I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

A few of months ago we asked 'Where have all the lesbians gone?' and after asking that question we (Naomi and Katie) embarked on a long journey to find out.

A conversation with Sarah Garrett of G3 Magazine at the Big Gay Lifestyle Show in 2011 sparked an idea of how to find out where the lesbians go out or why they don't. Throughout November Planet London sat down in our friendly Wetherspoons thinking about what we wanted to know, and what we needed to ask to get that answer. We then wrote all the questions we wanted the answers to (with several re-writes) . This grew into a (somewhat long, but detailed) online survey.

We spoke to the event organisers and asked them if there was anything else they wanted to know and got some feedback on our initial draft. By the end of the month we had a survey ready to publish.

On 1 December 2011 Planet London launched the '1st Planet London Social Community Survey' - believed to be the first of its kind in London. We'd gained the support of some sponsors and supporters along the way: Candy Bar, Elysion Events, Exclusively Pride, G3 Magazine, Go.Go Festival, Lounge, Rumours, Beehayve, ELOP, London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard, Southbank Surfing and The Glass Bar.

The aim of the survey is to help ensure a thriving and diverse social community and knowing what you like to do is an important part of that. This aim worked well with the aims and values that Planet London has adopted.

We had limited expectations and our hearts in our throats as we let people know and hoped they would fill it in. Happily the response was immediate - lesbians to have a lot they want to say as we had guessed! We surpassed our goal of 100 responses within 2 days, receiving 129 responses in just 48 hours and at the halfway point of the collection period we reached over 500 responses!


responses broken down by area

So we thought we'd like to take this opportunity to explain a bit more about where the survey came from and tease you with a few of the findings so far. On Wednesday evening we met with a few of the headline sponsors and supporters in The Green Carnation in Soho to host New Year drinks and to discuss the early findings. They very much welcomed the early feedback about their specific events and the scene in general and are excitedly awaiting the final results and already have a number of thoughts and ideas to make their events even better for you all.

Over 60% of respondents said personal safety at event was either crucial or of great importance.

"Early findings tell us the main reason people go out to a particular venue, generally once or twice a week, is because that is where their friends are going and Soho and the West End remain the most popular hang outs.

The main factor, to over 45% of respondents, for choosing where they go out is who the event is aimed at. The venue (over 50%) and whether friends are going (over 35% crucial, over 40% of great importance). Facilities and cleanliness of toilets are not as important as music for most respondents.

Of the responses so far, a third of respondents are in their 30s, with other ages groups represented but we’ve had a low response from over 50s and from 18-21s.

The responses come from a good geographical spread around London (and further afield). There has been a fairly low response from people living in West London and the City.

Naomi Bennett, Co-Founder of Planet London said “We are really pleased with the responses so far, we have already learned a great deal about what lesbians want in terms of their social life. However we are keen to make sure the survey represents as many of the views as possible of the lesbians and bi women out there in London, who could number anything from 200,000 upwards.”"

It is a very exciting time for everyone involved, and who knows what the next 6 weeks will hold. Will we exceed 1,000 responses? We'll just have to see.

If you haven't already done so, please tell us think about the social opportunities for lesbians in London. The survey isn't just about going out in the evening, it covers LGBT families; socialising generally; clubs, groups & societies; retail and volunteering & charity. The sponsors and supporters have kindly donated a number of prizes which you can win just for giving us some of your time and your opinion. Full details of what you can win are on the survey page and also at the end of the survey.

2011 – How was it for you? And what will 2012 bring?

Well for Planet London, 2011 has been quite a year. We launched in March following the idea for the site germinating in our minds for a good while, and multiple requests from friends for a good source of up to date reliable information on what’s going on in London for lesbians.

Obviously, the site has grown and developed, form the original ‘events calendar’ seed, and we’ve been excited to respond to requests from Planet Londoners on what they would like to see on the site, and many of you getting involved in reviewing a wide variety of events and activities.

