Pride on the dancefloor: queer clubbing will always have my heart

Parties that genuinely care for their attendees create space for experiences that enrich and revitalise. Writer Megan Wallace reflects on what that means for them.

Lore drop: my coming-of-age was during the heyday of a particularly bolshy, masculine take on house and techno.

I’m from Scotland, so I grew up attending Denis Sulta’s Edinburgh residency and revering labels like Numbers and Dixon Avenue Basement Jams. There’s no denying that this was a fun era. Sweat dripped down the walls of box clubs, and a sea of rowdy men would take their tops off and whip them over their heads at the drop. 

But my first experiences of partying weren’t always safe, or comfortable. I remember being covered in bruises after being smacked against the barrier at a Hudson Mohawke gig, and being heckled when I kissed my girlfriend at what had been one of my favourite clubs. Discovering queer party culture provided a much-needed respite, introducing me to a world where the safety and wellbeing of partygoers was valued and taken seriously. 

Perhaps that isn’t so surprising: speak to anyone queer and they’ll tell you that visiting a queer bar for the first time is a canon event. 

For me, it wasn’t a queer bar, but a queer night, in a university town when I’d just turned 19. The DJ was playing Kylie, a Pride flag was pinned to a wall, and there was an air of awkwardness, like a school disco. After that first outing, I shunned Top 40-coded, cheesy club nights for a PC Music-themed monthly event which brought together fashion students, early SOPHIE fans, and queer kids with flushed cheeks covered in glitter.

I’ll always hold a soft spot for the DIY, scrappy energy of collectives like these—often a group of friends or a single, determined individual—bringing queer pop-ups to otherwise cis, straight venues or taking over unexpected spaces. In my early 20s, I explored London and its queer cliques through similar parties, getting lost in the throngs of Adonis at The Cause, spending Sundays sweating at FOLD’s now-legendary queer-centred UNFOLD, and eventually being DM’d a secret location to go party with dykes in the woods. 

Around this time, I started writing for a living and turned my late nights into creative inspiration. I interviewed artists defining the queer and female-led club scene, from hard house party girl sim0ne to techno provocateurs like VTSS and experimentalist Manuka Honey. I always enjoy learning about other artists’ processes, but it’s DJs like these, who focus on making safe spaces and playing the records that help us truly let go, who have my heart. 

As controversial as this might sound, for me the most important part of clubbing isn’t the music, but the feeling in the room. My favourite parties are alive with possibility, with the chance to meet people who become the centre of your universe for the night: to pour your heart out in the smoking area, press up against on the dancefloor, and shout confessions to over the music. These spaces often take the most care around cultivating a safer space, with welfare spaces, floor angels, and diverse bookings.

A decade on from my first ventures into the gay nightlife scene, I’m still looking for the same things every time I go out, which is connection with likeminded people and a supportive space to be myself for a night—to feel transformed. There’s no denying this is central to the queer and trans experience, particularly in a world where we can feel unsafe, othered, or “too much,” but I’ve come to see that this is a universal experience that so many of us are trying to find in the club. 

In celebration of the alchemical appeal of the dancefloor, and those moments when everything comes together and something transcendent happens, Happy Tuesdays is launching a collection of party diaries.

We’ll be celebrating the collectives and organisers creating events that genuinely put their attendees first, people finding new ways for us to connect and interact with each other. We’ll go behind the scenes to shine a light on the unseen labour, strategy, and creative energy that’s needed to create our most meaningful party memories, from the initial planning stages right through to those euphoric rave moments. 

Do you host a special party like this and fancy being featured? Get in touch.