Episode 5: Gal Pals
In this episode, Queer Spaces travelled down to Brighton to meet Scarlett (she/her) and Xandice (they/he), the founders of Gal Pals, which is a queer dance party centring queer women, trans and non-binary people that plays music exclusively by women.
We spoke about how Gal Pals was formed, the differences between London and Brighton’s queer scenes and the need for experiences specifically for trans people.
Gal Pals had featured on a photo project by Tim that was a precursor to Queer Spaces, titled Fabulous Ones. So it was a joy to reconnect with the duo once again - much has changed in the three years since their involvement. Xandice and Scarlett told us some lovely stories of guests who had enjoyed their digital parties during the pandemic, with the parties providing a vital lifeline for the queer community all across the country - and how this fed into it irl parties once Gal Pals came back. Some even went queer clubbing for the first time ever, thanks to Gal Pals.
While they’re still operating nights in both Brighton (at the Komedia) and London, Gal Pals now use a new venue in London, Lafayette, and it was interesting to hear how this has been a positive step. Their relationship with Komedia is a strong one - with the multi-purpose venue “really on board with training and security”, which is an important issue within the queer community, and one which isn’t always easy to get the balance right.
All images here are taken at Scarlett and Xandice’s (beautiful) home in Brighton.
The Instagram account of kaleidoshoots - who photograph Gal Pals regularly. We cannot recommend looking through this account enough.
To keep up with Gal Pals and find the dates for their next parties, you can find them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @galpalsclub, as well as their website galpals.club. For more information about Transome visit @transomeclub on Instagram.
Please do let us know about your favourite queer spaces, collectives, and organisations. Stories on your experiences of LGBTQ+ spaces are very much welcome.
Who should we include in future episodes? tim@queerspaces.uk
