Girls’ night out

It will be talked about for years -“ the night the straight strippers at Pure Platinum got their gear off for a room packed with well behaved lesbians.

Well, maybe not for years, but at least until the next event. Organiser Katrina (Kitty) Summers is in negotiations for the next instalment of dyke strip club The Purple Glove, which will hopefully be up and running in time for a couple of shows during the Gay Games.

Lesbians watching women strip is not a new idea. Before the Gurlesque grrrls got creatively naked at the Imperial Hotel, there was a steady if virtually unmentioned line of dykes who headed to the Cross to put dollars in straight girls’ garters, buy a lapdance or fight their way to the front of the stage.

But Purple Glove is a different animal. Instead of the Imperial’s shabby backroom charm, Pure Platinum in George St has a classic strip club interior, complete with casino carpets, catwalks and women’s toilets big enough for the dancers to get changed. And instead of the Gurlesque acrobatics and lesbian fantasy shows the emphasis is on pole dancing, private shows and almost non-stop nudity.

Summers told the Star the good Purple Glove vibe started when the keenest show-goers entered -“ apparently they were outside waiting for the doors to open at 6pm -“ and lasted until the very end.

The audience seemed all for it, especially the ones having trouble taking their eyes off the catwalk dancers. There needs to be a vaguely sexy night for dykes. And this is great, the girls look like they’re enjoying themselves, everyone’s really happy, one punter told the Star.

Incidentally, that particular Purple Glover was one of a steady stream of women who forked out between $50 and $80 for 15 minutes with their dancer of choice.

An Irish dancer named Siobhan -“ although she said later that wasn’t her real name -“ was one of the most popular on the night. No one could work out if it was because of her Mam and Dad tattoos, her plethora of piercings or her one suspiciously short fingernail, but women were lining up to buy her a drink. Whatever the reason, the Star staff happily handed over $80 for a 15-minute show in a small back room, and came out afterwards pooling money for another one.

The only criticism heard on the night came from some of the more experienced strip clubbers about the lack of etiquette in the front row. At any other venue the ringside seats would have been occupied by different people all night, in keeping with the strip club golden rule -“ stay as long as you pay. When the dancer’s dollars run out, it’s time to move along.

Summers said the dates for the Purple Glove’s return had not yet been set, but there would probably be two nights during the Gay Games.

And the organisers were also toying with the idea of a gay men’s night complete with women strippers, in response to the huge number of phone calls they received from men about the first event.

 

The Purple Glove is a semi-regular night hosted by Hands Off The Kitty Productions at Pure Platinum, 252 Pitt St, Sydney. Phone 9332 4108 for more details.