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By CARA GRIDE and KAT LONG
Friday, November 11, 2005
The women of Shescape, a company that’s legendary for throwing girl parties
at hot New York venues, have a few choice words about the common stereotypes
that haunt lesbians in this city. “People think that lesbians hate men,
that we all work in construction and that the pretty ones are bisexual,”
says Angelique Irizarry, 30, a Shescape owner since 2003.
But Irizarry says Shescape laughs at such stereotypes. If they didn’t,
they’d be perceived as your typical angry lesbians.
“The truth is that we love men. We’re professionals, and we just
want to have a good time, while feeling comfortable in a safe environment. That’s
the truth. That and all gym teachers are gay,” Irizarry says. She should
know: She’s the face of Shescape at night, but a P.E. teacher by day.
With her signature head wrap, Irizarry is one of five women with a stake in
the 25-year-old event production and promotion company. The Shescape women may
have their own opinions, their own voices and very clear identities, but they
also share the same mission for their revered company.
“We want Shescape to always be the party destination for girls going
out in New York City, and we’ll change, evolve and stay relevant to make
sure we do just that,” says Susan Burdian, 39.
Since 1981, when Joni Rim and Marcia Picoult founded the company, Shescape
parties have been less bar and more club, attracting women of all types and
ages who want to meet other women, like them, in the lesbian scene. They even
attracted Madonna to perform at their New Year’s Eve event held at the
Tunnel in 1984.
Joi Cardwell, 38, the most recent addition to the Shescape team, has been attending
Shescape’s parties longer than any of the others. “I think Shescape
has always been more fresh, more feminine,” says Joi, a recording artist
whose seventh club album “The Plain Jane Project” is due out this
fall.
“From the early years, we’ve always wanted women to be comfortable
with other women, and to be comfortable being gay,” Cardwell says. “This
was so important when being gay wasn’t as widely accepted, but it is still
just as important today. Most important, though, is changing with the times
and staying current.”
The parties usually bring in a mixed crowd of older and younger women, says
Stacy Lentz, 35. “They also tend to pick local spots that we would love
to visit if they weren’t straight most of the time,” she says. “They
cater to more of an upscale crowd, which means if you are single, the odds of
finding a low-to-no-drama girlfriend are also increased.”
Shescape is among a select few promotion teams that has prospered in New York’s
girl-party industry. And though some longstanding lesbian spots have recently
moved or closed, the team doesn’t consider staples like Henrietta Hudson
and Cubby Hole to be its competitors, the women say.
“Our parties are different from a Sunday night at Starlight, or Henrietta’s,”
says Ellie Gallardo, 30, a Shescape owner. “There are a lot of choices
in the lesbian scene, and isn’t that how it should be?”
And what about men entering the ladies’ lay of the land? The women of
Shescape are open to having men at their parties, as long as they are accompanied
by a woman and are respectable. Gay men are always welcome, and encouraged to
party with the girls. In fact, many of the Shescape parties are inspired by
the men’s scene.
“We really enjoy having gay men at our parties,” says Beatrice
Pinto, 27, a Shescape owner. “They bring a great energy. The guys definitely
have an ability to let go that us girls just don’t have.”
The girls also organize a dodge-ball tournament held during the summer in
Cherry Grove, and an upcoming winter sporting event. “I guess that one’s
the truth too,” Irizzary says. “Lesbians love a competitive athletic
event.”
By KAT LONG
You’re out on the town, dressed to the nines in your brand-new Dickies
or stilettos, but you’re looking for love in all the wrong places. Peeking
into a bar that one of the local rags calls “gay/lesbian,” you’re
disappointed — but not surprised — to see shirtless boys from the
velvet rope to the backroom.
You sigh, for what seems like the hundredth time, “Where are all the
girls?”
Cynics may sniff that lesbian nightlife in New York City is an oxymoron, but
it’s simply not true. Banish all notions of womyn-only knitting circles
or open-mic nights featuring the greatest hits of Melissa Etheridge: There’s
more to the scene if you take the time to look. New York, the undisputed mecca
for lesbians and their gay brothers, offers 12 full-time lesbian or mostly-lesbian
bars. With so many different venues, it’s possible to shimmy to salsa,
knock back a PBR to Franz Ferdinand or beat your college buddies at Ms. Pac
Man — all in the same night, all at different venues.
