Fridae goes undercover and talks to some underage lesbian clubbers and industry insiders in Singapore. Yu Jia Li, a former door bitch has some tips on how to fool even the most difficult bouncers.
Lesbian event of the year: Butch Hunt 2001 contest held at Zouk Club, Singapore
A Growing Thang?
Underage clubbers of all sexual persuasions have been around since some sour soul deemed that 18 was the appropriate age to get pissed and end up in gutters, and not a moment before.
But the interesting question is: Are there now many more of them energetically flailing their limbs and fondling their girlfriends in Singapore's lesbian parties? And how do they get into the clubs in the first place?
The "Party" Line
They don't, at least not in Zouk. Well, that's the official view. Long time Zouk bouncer Nahz, 28 stresses that the club has a super strict door policy, and the bouncers will painstakingly check the I.C. of every babyfaced wannabe patron to Herstory, the monthly lesbian party.
After a year long stint as door bitch at the party, I can attest that the Zouk guys can sniff out underagers with amazing accuracy, and they have an uncanny ability to detect a mismatch between an IC photo and a person swearing it is them. And I must add that they are most gracious when turning kids away, politely immune to their pleas that they've just changed an awful lot since they were 12 when their IC photo was taken.
The club has to be vigilant. The penalties for granting entry to underage patrons are severe with hefty fines of hundreds of dollars for both the club and the underage patron.
Under Age, Inside "Her"story
But despite all this, more than a few underage clubbers are Zouk regulars, and the Club Herstory parties have a pretty sizeable underage contingent. So how do they do it?
Gerald, now a ripe old 21 year old, says she first went to Zouk when she was 13. Her IC wasn't even checked and she claims that this is because she was neither too cool, nor too timid. Nonchalance does seem to be the faux-18s trump card: believe that you have every right to be in the club, and you'll be ushered right in.
According to two present hardcore underagers, Maree, 17 and Des, 16, other helpful tips in gaining a smooth passage past the bouncer are:
- Don't fidget, look confident, keep your gaze steady
- Dress up, formal always score points.
- Wear your hair longer to obscure your baby fat.
- Go with older friends and they'll bundle you in.
- Get on the guest list i.e. bouncers are less likely to scrutinise the VIPs.
More desperate measures
- Swap IDs. Remember to get one with at least some resemblance to your facial features and memorise your new details - including your new horoscope, bouncers love to quiz you on that. And be prepared that if you're caught - you may never club again until you're legal.
- Fake IDs. Illegal and scary. Some underagers swear by the fake International Student Card, which can be easily obtained in Australia.
Lesbian event of the year: Butch Hunt 2001 contest held at Zouk Club, Singapore
Des also stresses that once inside the club, underagers should never buy drinks at the bar. Maree adds that you should be stringent in your efforts not to be kiddy - leave that to those over 30!
Both however, believe that as long as they behave responsibly, they have as much right as any other patron to attend lesbian parties. They feel that underage clubbers are, in fact, an asset because they are more "happening."
Dilemmas, Dilemmas
The "happening" factor creates a dilemma for Herstory organiser, Cary Tan, 30. She supports Zouk in their efforts to uphold the law regarding patrons under 18, but she admits that young people do contribute to the energy and vibe of her parties.
Plus, she finds that the younger patrons are more loyal and supportive of the parties than the rather more jaded "overagers," who often have multitudinous "grown-up" commitments like mortgages; deadlines and 8:30am starts.
Between A Stone (Butch) and A Hard Place
But the perception that Herstory is filled with "happening" young party animals is not a selling point for some Singapore lesbians. A number of more mature clubbers say the reason they don't patronise the Herstory parties at Zouk frequently, is precisely because they feel it they over-run with "gremlins" - their label for young butches who are small in stature and tend to look rather alike, especially in the dark. Their disdain for this type of lesbian is so marked that an upcoming lesbian party, not at Zouk, clearly states that "gremlins" will not be granted entry.
The Gremlin Evolution
This hostility appears to have had its roots in the early days of lesbian parties in Singapore, when certain angry young butches regularly brawled in the streets outside clubs such as Da Da at Boat Quay. This eventually led to raids, and finally, to the club's demise. And it left the older girls with a legacy of resentment toward young clubbers.
Today's underage clubbers, however, stress that times have changed, and so have they. Maree says that fighting is no longer cool, being cool is cool.
Plus, the strict delineation of butch and femme which used to characterise young clubbers, seem to be breaking down: butches just aren't as butch, and, as lesbianism has slowly crept into public consciousness, they don't seem to be so angry anymore.
Cary Tan says the her parties also actively promote this kind of tolerance. She says that Club Herstory is almost fight free because the club has established a kind of code of conduct, adhered to by the older lesbians, and thus copied by the underagers.
Out Of Zouk
Interestingly, according to some underage lesbian clubbers, if the older lesbians don't want them at Zouk, sometimes they don't even want to go there.
Lesbian event of the year: Butch Hunt 2001 contest held at Zouk Club, Singapore
Some say that Mad Monks, Bottles Up and Loosen Up are underage clubber friendly at the moment, but ironically, as soon as too many underagers head to any club, a dreaded raid won't be far away - Mad Monks was pounced on recently.
What To Do?
But even in the face of raids, calls to parents and wallet wipe-out fines, underage lesbians still want to club, and there are more of them.
Of underage clubbers surveyed, most started clubbing regularly when they were 16. They grew up watching Britney's and Christina's, not to mention M2M, shaking their respective groove thangs, and they felt it was time for theirs to get shaking too.
Maree agrees, "I hate drinking, and I don't smoke. I just want to dance and dance." In the past, this grooving urge could be satisfied at under-18s afternoon tea dances, but these have disappeared.
There is a rumour that one for lesbians may re-emerge soon, but it remains questionable whether today's tragically hip teens will find enough "cred" in an afternoon boogie. Overseas, clubs have experimented with permitting underagers to enter clubs, but have barred them from buying alcohol. But this, of course, has gaping loopholes, mainly since underagers could simply get someone old enough to buy them drinks.
Underage clubbers are part and parcel of nightclubs, lesbian or otherwise. In fact, their ongoing attempts to get inside help clubs cultivate a sense that they are special places, slightly inaccessible.
Underagers aren't going away, and the more worldly young people become, for more they'll throng the nightclubs. So, if you really can't bear even a glimpse of a "gremlin," perhaps you could avoid Mad Monks on Friday and the Herstory parties, and stick to the over 30s gatherings. But, is that really what we want as a community? We are supposed to be "family" and "family" obligations do entail looking after and looking out for our kid sisters.