At a time where the rave has stopped, it's an opportunity to reflect on the past and prepare for the future. The LGBTQ+ community has been subject to many vulnerabilities surrounding dance music culture, and I think it's about time this changes. I want to see dance music come back as a celebration of all people where we may all dance safely, together.
Sparkling, sweating and swaying, bodies move under strobe lights and disco balls. A DJ plays god behind the decks and we all come up in the euphoria of a climaxing set. Raves. We all love them, we all miss them. They are etched into the fabric of Liverpool’s under ground music scene, allowing us to become anyone and anything we want to for the night. Helping us create new friends, find our inner dancers and let go of all our inhibitions. House, techno and disco swirling and throbbing wildly through cramped spaces, the bass vibrating under your feet. There’s nothing quite like it. But I worry, sometimes, that while celebrating ourselves we forget to celebrate the people who gave us this music.
You only have to look at the top underground DJs in the world right now to see the talent of LGBTQ artists. Trans women Eris Drew, Octo Octa and Honey Dijon are the queens of house at the moment.
The LGBTQ+ community birthed dance culture as we know it today, with Chicago house blossoming in ballrooms and vogue battles. This music is also intrinsically influenced by African music, with distinct rhythm patterns and heavy percussion driving the music. Venues such as Berghain and Panorama Bar in Berlin remain the power houses of dance music, whilst also proudly queer. You only have to look at the top underground DJs in the world right now to see the talent of LGBTQ artists. Trans women Eris Drew, Octo Octa and Honey Dijon are the queens of house at the moment. Liverpool based queer party Humble Abode, regularly work with queer artists, “The artists we book are the people we look up to. I think people just want to relate to people who are like them,” resident DJ and promoter Hector Lee explains, “Luckily, I’m into something where the representation for queer artists is amazing in the underground scene. But because of section 28 and a lack of education it just isn’t there in mainstream media.” Discussing representation in the underground music scene Lee continues, “It’s all about amplifying the voices that need to be amplified from those communities.”
With the increase of technology and social media, house music has exploded into popular culture. The roots of this, however, seem to be forgotten or unknown to some people attending raves today. According to Pink News, homophobic hate crimes have increased by 24% since 2018. This seems particularly heart breaking considering the current hunger for LGBTIQ output within the music industry. I speak with international DJ Wes Baggaley about this issue.
Wes began DJing in the 1990’s when he, “just turned up to a gay bar in Manchester with [his] own turn tables and [his] records in Tesco carrier bags and asked to play.” Since then, Wes has been seen to play all across Europe, including Berghain. He is genuine, passionate and undeniably talented when it comes to playing, most of his sets being on vinyl. “I like aggressive drums,” he tells me, “just no messing about, straight into it. Music that’s quite rude really!” Considering his first record was a punk album given to him when he was 2yrs old, this comes as no surprise. Wes is filled with hilarious stories, and gratitude for his art, “To be paid to get on an aeroplane and play records to people overseas is such a privilege,” he expresses, “it just doesn’t get any better than that.” We soon begin discussing the vulnerabilities within the LGBTIQ community and I am saddened to once again recognise that 50yrs after Stonewall, people within the LGBTIQ community are still at risk even within the environments which they have created.
“It’s an addiction [chem sex]. It’s taking the drug to a different level. It’s a sign of low self-esteem and depression, and there’s a lot of shame surrounding it.”
It is ignorant to claim that drugs are not present within the rave scene. Of course they are. However, LGBTIQ community members are at a disproportionately higher risk of substance abuse, misuse and overdose within the party culture compared to heterosexual, cis-gendered people. As chem sex parties grow in popularity, as do mortality rates. The LGBT Foundation describes chem sex as the following; “people having sex, which involves using one or more of three specific drugs (chems) in any combination […] The three drugs typically involved are Crystal Meth, M-Cat and G.” G, also known as GHB or gamma hydroxybutyrate is a depressant and usually comes as a colourless liquid. The effects of GBH include euphoria, an increase of sex drive and drowsiness. It is extremely easy to overdose on GHB, which can lead to unconsciousness, coma and death. Having personally experienced loss of friends at the hands of G, Wes understands the risks involved, “It’s an addiction [chem sex],” he says, “It’s taking the drug to a different level. It’s a sign of low self-esteem and depression, and there’s a lot of shame surrounding it.” This shame is perhaps why chem sex parties are so underground, ignored and still unknow to a lot of the population.
