The Panther Newspaper: Ashley Tries the Original G-A-Y Nightclub in London
While growing up on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I always dreamed of getting off “the rock” (a less-than-affectionate nickname my friends and I gave our home) and seeing what the rest of the world had to offer. Living in Hawaii as someone with no Hawaiian ancestry accustomed me to simultaneously respecting and participating in a culture that didn’t truly belong to me, which did well to prepare me for becoming a traveler and not a stereotypical tourist.
I originally didn’t think I would be able to study abroad but with a bit of determination and help from my professors, I’m now spending my final semester of college in London. Living in a foreign country might be anxiety-inducing for many people, and it certainly does have its challenges, but I have warmly welcomed the chance to engage in new experiences and meet some amazing people along the way. The stories I’m going to tell in this column series will highlight some of the best, worst and weirdest things I try during my time abroad.
One of the best nights in the city that I’ve had so far was literally spent in Heaven, one of the first openly gay clubs in the world that’s now famous for being the most popular gay nightclub in London. We had been told to get there early but didn’t take the advice to heart — not knowing that there would be a line wrapped around the corner of the building by the time we arrived (around midnight), only an hour after the club had opened.
Once we were inside and had gotten drinks, we ventured out onto the dance floor of the main room where the deejay started playing a remix of “Let It Go” from “Frozen.” I didn’t realize the Disney film was as popular in England as it is in the States, but everyone in the club started singing along, including me. We bounced around the venue all night, until the house lights came on at 4 a.m.
What I found quite intriguing was how the gay culture differs depending on where you are in the world. Hawaii and California both legalized same-sex marriage in 2013, two years before the Supreme Court made it legal nationwide, so I’ve noticed that citizens in both states are typically accepting of homosexuality.
On my home island of Maui there are resorts, restaurants, bars and beaches that are advertised as “gay-friendly” but it’s more of a sanctioned yet unspoken way of life. Once I moved to the mainland, I realized that people tend to be much more open about their sexuality. In California, there are accommodations that aren’t just “gay-friendly” but were established specifically for people within the LGBTQIA+ community to be able to convene consistently, such as the various gay bars and nightclubs as well as the massive gay pride parades in different parts of the state. The community seems to expand the farther away from Hawaii I travel, as London holds a weeklong festival called “Pride in London,” and there are also entirely gay districts in the city as well as countless LGBTQIA+ establishments such as Heaven.
The one thing I didn’t take into account before we got to the club was that it was one of the only places where being a woman doesn’t have any advantages, like quick service at the bar or men offering to buy you drinks, since at least 95 percent of the club consisted of gay men and the other 5 percent were women who were either straight or accompanied by their partners. But I didn’t mind having to wait awhile for a bartender to notice me and I always buy my own drinks anyways, so it was a pleasant change to be able to have a good time without dodging unwanted attention from strangers.
This experience was novel for me in two regards: it was my first time at a gay nightclub and my first time going to a legitimate London club, in general. Although it was my first time, it certainly won’t be my last.
Photo courtesy Pexels.
