In this week’s Mercury, we zeroed in on the Silverado—Portland’s only gay strip club—and its unbalanced pay rate. While guys only play $3 to get in the club, women end up paying $5. Sure, it seems logical in some ways, but the bottom line is that it’s illegal. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to catch any of Silverado’s management for an interview (after leaving several messages) prior to press day.
But! Don Sexton, secretary of the Silverado corporation, gave me a call back yesterday afternoon. Sexton gave me his take on the pay difference and the overall purpose of the club.
So why do women have to pay more to get into Silverado on certain days?
SEXTON: Each week, Fridays and Saturdays are “Men’s Night Out”—just like a ladies’ night. Every other day of the week, the entry price is the same for everyone. We require a nominal fee because we don’t want people just coming in to oogle and leave. We need to make a profit!
Have you got many complaints from female customers?
(Laughs) Of course! But the same amount of complaints that we get from male customers who don’t like groups of screaming and giggling women. Like Bachelorette parties.
Right, and you have a sign on the front of the club says “No Bachelorette Parties” specifically.
Yep, I respect that it’s a special night for these women, but it’s not for everyone to have to put up with. They’re very disruptive to our male guests.
Have you ever had to deal with predatory straight men coming in to creep on straight women who feel like it’s a safe place to be?
We have a sign right when you enter the club “If you’re here, you’re queer.” We try to let straight men know right of the bat they they aren’t welcome.
Final thoughts?
This isn’t a discrimination issue, it’s different. We’re just trying to create a comfortable environment for our customers.
ALEX. WHY ARE YOU GOING FOR THIS
Agree with above, and also hoping “Don Sexton” is a pseudonym.
Why is this an issue? What about every straight club that charges more for men than women? Ladies night!Which is quite common. WTF?
Why should “Portland’s only gay strip club” be more accomodating to women? It is the ONLY GAY strip club, and in recent news, it is more apparent that gay men need community and safety from people who will bash them, violently. Step off it man!
I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THE SILVERADO IS DOING; IT’S JUST TOO BAD THAT IT’S ILLEGAL. PULL SOME SORT OF MEMBERSHIP THING-Y AND MAKE IT A PRIVATE CLUB.
BREAKING NEWS!!! LOCAL SAUNA HAS GENDER SPECIFIC DAYS!!! THIS VIOLATES EQUAL ACCESS LAWS!!!!!!!!!!! http://www.loyly.net/rates-hours/
FUCK, I HATE SAYING THIS… BUT…. GET RID OF ALEX AND BRING SMIRK BACK. I CAN’T HANDLE THREE MONTHS OF SOME AMATEUR-CUB-REPORTER TRYING TO MAKE SOME BONES.
Oh my god, Alex. Shouldn’t you be using your time learning how to do research and how to spell? This is not news.
OH HEY! REMEMBER WHEN TFAW DID THAT COMICS LADIES NIGHT AND EXCLUDED MEN? WHY DON’T YOU DO A FIVE-PART EXPOSE ON THE HORRORS OF REVERSE-DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE MENS?!?
FUCK. THIS SHIT IS STUPID. I BLAME STEVE FOR APPROVING THIS STORY.
Bachelorette parties are the WORST. Nothing is sadder than a limo cruising downtown streets at night with a bunch of drunk annoying girls hollering for attention. This club is totally correct in keeping the unruly estrogen mobs far and away.
“We try to let straight men know right off the bat that they’re not welcome”
As if that was’nt made clear by all the flying penises. The motives here seem to be less about protecting their clientele and more about saying “I’m a petty narcissist that plays by my own rules!”
Oh it is illegal?
I guess I should buy a perk for 50% Off One Month Unlimited Classes at G.I.R.L.S Gym for my pervy brother. He would like that.
I will also add that straight women in packs/Old Town Dude-Bros hardly have the market cornered when it comes to acting drunk and obnoxious at a drinking establishment. On any given night you can go to the Goodfoot or Someday Lounge and see two people get into a slapfight over an argument about Battlestar Galactica
On the one regrettable occasion I was talked into going to Dirty Lounge, they were charging $0 for women and $10 for men. So Silverados is probably the least of offenders in the neighborhood. And even “offender” is a misnomer. I’m fine with these policies. Male/Female & Gay/Straight tend to act extremely differently out on the town. If I as a Straight Male get a raw deal, I have no one to blame but my own demographic.
