The UK’s first LGBT+ strip club will open July 20 at Metropolis Gentleman’s Club in London.
Harpies is a strip night run by queer and for queer people. The night which will be first of its kind in the UK and is the brainchild of Lucia Blake, a trans activist who is also working with Finn Love to create London’s first Trans Pride in response to anti-trans marchers in the 2018 Pride in London march.
In an Instagram post announcing the launch of Harpies, Blake said that it will feature “bodies of all genders and sexualities.”
The show will place an emphasis on trans performers: “we aim to celebrate trans+ bodies loud and proud, to kill the shame thrust upon us by cis society!”
You’ll be able to enjoy the shows, some of London’s best queer DJs, tip your favourite performers or as Blake says “go downstairs for a private dance… Cheeky!”
Blake says that the one-of-a-kind night will be about community and empowerment. She hopes that Harpies will be “a beacon of light for all trans people, all LGBTQI+, all women and all sex workers!”
In another post on Instagram, she wrote: “It’s about time we take control over our fetishisation, over our sexual exploitation. NO MORE! This is about COMMUNITY and EMPOWERMENT!!!”
Metropolis was formerly a strip club which catered to straight men but now will be the set of Harpies. The club will host live shows and private dances when the night makes its debut.
The event organisers want “to take control over this fetishisation and use that to improve the relationships, safety and quality of life of the trans community.”
They say that “women will be welcomed to enjoy private dances without shame and gay men will be able to receive dances from men.”
As for cis straight men, the club organisers welcome them: “We will welcome cis het men, but only to take their money.”
The launch takes place Saturday, July 20 at 8 pm at Metropolis, 234 Cambridge Heath Road in London. Tickets are available to purchase here.
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