This blog is taking a look at what’s been, what’s come and sadly what’s gone. It’s been a big year for some iconic lesbian/LGBT events and venues closing.

So what did we do then?
Well, when we were putting together Planet London, the Candy Bar was busy undergoing a refurbishment, and also filming its Channel 5 documentary Candy Bar Girls. Whilst the show received mixed reviews, we are always happy to see positive LGBT coverage on mainstream media. And of course, we very much enjoyed our Candy Bar Girls drink game. There was also some other great coverage to note, including a high profile lesbian relationship in Coronation Street and a very well received documentary on transgenderism, My Transsexual Summer, which has done very well to dispel some of the myths associated with gender dysphoria.

It feels like there has been a bit of a sea-change in the types of events increasing in popularity this year, and there is definitely a (welcomed) move towards more intimate, social opportunities to meet friends and new people – such as Southbank Surfing or new events like Bijou, Rainbow Room, Howlers, Blue Monday, Flaunt and Beehayve East, where the focus of the night is not just drinking and dancing. However, there are still some great dance events out there – events like Pout, Lounge, Code are still going strong.

There’s been a rise in the number of one off and special events, that appear to have been a great success such as the Glitterball and the WoW boat party. It looks like pop up and self organised events are the way forward, and websites such as SceneNomad have appeared to support this. And let’s not forget the relaunch of events such as Wig Out and Social Soiree (formerly Usual Suspects)

Sadly we’ve said goodbye to a number of venues for Lesbians (and LGBT people) - First Out, G Spot, The Green venues and GayGirlz have all gone. There is high demand for a new venue – and the community still mourns the loss of a cool cafe style venue.

What kind of co-Founder would I be if I didn’t take a look at the successes of Planet London this year. In brief since our launch in March.

1. March 2011 – first newsletter and website launched
2. June 2011 – gave 2 free tickets to WOW Boat Party featuring Jill Jackson




Planet London marching at London Pride


3. July 2011 – great presence at London Pride, with our 3D planet
4. August 2011 – gave a free signed Jill Jackson CD
5. September 2011 – gave 2 free tickets to L Talent Final/Glitterball
6. September 2011 – Planet London raised £385.00 for Albert Kennedy Trust
7. October 2011 – launched 3 new blogs: The Big Bang Blog, Girls on Film Blog by Victoria Broom and I Want to Make a Baby, its just not that easy Blog
8. November 2011 – Launched Scene Summary including a DJ Profile and Events Organiser Profile to help support and promote the scene
9. November 2011 – gave a free signed Margaret Cho DVD
10. December 2011 – launched 1st Lesbian & Bisexual Women London Community Survey
11. December 2011 – expanded the Scene Summary to include Venue Profiles to further support and promote the scene
12. Donated £12.25 to LGBT Charities from Oystercard and t-shirt sales.

I especially want to highlight the first event lesbian and bisexual women’s social community survey we are running. It’s really important to us to hear as many of the views as possible so we call tell the event organisers, and the community, exactly what it is women want in London. The survey is open until the end of February and we will be publishing the findings in April.

So what will 2012 bring?
It has the potential to be the most exciting year ever for the LGBT community in London – with World Pride and the Olympics. It’s a great opportunity to put on some fantastic events to bring the community together. Keep an eye out for the first ever summer Olympics ‘Pride House’ which promises much for the LGBT athletes, supporters, tourists and Londoners during the Olympic games, on Clapham Common.

Additionally many of the event organisers already on the scene are starting to announce new exciting plans for 2012. The details are still to follow and teaser campaigns are underway but we already know that WOW Events are launching a new monthly Saturday night from January in Chelsea, Lounge organiser Christine is launching a new monthly Thursday night from January in a Volupte in the City, Beehayve West is launching following the success of Beehayve East and L-Wired is also launching in 2012!

Join our mailing list to make sure you hear about all these exciting changes as soon as we do and check our events calendar regularly to find out what exciting nights are on.