Interview with Ash (Transcript)

Ben: What makes queer nightlife?  Obviously music is important to any nightlife scene…is there a such thing as queer music?

Ash: I wouldn’t say there’s necessarily queer music.  I think there is music that appeals to many queer people.  Certain artists like Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Beyonce…these are figures many queer males can relate to in terms of the messages in their music and things like that.

Ben: Tellme about how these clubs seem racialized to you?  Are there dynamics of race that play out?  How do those issues intersect with issues at large

Ash: These clubs are definitely racialized.  People – even though they may be uninhibited, never leave their preferences at home.  If somebody is generally attracted to twink – a definitition of a twink would be a skinny white male, as opposed to an average black male or something like that.  I think those thoughts are never absent from the club…in general, the clubs are mostly white male dominated. 

Ben: How have you felt affected by those conditions?

Ash: Occasionally, it’s sort of annoying.  Especially when I go with friends, and people hit on them, it can get sort of annoying.  For a while, I stopped going to those sorts of clubs, but after a while…I realized I was only there to dance, so it stopped affecting me.

Ben: You mentioned a pecking order based on body type.  Could you expand on that theme?

Ash: I would say there’s a general atteraction to certain men, like twinks, as opposed to … the term “chubbychasers,” which means someone looking for a larger person.  In general, people have ideals of what the perfect guy looks like, and he’s generally not overweight, just because of certain standards in the gay community and in the media…favor males that are sort of the epitome of masculinity, are cut in terms of their muscles, have lots of abs, are kind of tal.  I would say that the people that flock to these events are looking for “that guy”

Ben: You’re from NYC.  Have you experience queer nightlife in the city?  How would you describe the scene there?

Ash: It’s much more diverse in New York.  Obviously NYC is WAY larger than Providence will ever be, so in terms of ethnicity and race it’s a much more mixed crowd, and because of that there’s a more diverse pool of attraction to people in those sorts of clubs.  Here in Providence, since the clubs are mostly white males, I feel like in seeing somebody that doesn’t fit that model, …people won’t be attracted to them here, but in NYC people are more conscious of race and diversity and more open to being attracted to minority people.

Ben: How are clubs distinguished in NYC?  Are they appealing to as broad a demographic as Mirabar, for example? 

Ash: Although NYC has a large queer scene, it’s a little different.  There aren’t many gay clubs in NYC, as in dance clubs.  There are lots of gay bars in NYC.  There’s a bit of a difference…one’s more catered to dancing and music, but one’s a place to drink an meet people.  Because of the limited number of places to go [here], I think it’s not too different.