I am happy to report that the behind-the-scenes work here at Fifty Star Owl is starting to show fruit. From West Philadelphia, Emily Currier brings this report about a dance party held at Elena's Soul Lounge this past Saturday.-Adam
Gender Sticker Film Project Preview and Dance Party
Saturday May 21st at Elena's Soul Lounge
Report By: Emily Currier
Approaching Elena's, I'm afraid I've mixed up the location of RAGE's dance party. Well-dressed neighborhood patrons linger outside the bar smoking cigarettes and the slow throb of soul can be heard through the front window. A burly bouncer checks my I.D then immediately informs me that the dance party is on the second floor. I obviously looked a little out-of-place compared to the regulars dining on seafood, who watched me as I squeezed my way through the crowd to the stairs.
Members of RAGE, Riders Against Gender Exclusion, stand at the top of the stairs taking suggested donations that go towards their cause of removing the gender stickers on SEPTA trans passes. By the time I've arrived, I already missed the preview showing of the 'Gender Sticker Film Project,' which highlights RAGE's activism efforts against what they view as gender exclusion. With the good deeds out of the way, guests are left to engage in drunken dance floor debauchery.
Roughly 40 people are crammed onto the sweaty dance floor, dancing to the offerings of Djs DuiJi 13 and precolumbian. The music was surprisingly mainstream: the typical Lady GaGa, rap songs, 80s mash-ups heard in just about any club on a Saturday night. There was a decided lack of grinding, thankfully, with most people so hammered at that point they were content to fling their limbs about and call it dancing- an activity I participated in with a lot of gusto and a stomach full of a mixture of white wine, PBR, and an unfortunate whiskey shot.
The crowd was a laid-back West Philly hippie group, though, that made you feel comfortable to brush off dance moves like the lawnmower and fishing pole. It seemed like a tight-knit group of, according to the Facebook invite, “transgender/ genderqueer activists.” Everyone, even the upscale patrons downstairs, seemed content to live and let live- androgynous couples happily smooching on the dance floor, guys unironically wearing women's shirts, and a vast variety of glitter and animal prints.
I wasn't on the dance floor very long, though, before I already felt like I was dripping in sweat. When I stepped outside for fresh air, I unfortunately realized the window of opportunity for catching a trolley was dwindling and I already had to leave. A fairly tame night, at least for someone removed from the drama of the West Philly inner circle, I still enjoyed a chance to unabashedly dance to Top 40 hits and not worry about being looked down on.
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Emily Currier
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http://culturemob.com/blog/philadelphia
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