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Meow Mix
The Best of Manhattan's Lesbian Bar Scene
This
was written in 1996, which will be immediately apparent. Meow Mix was
the best baby dyke hangout in Manhattan, but Tristan Taormino's Pucker
Up zine is now a book pulbished by Harper Collins. This piece
originally ran in The Resident.
Lesbians are sexy. Being a lesbian is hip and hot. And now, lesbians
have a night life that's equally as hot, hip and sexy. Yes, the
lesbians are taking over the city! Manhattan, always a social Mecca for
gay men, has recently become host-ESS to a burgeoning number of clubs
and bars for gay women. From Cake to Clit Club, to Crazy Nanny's, gay
females have plenty of rockin' joints to choose from for
testosterone-free frolicking. I've been buffeted by sweaty hip-swaying
at W.O.W. Wednesdays, still hopping at 2i's, laughed hysterically at
the drag king antics of Club Casanova, "hosted" by the enticing Mo' B.
Dick, and rubbed, um, elbows at the unfortunately defunct Starfuckers.
But the venue offering the most variety to all those dyke nightcrawlers
has got to be Meow Mix. Its location on the south side of Houston puts
it safely on the Lower East Side, as opposed to the over-exposed and
somewhat played-out East Village. There, on the corner of Suffolk, neon
beer signs blinker like a beacon in the night to everyone engaging in
alternative sexuality. You see, Meow Mix throws open their doors not
only to dykes, but to their admirers and supporters--even their
ball-bearing boy pals.
With a line-up ranging from "estrogen rock" to "cosmic acouschtik," you
can hear just about every imaginable kind of music at Meow Mix. The
jukebox has a decidedly lesbian heroine feel, with the obligatory L7,
Joan Jett and Bikini Kill. An impressive parade of local deejays spin
here as well, with names like Mary Mac, Hopey and Michelley Queen of
Queens. Each night is run by another enthusiastic promoter, pulling in
a diverse crowd. Honeycomb Hideout and Fey are two recently added
weekly soirees that seem to be successfully finding their own
followings.
This month alone you could take in local bands like the gender-bending
Transister, the well-endowed D-Cup and acoustic rockers Lionfish. On
Xena Night you might see Andrea marshaling a male die hard Lucy Lawless
fan in full Xena drag as he sets up his video camera to capture the bar
babes engaging in the Toy Sword Fight. Every other Thursday, Julie "18"
Wheeler turns out in flannel and denim drag for Trucker, entertaining
the troops with a bit of stand-up as a prelude to her ever-changing
roster of special guests. Fridays are eternally Frisky, with deejay
Frida spinning as a follow-up to assorted live acts. CD releases,
magazine launch parties and New York City's only women's poetry and
spoken word open mic night, Sister Spit East, bring together women with
an interest in supporting each other's art. And from benefits for Riot
Grrrl NYC and the Gay Cultural Center in Central America to bringing in
far-flung femmes from as far away as Vancouver, Meow Mix makes a point
of presenting dykedom in all its delightful diversity. I've been to Sex
Workers Night, seen displays of photography and art, witnessed spanking
demonstrations and received a free copy of Tristan Taormino's zine,
Pucker Up.
And yes, I've seen girls kissing. Each other. Because best of all, this
is a place where the women--or should I say womyn?-- feel totally
comfortable with their sexuality. Made up of a mostly post-baby boomer
clientele, these "babydykes" make no bones about their sexual
preference. It is, as the saying goes, no big deal. Which is the way
you should feel if you decide to join the ladies. Because there's
nothing worse than being treated like an animal in the zoo.
Presiding over all the preening and same-sex scoping is bar co-owner
Brooke Webster. Fresh-faced and soft-featured, she doesn't strike me as
your average proprietress, at least not in this neighborhood. I can't
say if it's chemistry or just luck, but she has managed to achieve what
every nightclub and bar owner hopes and dreams of: She's found a loyal
clientele and succeeds in consistently pleasing them. And if the
current increase of high visibility lesbian night life is any
indication, it looks like Brooke will be stirring up her well-balanced
diet of kibbles and bits at Meow Mix right on into the twenty-first
century.
Meow Mix was at 269 East Houston on the corner of Suffolk Street.
[Written in 1996]
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