lots of gay people everywhere [in New York]. If you lived in the middle of nowhere and there was a gay bar 20 miles away, that would be your only sanctuary, your only place to meet other people in real time.

Advertisement

John: They are places where we can be vulnerable, where we can let it all hang out.

Are you planning on attending Pride?
Steve:I remember when I was in France I always thought Pride was stupid and over the top. I grew up somewhere very conservative, so it was taught to think it was wrong to be out on the streets doing whatever you want. But it's actually very important. Pride is the moment where you let it hang out and you don't care. I live a block away [from Stonewall], and there is no way I could miss it ever again.

John: It will be a difficult Pride. On the one hand, you want to celebrate and commemorate, but when there are tragedies like this going on in our country and the world over it makes it more difficult. I mean, I wonder how many more moments of silence we will have. These moments teach us that there's no need to pander to the right or to people who are more conservative—they don't have your back. Why go out of your way to make them feel comfortable? We ourselves should be made to feel comfortable.

3. London

Why are clubs like Pulse important to the LGBTQ community?
London: For the longest time the LGBT community only had gay clubs to kind of hide in—it was our safe haven. It was a place we could go, relax, let our hair down, drink, and find people like us. It's a special place. A place where we go to bond.

Are you planning on attending Pride?
At first I wasn't [going to Pride], because Pride is usually a little too much, but this year I think I will because of what happened at Pulse—to stand with my brothers and sisters and show we're here, and we're not going anywhere. We don't die; we multiply.

Advertisement

4. Guelmo

Why are clubs like Pulse important to the LGBTQ community?
Guelmo: For me, growing up in a small hometown in Puerto Rico which is very machista, or homophobic, [it was important] finding a venue, a disco, a gay bar, where you could go and be yourself and be free and not need to fear anything. We should just feel comfortable everywhere we go, but sadly the way we live today, people tend to feel free in places like [Pulse]. For it to be disrupted in the way it was on Saturday, especially for the community that was affected most—my community, Latin Americans, and the transgender community who were performing that night—it's impossible [for it] not to touch everyone.

5. Alisha

Why are clubs like Pulse important to the LGBTQ community?
Alisha: I'm not a member of the LGBT community, but most of my dearest friends are. I feel that this is a place I need to be to show that we are all of value, that we are all human beings. And as an African-American, my struggle is their struggle. We all deserve equality; we all deserve the right to live our lives the way we want to live them. Everything should be embraced, everything should be loved, and that's something that should be celebrated and not destroyed.

6. Yocheved (Right)

Why are clubs like Pulse important to the LGBTQ community?

Yocheved: Especially when you're first coming out, you can feel alone, so you need that space where you feel like, "I'm not alone, I'm part of a community." It's a rare thing to find. In a small town like ours, you don't really have that. So a place like Pulse is super important.

Advertisement

Are you planning on attending Pride?
I would love to celebrate Pride. This is my first time celebrating Pride in New York. It's a little overwhelming. It can be a fearful thing after something like this happens, but I don't think we should stop; we should still be who we are and celebrate in the face of any tragedy. We're going to remember these people and celebrate.

7. Zachary

Why are clubs like Pulse important to the LGBTQ community?
Zachary: I grew up going to clubs. Growing up, all my friends were dykes, femmes, drag queens, and faggots. [Gay clubs] are a place where people can come together who don't necessarily have space in their homes because of their families or who feel like the club is a place where they can be themselves and discover themselves. Those spaces are so vital.

8. Regan

Why are clubs like Pulse important to the LGBTQ community?
Regan: For most of us that's where we grew up: at clubs. It's not like you can hang out at home as a young adult who is queer. I snuck into clubs when I was 16—a baby dyke. It's a safe haven. It's where I met everybody, and it's where I learned what it was to be a queer person. So that's why we resonate with this.

Are you planning on attending Pride?

Pride is the best week. It's going to be four days of insanity.

9. Madison

Why are clubs like Pulse important to the LGBTQ community?
Madison: Until we have absolute equality and peace for everybody [gay clubs are] a place of safety, a place of freedom, a place of expression. It's a place of vulnerability and innocence, and it's really unfortunate that it had to turn into something like this. We've lost a lot of really beautiful people.