ALL THE COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW

The parties and the politics of a multi-cultural gay London…

The gay scene is a microcosm of the world. While Black, Jewish, Islamic, Asian, and all the many other peoples of the planet can be identified separately by their subsequent race, culture, colour or religion, one common factor they all have is that each of these groups has an LGBT community within it – whether they want to accept it or not, and more often they don’t!

With Europe’s biggest Black Pride celebration taking place next weekend in London, Cliff Joannou looks at the parties and the politics of a multi-cultural gay metropolis and the ethnic minorities that proudly contribute to our status as a truly world-class city…

London is without doubt one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. I can’t think of one place where so many cultures, religions and communities converge into a melting pot of people. The recent Jubilee celebrations and the current Olympics are utterly indicative of our immense history coupled with our thoroughly modern identity, something that no other global city can rival. Of course the picture isn’t always so rosy.

Let’s present a rather brief simplification of multi-cultural diversity in the UK. Originally ethnic minorities were brought over to our fair country under a veil of diversification to essentially fill a gap in the labour market after World War II. Over the ensuing decades most of the people from those communities faced a continuous struggle to establish a place for themselves and their families in a new environment and in a manner that didn’t compromise their cultural identity, nor alienate them from their very English neighbours. Obviously it didn’t always go so smoothly.

“At the heart of homophobia is religious intolerance.”

Growing up gay within an ethnic minority in London presents its own challenges. At first you have to negotiate your own cultural identity within the context of the place you live in. Are you English, British… or Indian/Muslim/Jamaican/African/Chinese/Greek/etc.* (*delete as appropriate!)

Then, suddenly, at some point you discover you have a penchant for looking at the men’s underwear pages of the Next catalogue (for our pre-internet readers) or simply Googling “cock” in the privacy of your bedroom on your iPad (for dem yutes out there).

For me, trying to negotiate a working class Greek Cypriot upbringing in a sternly white middle class Croydon neighbourhood, whilst attending a Greek Orthodox Church on Sundays and being enrolled into an all-boys Roman Catholic high school during the week, was never going to be much fun for any teenager. Throw in a homosexual leaning and you have the recipe for all sorts of self-doubt, self-loathing and self-discovery that eventually leads to a path of enlightenment – or at the very least acceptance – for those who have the courage to acknowledge their homosexuality.

For many LGBT people from ethnic minorities at the heart of homophobia is religious intolerance, which inevitably influences the cultural attitudes of their families. The gay scene then becomes a kind of ‘second family’ where they can express themselves in a smaller, more compact world of acceptance because of their differences, and where an affinity to the wider challenges that LGBT people face – no matter their cultural history – also becomes a sanctuary for their sexual identity.

The numerous clubs the gay scene offers (pages 44-46) that celebrate the multicultural lifestyles that enrich our community further have become a haven for these many cultures to meet and enjoy their heritage without the unwanted religious or historical baggage that often ostracises them elsewhere.  And they welcome everyone, of every colour, creed and origin.

This week, QX speaks to the promoters of the some of London’s leading LGBT ethnic minority groups, clubs and organizations for their views on growing up queer in the world’s most diverse gay scene.

 

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES FACING ETHNIC GAY COMMUNITIES TODAY? 

Benjamin Cohen
Pink News founder and Gay Jews in London

On the whole, most LGBT Jews find it pretty easy to live their lives in the open. But unfortunately not all Jewish state funded schools teach this to students. My old school, JFS, was recently revealed to have taught children about reparative therapy, in other words courses to turn gay people straight. Gay Jews in London worked with Keshet UK, the national Jewish LGBT forum to explain how wrong this is to the community and raise awareness about the issue.

 

Asifa Lahore
Drag Idol 2012 finalist and promoter of Arabic/Turkish club night Habibi

Stereotypical images of the Middle Eastern community are reinforced by the media, portraying the ‘Muslim terrorist’, and The Home Office not accepting asylum seeking on grounds of persecution in one’s home country based on sexual orientation and deporting people to a certain death or imprisonment.

 

DJ Ritu
Club Kali promoter of the world’s largest and original Asian music LGBT club

Over 17 years we’ve seen generations of LGBT South Asians come, grow up, and stay or go. The ever-present problems seem to be coming out to family, and in a few cases, pressure to get married. Since 9/11 there also appears to be more segregation on religious grounds. At Kali, we simply try to stand strong alongside our clientele and support individuals where we can, while reminding people that our ethos of bringing people together remains the same.