I remember a looong time ago when Neighbors in Seattle used to be an actual gay club. I think some LGBT folks would like (and understandably so) to have some actual LGBT spaces (strip club or bar or whatever) without straights shitting it up. We get everywhere else, you know.
@C&B: REEEEEEEEEEVVVERESE DEEEEEEEESCRIMINATION. AS A WHITE HETER-NORMATIVE CIS-GENDERED MALE IT VIOLATES MY 14TH AMENDMENT RIGHTS TO ALLOW ANY UNDER-REPRESENTED MINORITIES TO HAVE SPACES FROM WHICH I AM NOT WELCOME.
I just… I…
I hope and pray that this little Q&A is some kind of exquisitly orchestrated metacritical commentary on the abject narcissism of a hyper-sensitive societal group (i.e. women who actually have the temerity to complain about an occasional $2 fee at a gay male strip club).
Because if it’s not… weeping Jesus on the cross this a beyond pathetic excuse for “adversarial” journalism.
Alex, please confirm in the comments that this is a joke. PLEASE.
No Bachelorette parties? Hey, these guys are on to something! A straight bar could learn a thing or two from this!
Not sure why so many people think the end justifies the means here. If the price differential were based on race and not gender would you still think it’s fine?
Sarah Mirk is gone!? I loved her!
Anyway, this “reporter” read an article on Huffintonpost a few weeks ago and decided to see if the one gay strip club in Portland had similar rules. Turns out, they did! So, she decided to make it a public issue.
Unfortunately for her, the gays in this town can be rather vicious. Especially those residing west of the Willamette. Keep your paws out of their bar, sweetheart. They’d appreciate that.
Even as a grad student, I’m not interested in this article.
@Todd Mecklem #16:
Well, for one thing, this is probably – literally – the only place in Portland that charges more for women than men on a weekend night. On the other hand, a quick Google search for “ladies night Portland” shows that several places in Portland have regular no cover/discounted cover promotions for women.
Why Alex Z. chose to single out Silverado for “discriminating” against women while ignoring just about every other bar in Old Town (Barracuda, Dixie, Dirty, Whiskey Bar, etc.) that “discriminates” against men is… well… ridiculous.
Furthermore, there are things like senior discounts and student discounts, which technically “discriminate” based on age, but anyone with common sense knows aren’t discriminating at all, rather trying to be sensitive to the fact that young students and older retirees can have limited funds.
Similarly, anyone with common sense can see that Silverado is trying to preserve its identity as a safe, welcoming environment for gay men. That’s what it is – a gay bar. I have no problem with a place that serves a distinct, minority population trying to be somewhat protective of the environment within its establishment.
And come on – we’re talking about $2 here.
Ugh. +1 to everything Graham said.
The lovely thing about this is that no one seems to be complaining other than some opportunistic lawyer. No complaint has been filed and the one female patron interviewed in the article doesn’t even give a shit.
It’s weak even by the exhausting standards of reverse-discrimination arguments. $2 extra for admission is not exactly equivalent to dashing babies against rocks as far as moral umbrage goes. This is a manufactured issue and a tempest in a teapot. Nobody cares. I’m fairly certain we all understand why Silverado would not want hordes of Old Town clubbers invading their bar, harassing their clients and treating their employees like caged aborigines at the World’s Fair. Moving on.
S&W: I do hope that $2 is a sufficient bulwark against the unwanted. And if you were truly comfortable with the policy, I don’t think you’d need 195 words to defend it.
The important question is: do they let the straightz play in their softball league?
Good cases make bad laws.
#18 is the winner.
@pdxajn they did it with scary earthquake story too >:(
I don’t mind the 5$ cover, after all I know it’s not my bar…I respect everyone there and have been going there for years. I’m a great tipper to the dancers and the staff and enjoy the company of everyone. Please don’t hold my being a woman against me. 🙂
659A.403 Discrimination in place of public accommodation prohibited. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, all persons within the jurisdiction of this state are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of any place of public accommodation, without any distinction, discrimination or restriction on account of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status or age if the individual is 18 years of age or older.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section does not prohibit:
(a) The enforcement of laws governing the consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors and the frequenting by minors of places of public accommodation where alcoholic beverages are served; or
(b) The offering of special rates or services to persons 50 years of age or older.
(3) It is an unlawful practice for any person to deny full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of any place of public accommodation in violation of this section.