The place is packed. Everyone is screaming.
It’s ladies’ night – in that literally everyone at Brixton Jamm is a woman. It’s ladies’ night – in that Gal Pals, London preeminent queer dance party for women, trans and non-binary folk, is ringleader for the evening.
There’s literally a ring to be lead – a boxing ring (well, an inflatable pool slicked shiny with coconut oil) held in rapt attention by the bacchanalian brood of femme folk as oily, bikini-clad fitness models wrestle each other’s tops off and make out, fully basking in the thrill of the crowd.
It’s ladies’ night – feminine joy is the flavour in the air. It’s purely unselfconscious. It’s fully free of the male gaze. The professional wrestlers – Sheela Killer, Sabrina Jade, Miss Naiirobii and Ebony – are playing it up, leaning into character in a way that is fully self-actualized. I like that we can do this. I like that we can make this kind of thing our own.
I sigh. WOMEN!
Let’s talk about kayfabe.
Among the many (many) behaviours in hyper-masculine straight spaces that horseshoe back to a very queer-coded love of all things male and manosphere, kayfabe is the most drag.
Kayfabe is the professional wrestling practice of designated roles, exaggerated character personas and scripted rivalries portrayed to chill and thrill an audience with total immersion.
The effect should be immediately familiar to anyone who recognises the je-ne-said-quoi that twin-flames WWE and Lucha Libre, while spiritually separating them from far less flamboyant fight sports like kickboxing and jiu jitsu.
As queer culture sublimates into the straight mainstream, it’s only natural that outdated straight cultural stays get queered. Traditionally relegated to the realm of sexy college co-ed male-gaze stereotype, lesbian oil wrestling is – as proven here – the perfect deposition. These women are professionals. They’re in control. They are strong, muscles glistening, in a way that massively appeals to women and defies straight convention. This is by women, for women.
Luckily if you missed this one, the resounding success of the evening has Gal Pals planning to run a second oil wrestling event in the New Year.
You should slide through. I’ll see you there.
