On the Hunt for Lesbians in Vienna
VIENNA Behind a door adorned with stickers lies Marea Alta, a former lesbian bar owned by two women. Now, it's transformed into a queer bar owned by a man. It's a cozy space with burgundy walls, golden lamps, and a portrait of a deceased former owner.
We arrived around midnight and found an artist we'd met earlier sitting at a table. My companions and I settled at the bar, chatting with two men from the countryside. They run Austria's only queer hotel, dressed identically, matching beards and haircuts, and had been together for eight or nine years. They too were curious about the whereabouts of the lesbian community, suggesting that they were trying to facilitate what they perceived as missing. 'We can't do it for them!' they said, 'But we hold lesbian events a few times a year because we believe the lesbian community is vital.'
It's somewhat ironic that, in the only queer bar meant for lesbians, I was discussing their absence with nonbinary men. This speaks volumes about the current situation.
Marea Alta
Gumpendorferstrasse 28
Vienna
I did want to meet the lesbians so I came back alone a few evenings later. This time it was empty inside except for the bartender Elina. She was a young film media student who defines herself as queer. When I asked what the word meant to her she said questioning the norms. She was afraid of the conservative movement in society as a hole. It was normal and accepted again to bully a queer person.
I went outside and met a young man wearing a mini skirt. I asked how people reacted to the way he dressed. He smiled and said he had shoutings on his way to the bar. They yelled ”Faggot”. It happens every time he wears a skirt. He gets the same reactions from gay men.
Later in the evening, two lesbians came and sat at the end of the bar. They asked if they could buy me a drink. I got a Herbert Richers. It was hot outside and sipping the cold drink cooled me down a bit. ”You only pay with cards in Sweden? ” One of the lesbians asked, putting her hand in her pocket, grabbing a large bunch of Euros, and throwing it on the table. ”Why are you having so much cash in your pocket” her friend asked, surprised. She paid for the drinks and put the roll of money back in her pocket.
According to them, the lesbian community in Vienna had turned into a queer scene. It is more men around now than before. No woman in Vienna owns a gay bar anymore. One of the lesbians thought it had to do with the economy. In general woman earns less but also perhaps it has to do with how we tolerate failure. If a man owns a bar and it does not work, he just open another one. If a woman opens a bar and it fails her way back is another story.
I said goodbye and walked back to my friend Hedda's place in the dark and warm night, feeling happy to have a few more glimpses of lesbian life.
