Slack's....a lesbian bar??? NOT!

ok, folks, i'm in obvious rant mode...lol

so, i believe the email thread below speaks for itself....you make up your own mind on this one:

this is how it started - my email to them:

"Slack's is Toronto's only TRUE women's bar .. ....not a straight or men's space holding a weekly women's event!"

I don't quite understand how you can make a disclaimer as above on your FB site and still feel like you've been honest about it. Until now, I (actually, we - which includes many Toronto based lesbians) have kept our opinions to ourselves in regards to the changes we've seen occur @ Slack's in recent years. But after reading the statement on FB, I knew I had to finally say something.

And...it's NOT pretty.

I'm 49 years old. Slack's was one of the first lesbian hangouts for me that helped me gain the courage to finally come out in my early 40's. But I've seen Slack's decline rapidly in the past 2 to 3 years in it's futile attempts to remain the only true lesbian bar in the GTA. Other than coming in to dine during off-club hours, many of us no longer even consider hanging out due to the influx of straight couples, straight singles and wannabe-lesbians.

We'd rather travel the distances to the west of us including even as far as London where lesbians are still the acceptable 'norm' amongst all the tranis & gay men rather than having to deal with all the straight folks at Slack's - whether it's Fridays or Saturdays, doesn't seem to make any difference.

It's fully understood that no genre of orientation should be excluded from any bar or club but, in Slack's case, as it is SUPPOSED to be a lesbian bar, it's disgusting to see that lesbians are actually the minority.

It's disgusting to see straight couples making out on the benches or on the dance floor.

It's disgusting to see some 19 yr old wannabe-lesbian come up to you, try to make out with you and then quickly jump to some straight dude standing next to you and french-tongue him until he gags.
It's disgusting to see straight couples come there to pick up a third-party lesbian.

But most of all, it's just disgusting to see that Slack's has turned into a straight folk's hideout rather than the lesbian bar it was originally meant to be.

How many times, in the past 8 months or so, have we walked in with some semblance of hope only to end up walking out less than 1/2 hour later, shaking our heads and vowing never to return.

In Toronto, the cold and rude city so homophobic in it's acceptance of the gay community, it's difficult enough to remain true to our orientation in a community sense as there is next to nothing available for lesbians although that is not the case for the gay dudes as most bars/clubs in The Village are geared towards them. Although even they will agree with the clear and frightening reality that straights are definitely moving in and taking over the Church/Wellesley community, especially Slack's.

It's sad, really, that we feel we no longer have a decent lesbian hangout to go to.
Without some serious changes, Slack's will see that die-hard lesbians will continue to fade away from its doors and the straights will take over completely. That's not a joke.

Thanks for letting me vent.

their response back:

" Slack's is lesbian owned and run. Out of our 13 staff members, one is male. One is transgendered. The rest are gay women, including our kitchen staff, coat check girl, bussers and security. Take a look around the club you choose to go to instead of Slack's, and let me know if they can say the same.

Funny thing, we just got this email, from a guy, the day before your email (sorry folks, i removed dude's email as it wasn't quite relevant to the complaint at hand). It just seems like it is impossible to please everyone, all of the time. After 5 years...maybe we should give up, just like every other lesbian bar that has tried to make it in this town. Instead of embrassing a palce that was made just for them, they can go off to those straight bars on the west end that hold monthly "women's events" or market ourselves as a mixed bar like every other palce on Church Street."

of course, you KNOW i couldn't just let that pass:

"Dear Whomever:

First and foremost, your reply was UNPROFESSIONAL and RUDE to say the least. Your spelling is quite atrocious as well. Perhaps try taking some further English classes so that you are able to COMPREHEND what the writer is trying to convey to you. Your response lacked clarity and does not even make sense to the complaint I was making.

I have NO issue with your staff - with the exception of you now, of course. If you read again, you will note that the problem is with the clientele you so graciously allow to take over what is SUPPOSED TO BE A LESBIAN BAR! Did I speak loud enough this time and did you possibly understand it this time??

No one is suggesting you tuck your tail between your legs and shut down. But, seriously, if you don't want Slack's to go the way of the straight folks, changes are definitely required.

In a more professional sense, try this next time:

Dear Ms. So-and-So: (or whomever)

Thank you for your letter. We always welcome feedback to our establishment whether it is in a negative or positive tone. We apologize that you feel frustrated and unsatisfied while visiting our establishment.

....and so on and so on...

Maybe you can even provide your name and extend a welcoming hand. I would LOVE to sit down and discuss your unprofessional attitude towards an unsatisfied customer. Do your homework, dear lesbian. The other establishments ARE run by lesbians, gay men and transexuals.

Fuck, thank you for pissing me off even further and encouraging me to spread the joys of Slack's! Word of mouth goes a long way.

Trust me, I won't be missing out on anything by no longer attending Slack's despite your obvious glee at losing several long-time customers....yes, I am only one in a sea of many that are just plain fed up with the direction Slack's is taking.

That's really good business sense.

Best of luck.

BTW....my name is A****. Care to share yours?"

enough said.