The social media manager of Manila’s Nectar Nightclub not only shared the mails from a hen party asking if they would be safe from HIV but also used the occasion to publish a post about ignorance addressed to “Dear Straight Bigots”.

It all began when the club received a mail wondering: “Is it safe here? Because my friend will celebrate her bachelorette party.” When the club were unsure what the question entailed, the hen party organiser replied, “I do respect LGBT community. But I’m worried about HIV infection. Because a lot of gay nowadays are vulnerable to HIV. I’m just worried that a lot of gays coming there has HIV.”  

The club were blunt in their response to the ignorance of the post, saying, “We advise you to read a little more about HIV before you infect our club with your [stupidity]. That’s more contagious. Take your bachelorette party to a straight club. Your business is not welcome at Nectar.”

The club posted an official statement on the issue which they shared on their Facebook page. They said they were “horrified” by the ignorance about HIV from a group of straight friends wanting to celebrate an upcoming marriage in a queer club, especially “when we ourselves don’t have the right to marry the person we love”. They summed it up as “down right straight-privilege nonsense”.

They continued by confirming how problematic bachelorette parties were by explaining the only other trouble they had experienced in their two year history was when the boyfriend of a straight female hen party attendee attacked a go-go boy who had given her a lap dance.

While the post received a lot of positive, while at the same time infuriated, attention, others decried the “missed opportunity to educate someone who didn’t know about HIV”.

Nectar responded with a further statement saying, “We stand firm in our response and we will continue to stand next to and in front of our community as protectors and trailblazers of our right to exist”.

They finished by encouraging readers to seek additional information on HIV, which you can do both here and here.