Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper: For many queer people in Pittsburgh, the dance floor is a site for fun, community, and a reprieve from the transphobia and homophobia they encounter in their everyday lives. The city has a few dance nights geared toward an LGBTQ crowd but, according to a new dance party collective, that doesn’t always constitute “community” for all, especially for Black and Brown trans people.
3 comments:
Nightlife is such a unique world, especially the realm of queer nightlife and queer dance. As a highschool student in Denver, where queer nightlife is huge, being able to exist in the limited pieces of the scene a 16-year old can enter was one of the most validating queer experiences of my life. Queer nightlife is where so many people feel their safest and most secure. Pittsburgh has a long history of drag and dance nights, but only recently has that history shifted away from white cis gay men and toward a more inclusive scope of what queer nightlife can be.Dyspheric, the compnay featured in this article, is taking massive steps in the right direction. By featuring trans and nonbinary performers of color, and pushing the limits of what’s “right” in nightlife, they not only create new artistic experiences, but also add queer joy in multiple dimensions to the Pittsburgh nightlife culture.
The “mainstream” or “conventional” nightlife scene in Pittsburgh can get stale so I always love learning about new groups and venues. I’ve enjoyed Spirit as a venue, it’s pretty far from CMU unfortunately but hosts great acts. Dyspheric specifically sounds like it’s bringing a much-needed voice; as the article says, even supposedly inclusive queer spaces can still be very isolating. I wish the article included some photos of Dyspheric events to give a clearer idea of the types of events they do, but I understand maybe not wanting to put them in too tight of a genre box. I’m excited to check out some of their shows, I appreciate their philosophy of being unlike anything else, and bringing trans DJs to audiences. I also agree that one of my favorite things about nightlife is the bringing together of different people who might not otherwise meet each other, and forming friendships over more niche interests.
There is community in queerness, however, there is also a large divide in the queer community due to other intersecting identities–race, disability, even gender and sexuality. Dyspheric is so important to create space for Black and Brown trans people, especially in the Pittsburgh party scene. The intersection of race and gender here makes it much a more significant and meaningful space to hold because this intersection of identities is one typically not included in larger queer spaces, particularly white, gay spaces. Dyspheric is a celebration of identities and communities typically 'othered' by other queer people, but it's not just a celebration, it is an active uplifting of those in the community. People who do not feel at home in white, gay spaces now have this space, and artists, trans DJs in particular, who are not being platformed, now have more of an opportunity through this collective.
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