But I'm 27-and-a-half now, and I realize that there are few places where people are judged more harshly than in the average gay nightclub. These establishments are full of (and run by) people who are stuck in a very shallow mindset. That's the point of going there. Guys want to make a connection with someone who fits the parameters of what society has deemed to be attractive. Yes, apparently we need someone to tell us what attractive is.
Anyway, clubs offer young gay men a variety of diversion. The three most popular examples are drinking/dancing, anonymous sex and the possibility of a relationship. It's an ingenious moneymaker, by the way.
When I started going out to Hillcrest with friends, the whole experience was so new and spectacularly defiant against what society had forced on me up until that point, that the drinking/dancing part took up 80 percent of my attention. The opportunity for finding love held an interesting 15 percent and the sex took the remaining five.
Now that I see that every day can be Gay Pride Weekend if I create the right mindset, I'm able to see clubbing for the expensive, nightly beauty pageant that it is. I see that I'm not quite as flamey as I thought I was (which is neither good nor bad, just an observation) and I don't need a guy's fleeting interest to boost my self image. (Though free bottle service would be nice for freakin' once)!
I still love Hillcrest very much, but not for its clubs--for "adult" reasons. (No, not THOSE kinds of "adult" reasons). I love the gentrification, the variety in entertainment, dining, real estate, community resources...it's where I want to live.
Okay, okay. I'll still go out if my friends drag me out for old times' sake. Call me nostalgic. Especially at Manic Monday 80s Night at The Brass Rail. It's no Babylon or The Abbey, but any club that makes me jump on the stage and makes me queen out to Queen is good in MY book!
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