Filling the much felt need for a lesbian rave, Plastyk is also, to the best of my knowledge, London’s first lesbian night run by a trans woman.
WORDS EMILY CAMERON
IMAGES VIA @PLASTYK__
On 21st of September this year the trans community in London achieved another of its “firsts” – we’ve had the first London Trans+ Pride, we’ve had Harpies, Europe’s first trans strip club, and now we have the first lesbian night run by a trans woman. It’s worth saying I would love to be wrong about this, and if you know of one that predates Plastyk, then please let me know. And I know that there are other trans-run lesbian nights, operated by non-binary people and trans mascs, in fact there are many, which is what makes this so exciting. The lesbian community has long embraced the presence of trans women, and while there is a possibility that there is another trans woman quietly, less visibly running a lesbian night in this city, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time we (yes, hi) have stepped into an organising role in London’s lesbian community.
Speaking to Karlie on the deflated sofas of Venue MOT’s heavily tagged and precariously elevated green room, she tells me that Plastyk is about clarifying our position in the lesbian culture: “If one of the biggest lesbian nights in London is run by a trans woman, then it’s kind of indisputable that we are part of this community.” And with the venue full, smoking area unnavigable and people spilling out the front door for air all by midnight, Plastyk looks set to become a stalwart of our community. There were even 20 people in at doors, a rare phenomenon in queer circles (but then lesbians are terrifyingly punctual).
Aside from being trans-run, Plastyk is a valuable addition to the lesbian nightlife calendar – while there are club nights and bars specifically for the lesbian community, there has been an absence of raves of late. This is something promoter-DJ Karlie Marx, with her high-tempo genre-clashing style is more than
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