#queer-culture

#queer-culture

Many could, and have, argued the once rainbow-clad section of the UK's capital has had its wings clipped through years of gentrification, but there are still corners of Dalston, Hackney, Bethnal Green, and surrounding areas that continue to light the fire of queer liberation.

The stickers that partly cover it are a visual decision that crosses issues - inspired by club stickers used to cover phone cameras at queer parties to 'encourage presence and protect privacy'.

Let me tell you something about house music. If you've ever partied in a queer club, or a Black club, you've probably heard this voice. Hell, if you've ever danced to house music anywhere, for almost any length of time, anywhere in the world, you've heard its flamboyant, authoritative glory.

Are representation and resemblance their own mandate of heaven? Or, as Jordan Tannahill's Prince Faggot puts it, what would happen if, just a few steps down the line of inheritance, there were a guy who loved being a little bitch in bed?

It's exciting, especially in our current climate, that I just played a man named Henry who's an Italian tour guide.

"It's surprisingly innuendo-ready quotes and unforgettable performances are an enduring staple everywhere from drag brunches to bleary afterparties."

It's always somebody stereotypically gorgeous. So Saint Sebastian appears in a lot of queer culture.

Dec added: "It meant more than we realised. We've always had a good relationship with the community, and even back in the days of PJ and Duncan playing G-A-Y, we always loved doing that. But we definitely felt a real sense of appreciation after we did the drag, especially from younger people just saying that meant such a lot."

"The number of Wednesdays I've forgotten here in this cave of a bar is astronomical," San Francisco drag icon Katya Smirnoff-Skyy told me as she hovered near the door. "But I don't drink like I used to." She added that the old energy is there in the new party, but the faces are new. "I sometimes like to call this sea of humanity the faces of Grindr," Smirnoff-Skyy said with a smirk, then gestured toward the packed dance floor, "Q Bar really is a cavern of delights for all ages over 21, with a mild air conditioning system, and strong drinks."