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| Shescape events have been attracing
in a diverse crowd of lesbians for the past 25 years. |
On the other hand, such an array of entertainment could be too much of a good
thing. Nearly every nightly party has a super-specific agenda of particular
music, ambience and crowd. Some clubgoers complain of fragmentation: Youngish
twentysomethings rarely mingle with their more mature sisters (anyone over 30),
and parties tend to be fairly divided along ethnic lines. While a few venerable
community institutions continue to draw in women from all demographics, critics
grumble that there is no “community” anymore.
One thing is certain, that nightlife is a business subject to the same financial
stresses of any other industry. Over the past four years, a handful of full-time
lesbian bars have closed. Meow Mix, the legendary decade-old dive on the Lower
East Side, shut down last July after a protracted dispute with the landlord
over building safety. That hallowed space is now occupied by the straightish
Vasmay Lounge.
The one full-time bar that catered to women of color, Crazy Nanny’s
in the West Village, shut its doors after 14 years in late 2003 and was replaced
with the polysexual bar Luke + Leroy. The very short-lived Toy Box in Williamsburg
(a venue since reclaimed by the live punk club Trash) and the LES’ Girls
Room have also, sadly, bit the dust.
Fortunately, a few others have opened to take their place. Clubhouse, in Alphabet
City, is an intimate lounge with a sophisticated roster of specialty cocktails
and a sexy, international vibe. The spacious East Village bar Nowhere’s
flocked wallpaper and long, low ceiling evokes a clandestine speakeasy atmosphere
even on busy 14th Street.
But perhaps the biggest nightlife news this year was the grand opening of
Cattyshack, Meow Mix mistress Brooke Webster’s bi-level nightclub and
outdoor deck serving Park Slope’s local lezzies. Cirrah at Cattyshack
on Fridays serves up a grab-bag of the Slope’s dyke denizens and a taste
of funk, house and old-school soul.
Newish weekly parties that take over an otherwise straight bar also draw loyal
crowds. Tuesday nights belong to Snapshot at Bar 13, recently relocated from
its home base at Boysroom. This good-looking gathering attracts super-femmes,
handsome bois and more than a handful of gender-nonspecific persons who can
put away the Coronas and still bust a move in the downstairs hip-hop room. On
Thursdays, Star*SixSeven, takes over the swank drinkery Libation — finally
bringing lesbians back to the Lower East Side, even if it’s only once
a week.
Even with competition from the newbies, the scene’s stalwarts can take
credit for maintaining a sense of community across the years. Local institution
Henrietta Hudson recently underwent a renovation to spruce up its front bar
and dance floor, which is consistently packed with sweaty girls on Saturday
nights at the hip hop-flavored Inferno.
Rubyfruit Bar and Grill remains popular with mature lesbians who pack the
tiny upstairs bar for live music on varying nights of the week. The Cubby Hole
is the go-to spot for an attitude-free drink with friends. Heaven hosts a diverse
mix of women, especially at Friday night’s Kaleidoscope, with hip-hop,
reggaeton and the occasional amateur go-go dancer.
Elegant, slender Starlight attracts ladies that match: Its Sunday night Starlette
gives a peek at what “The L Word” cast might look like if transplanted
to the East Village. Roving party-posse Shescape has set up a Girl Sundays at
Serena, featuring a crowd-pleasing mix of top-40 tunes in the vaguely Moroccan,
cavelike venue beneath the Chelsea Hotel.
Along with aforementioned Cattyshack in the Slope, Ginger’s Bar is a
long-lived neighborhood fixture, known as the hangout for the local women’s
softball teams. In Williamsburg, delightfully low-key Metropolitan can still
lay claim as the ‘burg’s only bar serving gay women and men. On
Wednesdays, Girls, Girls Girls at Metropolitan brings out the faux-hawked hipster
dykes in droves for cheap Rheingolds, an incredibly competitive pool table and
a toasty fireplace in winter. The spacious, grapevine-festooned patio out back
is smoker’s central. Chueca in Woodside, Queens, is the only club catering
to Latina lesbians in the city and draws in a youthful, energetic crowd —especially
to its appropriately named Saturday night party, Adrenaline. Albatross stakes
its claim in Astoria, a nabe fast-becoming the next gay enclave outside Manhattan.
Weekly parties may come and go, but there are always a few that transcend
the passage of time. On Thursdays, the long-running weekly party Uninhibited
at 2i’s still brings in a dressy crowd for a familiar mix of tribal underground
beats, R&B and the like. And it wouldn’t be a Saturday night without
LovergirlNYC at Club Shelter, the perennially popular hip hop-heavy party with
enough live entertainment, go-go dancers and guest DJs to make your head spin.
Or was that the sex-on-the-beach specials?
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