The UK’s first LGBTQ strip club to open in London
Harpies is set to recentre the world of exotic dance around queer bodies.
By Will Stroude
London’s queer nightlife scene may have suffered from a spate of closures in recent years, but it’s clear there’s still life in the old girl with the news that the UK’s first ever LGBTQ strip club is set to open in the captial later this month.
Harpies, a strip night run by and for LGBTQ people, is set to launch at Metropolis Gentleman’s Club in Bethnal Green on 20 July, promising to recentre the world of exotic dance around the queer people who have so often been exploited by it.
The inclusive new event is the brainchild of Lucia Blake, founder of trans support network transmissions, who promised Harpies will “be a beacon of light for all trans people, all LGBTQI+, all women and all sex workers!”
In a post on Instagram, Blake wrote: “It’s about time we take control over our fetishisation, over our sexual exploitation. NO MORE! This is about COMMUNITY and EMPOWERMENT!!
Metropolis, a former ‘straight’ strip club which also plays host to queer nights like Doller Baby and the now-defunct Savage, will be privy to live shows and private dances a range of performers when Harpies’ opening night rolls around in just a couple of weeks’ time.
Announcing the club’s launch night on Instagram, Harpies organisers quipped: “We will welcome cis het men, but only to take their money.”
Harpies launches at Metropolis Gentleman’s Club on 20 July from 10pm-5am.