 

Thomas Mutke
Promoter of Bootlycious

There have been improvements in the acceptance of gay people within minority ethnic communities in this country but obviously that’s not to say things are fine and dandy. To be honest though, and this may sound off-message coming from a gay club promoter, but the most serious issues facing the black LGBT community are not that different from their straight brethren; it’s all about opportunities vanishing, good jobs being hard to come by, decent housing, the lack of money – the stuff that makes life difficult. Having to negotiate the minefield of keeping support of your family and community, whilst living a gay lifestyle is a big challenge, and many people get sucked into a destructive cycle of exploitation, abuse and drugs.

 

DO YOU FEEL THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH RACISM OR RACIAL INTEGRATION WITHIN THE GAY COMMUNITY TODAY? 

Thomas Mutke

That depends where you are. In London it’s not that much of a problem, you don’t have to mix if you don’t want to, but nobody is going to stop you from mixing if you do. Bootylicious and its predecessor clubs were a collaboration of black and white promoters and DJs, and the club is all about mixing it up.

 

Patrick Lilley
Promoter of Work! and Queer Nation

I think there is a problem of understanding and equal opportunity. Not one gay or lesbian bar or club in the West End is overtly welcoming to black customers. The police in the West End don’t want black music club nights. No gay bar or club overtly discriminates as far as I know, but it would be good to see more black or mixed race managers and promoters… but it is happening more and more. Events like the hugely successful Urban World Pride which I ran at Hidden recently, and also UK Black Pride, of which I am a Board Member for several years, help raise the profile of black and ethnic minorities, and their needs and aspirations in a gay context.

If you look at Oxford Street at the weekend and the diversity and richness of the streets, and the people who live and love in London – any gay club that only attracts 98% white customers is simply not reflecting real London. [My clubs] will always make everyone welcome; I do my best at all my events to do that… I agree there is latent racism out there and it pops up in coded references too often. For example, bouncers that unconsciously target their black guests to ask if they are gay as if that were a contradiction. I hear that happens a lot. There is a huge issue of Islamaphobia as well amongst us gays; it needs countering as its insidious and sad.

 

Benjamin Cohen

Yes I do, I think it’s because people associate some groups with being more homophobic, such as the black community or Muslims. I’ve never though experienced any anti-Semitism in the gay community, quite the reverse, maybe because there are other things about being a Jewish guy that might make you popular! I think as being gay becomes easier, the issues that divide the community should shrink.

 

Asifa Lahore

Hell yeah, but what to do?

 

DJ Ritu

The LGBT community is a microcosm of the wider world… but generally more accepting. Also, in music terms, now Bollywood transcends many borders. It’s basically house and R’n’B but with Hindi lyrics.

 

DJ Gloria
Promoter of Latin music night Exilio

I have been living in London since 1982 and I haven’t been discriminated because of my sexuality, but that’s just my luck. I strongly believe that London is very accepting and like they say “Some People Are Gay, Get Over It”. In the case of the Latin Americans, it’s a different ball game as there are many that have to live double lives; being in the closet and waiting for their children to grow up, to actually say, ‘I’m old, I don’t care and I want to be me, gay and happy.’

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1 COMMENT

  1. Shed some llght

    I am Jewish / West Indiian/ Global

    Hi, I do think that there needs to be a lot more of a variety of clubs in Soho. I myself do not really like Euro beat ( uthroric house) and for some reason that seems to be the gay signature music. I happen to Like Opera singing, and 70s 80s claasic rock and Soul and Pop and power ballads., also chilled out spiritual music to relax the vibe. I would like to see a big effort at creating a multicultural club and bar in Soho where Londoners feel at home too.

    As it stand I am not comfortable with many of the bars in ‘Soho’ because of the lack of mixing and also because of the music played. Also the whole things is about money and spending a lot of money; many new artists and up and coming singers etc don’t have this.

    This relates also to everyday people who are gay; must we spend a fortune to meet each other or stay in with Eastenders or Dr who? I would like to hear Jewish, Arabic, Eastern European, Asian, African, and British and World mixes and Pop and dance and world music sounds; with great world food and a great friendly bar. Where single people feel relaxed and welcome. Soho should be a place where all gay people feel welcome at the moment , this is not really catered for.

    Soho now is like a Alcoholics paradise. We don’t need to drink to meet and love each other. we need a healthy cool venue to promote love well being with great music and food. A bit like a gay Inspiral lounge in Camden but bigger. Holistic living that is fun cool and all welcome. Some people would not go to a sauna and Soho is too narrow in its vibe to truly attack everyone. So a sexy venue that is cool and Global in vibe and down to earth would be a breath of fresh air.

    Ok x

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