Village People

Last night I took some friends down to the Village for a first-hand experience that I'm sure they'll never forget. We went to Unity for a night of dancing, guy-watching, and just all-around fun. I thought going back to the Village woud be a little weird at first, but it's amazing how little things have changed in 3 years....

I guess I should go back a-ways and explain. When I first came out, my new boyfriend taught me what life as a queer could be. He took me out clubbing, helped me explore my sexuality, and introduced me to a never-ending stream of guys. Hot guys. We partied for 3 nights straight each weekend, drank a lot, smoked more than I care to remember, and fooled around plenty. It was a life of excess....perhaps too excessive. After a few months of non-stop clubbing, I started to tire of the whole scene. It wore me out, and I was beginning to wonder if this was all there was to being gay. That was 2002.

Well, once I stepped beyond the disco-balls and dancefloors, I found myself in a world where gays fought for rights, pushed the limits of the humanity, and bared themselves for the world to see. I joined Queer McGill and helped other students deal with their "coming out" experiences. I never strayed too far from the Village though. Every now and then I'd go back for a night of mindless and exhilirating fun. By this time I'd learned what it meant to dump and to be dumped, to have one-night stands, and to just go cruising in general. And why not? It wasn't hurting anyone, I was having a fabulous time, and life was rolling along smoothly. Some nights I'd even just go out for a few hours of dancing (it's a great way to work out by the way).

Eventually I stopped going all-together. The months passed and I found a life way outside of what I'd come to know as "clubbing." I discovered that straight clubs and bars were essentially the same thing, but in a more tame and restricted fashion. Girls didn't just accept invitations to leave with strangers, nor was there much sex being had in the bathrooms. There were rules, dress-codes, and etiquette. That's not to say that the Village is a place where sex is the only thing people desire. It's simply more "sexually liberated." That is, we live beyond what it means to be labelled "straight" or "gay." We have a full range of sexual behaviour and sometimes it has a way of going past what you'd normally expect.

So, going back to the Village last night brought back quite a few memories. Times when I'd prowled the bars looking for a new conquest, or simply gone with a partner to enjoy some fantastic music and dancing. But like I said, not much has changed. The same kinds of guys are there: "bois" dancing on speaker-boxes, older creepy guys leaning against the walls, and the usual fare crowding the dance floor. The atmosphere hasn't changed either. In fact, it was more sexually charged last night than I remember. Or maybe that's just because I've reached a level where I know what I can get and how to get it. Who knows?

In any case, I had a fabulous time and even managed to score a guy's number along the way. Looks like I know what I'll be doing this week....