Exploration 2

Sofia Soto

English 102.44

Melissa Keith

March 5, 2010

Observation 2 Notes

I went to Sin for my second observation. Sin is a gay and straight club downtown. They have great music for dancing and it’s a very diverse and friendly establishment. I decided to do my second observation here because I thought I would have a better chance on finding gay Hispanics at a gay club than at any other place.

We got there at around 10 pm. As soon as we walked in, a guy wearing tight, black spandex shorts and a red tank top one size too small greeted us. I couldn’t help notice his purposely over exaggerated crotch. All of the males working there had the exact same look -- spandex shorts, red tops, combat boots and big fake crotches. The attire was completely unattractive, but I guess it wasn’t me they were targeting. He checked our IDs and then asked if we wanted our coats checked. We said no thanks and proceeded to enter the club.

I ordered an Absolute martini with a couple of olives. My husband was with me, he order a PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon). The cocktail waitresses wore tight booty shorts and low-cut tops. Cute. The music was loud and hopping and everyone appeared to be having a good time. After we got our drinks we walked around the club observing the crowd and looked for a spot to sit. I saw a male couple sitting at one of the couches in the corner of the room. I told my husband that I was pretty sure that the couple was Hispanic and I suggested sitting in their vicinity. We sat on the couch next to them. I over heard them speaking Spanish so I made my move. “Hola como estan, ablan Español (Hello. How are you? Do you speak Spanish)?” I could tell that they were a bit skeptical about me. They hesitated for a couple of second then they responded “Bien, si ablamos Español (Good. Yes we do speak Spanish).” I continued to make small talk with them. They were quiet and I was doing most of the talking. They were really nice and I could tell that they were in love. They held hands, giggled, and joked with each other. The music was very loud and we couldn’t hear each other, which made it difficult to have a conversation. All I wanted to do was talk to them and get to know them more.

After an hour or so their friends showed up. They mingled for a while and then they all got up and moved to a larger table. I could still see them from our seat. I jotted down some notes after they left. I continued to observe them. I glanced around the room and it was full by then. I noticed the cliques. I noticed the congregation of manly and rugged men on one side of the room and the pretty, clean-cut boys on the other side. There was also a group of very feminine women and another group of women with more of a masculine look. There was a skater group, a Goth group, the older crowd, the straight crowd (it’s very hard to tell who is gay and who isn’t at a gay club) and, of course, the drag queens.

Even though everyone had come to the club with their own crowd, it didn’t appear that way on the dance floor. Everyone danced with everyone else because they were all there for the same reason, to just have fun. I noticed the isolation of the Hispanic group. They stuck together, danced together and drank together while members of other groups came and went from their cliques. This reminded me of high school. I remember how all of the Hispanic kids and Black kids grouped themselves with their own race. I couldn’t help but wonder why? Was it for safety reasons? Ease? I contemplated some more then I saw them all get up and leave together. Soon after, I went home as well.