(Can anyone find) Montréal’s lesbian scene?
This article was updated on April 27, 2023.
Ever since the 1980s golden age of lesbian bars in Montréal, permanent lesbian spaces have been on the decline. Despite Montréal’s renowned Village, many locations lack diversity. Where does this leave women and non-binary individuals who relate to the lesbian experience?
After the closure of the last lesbian bar in Montréal (Royal Phoenix in 2014), pop-up spaces have begun to dominate the queer and lesbian scene. These range from underground outdoor raves, such as Wh0rekout, to recurrent lesbian events such as L Nights or ElleLui at queer-friendly bars. This change to temporary space has allowed for an increase in variety in terms of lesbian events, with different nights for BIPOC, Latinx folks, and gender-nonconforming people.
This does not stop the lesbian community from gathering. Different organizers have made it their goal to host different events in a plethora of locations to encourage socialization among peers, a fun time and a temporary safe space. Here are a few from our list that you should know to plan out your next outings.
ElleLui is a lesbian-owned and operated event series that features underrepresented queer artists. ElleLui has organized mutual aid, hosted events, parties, performances, queer pong, and all sorts of lesbian/queer-oriented programming. Come join ElleLui’s recurring dance nights!
Sweet Like Honey creates events for queer and trans, black, indigenous, and people of colour who relate to the lesbian/sapphic experience. Many of their events are high energy, full of hotties and will get you sweating on the dancefloor to music that is not the Top 40, if you catch our drift.
Entre Nous throws flaming parties with the comfort of black queer women and non-binary individuals in mind. You can expect to hear afrobeat, soca, dancehall, raboday, kompa —anything to get your waist moving. Past parties have taken place in spacious event locales and even party buses.
Be sure to also check out BLUSH party’s disco dance night for queer babes, as well as party nights organized by Lez Spread the Word for a slightly older crowd. The best way to find out about events is to keep up with these event pages on Instagram.
One thing all of these organizations have in common is their love for the community, as a lot of work goes into creating these spaces. The apps are getting redundant. The best way to meet new people and interact with the community is by attending events. Get out there!
Ellelui
Marlyne Désir is the founder of Sweet Like Honey. They also happen to be a queer performer and the current mother of the Sinful House of Lust.
Taylor Douglas is a queer organizer and the cofounder of ElleLui. Her goal is to make the lesbian community more accessible and to eventually open her own lesbian bar.