Published
Tue, Jul 26, 2022, 11:20
- Tower Hamlets Council is meeting to decide whether to uphold or remove the no-nudity or semi-nudity clause from Wapping club E1's license.
Members of London's kink, leather and BDSM communities are planning a protest outside Tower Hamlets Town Hall later today, July 26th.
Set for 6:30 PM BST, the protest will coincide with a Tower Hamlets Council hearing regarding Wapping club E1, which recently applied to have the no-nudity or semi-nudity clause removed from its licence. The council objected. Today's hearing will decide the final outcome.
"We have objected to the application to vary the premises licence to remove the non-nudity clause after the police informed us of an alleged sexual assault that took place in the venue," a spokesperson from Tower Hamlets Council told Resident Advisor. "We have concerns that removing this clause may undermine the licensing objectives of public safety, and prevention of crime and disorder."
The statement continued: "This isn't about discriminating against queer, kink and sex-positive communities, who hire these premises on an ad hoc basis. It is about the management of the premises and the ability to keep customers safe within the boundaries of their licence."
The clause, which cites a 1982 government act, was brought to the attention of E1 and enforced by the council in March. The dispute centres around to whom the clause applies: the council says it's the public and performers, while E1 says it's performers only. (The alleged sexual assault took place at an event run by fetish party Torture Garden in February.)
"The council argues that anywhere with a light dress code or semi-nudity will ultimately lead to sexual assault," Karl, cofounder of queer fetish party Klub Verboten, told RA. "We don't see the link between someone's sense of fashion and that alleged incident."
He added: "We would much rather see an environment where we all can be honest and transparent about it, and where we can provide the infrastructure when things go wrong."
Since the clause was enforced in March, E1 has cancelled between ten and 12 queer and kink nights, according to cofounder Yuval Hen. One of these was Klub Verboten, which Karl confirmed has been taking place at another venue.
Hen cancelled the nights because of the new restrictions placed on entry. Under the current rules, door staff would be required to determine the birth sex of every attendee, so as to rule out any nudity or semi-nudity inside. For example, someone assigned female at birth would have to cover their nipples—or be denied entry.
"Who am I to come to a person and ask them to take their top off to determine whether they're a man, a woman, trans, non-binary or whatever, and whether they're risking my license?" said Hen. "It's ridiculous."
According to Karl, part of the problem is the 1982 act only considers two binary sexes—male and female—which is "absolutely unworkable" and "highly discriminatory." He added: "If you're not a cis-male, you're fucked."
If the council wins and the clause remains, E1 will have to completely stop hosting queer and kink nights, Hen said. Karl agreed, saying "it wouldn't be right" to continue running Klub Verboten at E1. The same goes for many other clubs and venues in Tower Hamlets.
"If it goes through, that's Klub Verboten gone, The Backstreet gone and Crossbreed gone," Karl added. "So within a week, Tower Hamlets just lost all their kink and queer communities. And [London's Night Czar] Amy Lamé was seen nowhere."
Both Karl and Hen said the fight won't end tonight if the council wins. "I will take them all the way to the high court," said Hen.
As for the protest, Karl said he's expecting around "300 people to show up in full rubber and gear" outside Tower Hamlets Town Hall. Find out more via the event listing below.
Update, July 26th: This piece has been updated to mention Torture Garden, the event where the alleged sexual assault took place.
LondonTBA - Tower Hamlets Town Hall, 5 Clove Cres, Blackwall, E14 2BG