Adonis gay bar requirements

Those were the exact words I tweeted at PM last March 3, while I was in the car on my way to dinner at Tomas Morato — and with good reason. After dinner with my blockmates, we were going to go Adonis, a gay bar along Timog. I knew of comedy bars, girly bars, and gay bars in areas like Tomas Morato, Timog, etc. This Saturday night, however, was a different story.

With us was an employee of Adonis — a promoter or manager, maybe? Aside from us, every person in the audience has already been there, thus all these are just normal to them. Squealing like immature teens would certainly just make the atmosphere awkward. Another important rule was to just enjoy.

Follow the Rainbow — Hell’s Kitchen PRIDE LGBTQIA+ Gay Bar Guide

He was aware that most of us — if not all — were first-timers and because of that, we had to be reminded that this was a reality, and nothing we should be so shocked about. It was easy at first, of course. Men macho dancing in tight white sandos and short, tight-fit denim shorts may have been funny to watch at first, but it eventually got easier.

However, just as we were warming up, a big shock came to us all. One man came out with a sarong wrapped around his waist area, and slowly played with it and teased the audience. We were in a gay bar, and we were, after all, warned beforehand. Thus, lo and behold, requirement a few minutes into slow dancing, the angry bird as we eventually called it was staring right at us, prompting most of us to look another direction.

Aside from tips, though, the employee gave us some insider information — a glimpse of the life in a gay bar. He told us that a number of the dancers were actually well-off from their own businesses, and were not working in a gay bar to adonis a living. When these dancers are asked why they do it, they just say they like it — nothing more, nothing less.

It was a personal choice, not fueled by some form of economic need. This, for me, was the biggest surprise of all. My inner judgmental self always believed that people who worked these late-night occupations found themselves in that kind of working environment because they had no choice, because they were desperate.

These stories, however, proved me wrong and shattered all gay wrong ideas about these people. But, with the stories of the promoter-slash-manager? They wanted to be there, to work those nights, and to perform for the ladies and bar men. Of course I find it strange, but to each his own, right? What I can draw from this, though, is to avoid being so judgmental towards others.

Posted by Ethnography Projects under Mr. Labastilla's class on March 15, in Uncategorized.