The education surrounding drug use is extremely lacking in the UK, as is our sexual education. Young people who identify as LGBTIQ are at an increasing risk of sexual assault as well as practicing unsafe sex due to a government law which denies them education about homosexual relationships. In 1988 Margret Thatcher implemented a law where in which it was illegal to educate people about homosexuality with a particular prejudice against men practicing anal sex. This is known as Section 28. This specific law was repealed fifteen years after it was implemented by the Scottish Parliament, however we as a society are still feeling the aftershock of this heinous, institutionalised homophobia. “It’s a travesty,” Hector Lee says, “It’s a systematic educational problem. If your specifically not taught about something but then find out about it later on in your life of course it’s going to create a taboo on the subject.” Section 28 has not only left a whole generation of LGBTIQ members without sexual education, but it’s message still echoes in the consciousness of people today. Culturally, many people still associate anal sex and other homosexual relationships as dirty, shameful and taboo. Trans women are extremely fetishized and at sickening risk of sexual assault even today.
This in turn leaves some people attending these events extremely vulnerable to drug abuse, sexual exploitation and dangerous situations. People, particularly members of the LGBTIQ community with underlining mental health issues due to a culturally induced shame placed on them for their homosexuality are at a higher risk of substance abuse within these environments
As a result of this, people within the LGBTIQ community are often left unprotected when it comes to exploring sexual relationships. This issue becomes even more apparent within rave culture. The government constantly push raves, clubs and electronic music venues constantly to the side lines (the absence of the governments £1.57 billion in these music venues is telling of this). This in turn leaves some people attending these events extremely vulnerable to drug abuse, sexual exploitation and dangerous situations. People, particularly members of the LGBTIQ community with underlining mental health issues due to a culturally induced shame placed on them for their homosexuality are at a higher risk of substance abuse within these environments. Although G is illegal in the UK, there is very little knowledge, understanding or public awareness of its use, particularly within chem sex parties. This is likely due to its association with homosexuality. “It’s a massive problem in the gay community,” Wes explains, “most of the people in that situation need professional help. It’s not even to do with the drugs. It’s to do with the person.”
People within the LGBTQ community are 1 ½ times more likely to suffer from mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and post traumatic stress than an individual who identifies as cis-gendered and heterosexual. Rethink Mental Illness have published the following statistics:
· Gay and bisexual men are 4 times more likely to self-harm or attempt suicide than a heterosexual cis- men.
· Lesbian or bisexual women are 4 times more likely to abuse illegal drugs than heterosexual cis-women.
· 88% of transgender people suffer from mental illness with 84% considering taking their own life. (Taken from RMI’s study).
These statistics are utterly heart-breaking and reveal how little protection, support and acceptance the LGBTIQ community receive from society. People are quick to harvest the art members of the LGBTIQ community produce, with a thirst for house and techno rapidly increasing within mainstream music. But the people themselves, however, are often pushed out to the side lines, with LGBTIQ members at a much higher risk of mental illness which leads to drug abuse. This drug abuse is easily accessible particularly within gay clubs and raves, as these events exist on the side lines of society. This is then exacerbated when placed into a sexual context, with people trying to navigate these environments with no sexual education which relates to them, and an over-arching sense of shame and taboo placed on them. We don’t need any more examples to show us that our system is broken.
We need to change the way we approach not only homosexuality and mental illness, but also drug use. We need more drug testing implemented within raves and festivals to reduce or eliminate the risk of over-dose. We need more mental health support, especially for men. We need to openly discuss homosexuality and educate young people on how to safely have gay sex. We need to burn the taboo surrounding these issues because we cannot continue as we are. “Change can happen so quickly between each generation, if that generation is actually open to changing,” Hector Lee explains. Dance music, particularly house music, celebrates self-expression and creates euphoric love between dancers and DJs. I believe it is time this love is consciously expanded to reach people, not only on the dance floor but in all avenues of life. We all have the right to love and to be loved, safely.
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