A gay man from Cork, Ireland has revealed that he shared a bus last night with a group of straight men who had gone to a gay club seemingly to mock LGBT+ people.
David Murray was travelling home from work on a bus in the city when the group of men got on. They had just come out of popular gay club Chambers.
During his bus journey home, he overheard the group of men using homophobic slurs and discussing their experience in the club. The men discussed the “amount of f****ts” they saw in the club, Murray said.
“The one guy sitting closest to me seemed particularly disgusted by what he witnessed over the course of the night,” Murray told PinkNews.
One of the men recorded a video of two men kissing in the gay bar.
One of the men bragged during the bus journey that he had even recorded a video of two men kissing in Chambers and had sent it to friends on Snapchat and to his father.
The group of men – who got off the bus near a local student accommodation complex – also mocked one of their group because he had been hit on by a man in the gay club.
Hope the profits for Chambers from the straight crowd on Wednesdays at the expense of LGBT people are worth it. Lads beside me on the bus laughing in disgust at a video they took and shared of two guys kissing. Another group discussing the amount of faggots they saw tonight
— David (@dvvidmurray) November 7, 2019
“They were all between laughter and horror about the night overall,” Murray said.
The one guy sitting closest to me seemed particularly disgusted by what he witnessed over the course of the night.
“Seemed to be their first night there but they acknowledged they’d been told to go there on Wednesdays since it’s not meant to be ‘that gay’ and it’s a student night,” he added.
LGBT+ people claim that this is not an isolated incident.
Furthermore, Murray said that this was far from an isolated incident, and that student nights at the gay club are overrun by straight people like this particular group. He believes that the situation would be tolerable if the straight and cisgender students going to Chambers were respectful of the LGBT+ clientele.
In a series of widely shared tweets, Murray heavily criticised Chambers for allowing groups like these into the club, saying it was “at the expense of LGBT+ people.”
Other members of the LGBT+ community corroborated Murray’s claims about the straight and cisgender people who frequent Chambers.
After working there I can confidently say that any Lads that have hassled me in cork are in there Every. Single. Wednesday.
I hated it every week, it hasn’t fostered inclusivity, it’s turned the community into a zoo exhibit and has taken away a place we’re meant to feel safe https://t.co/LKTivgldL4— Rayne-bow (@SarcasticCatBoy) November 7, 2019
I’ll never forget when I lived in Cork standing at the bar in Chambers & the two lads in front of me waiting for service said, ‘This place isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, there aren’t nearly as many f*ggots here as I expected’.
— 🍒🍑🍉🍏🍤 (@baesness) November 7, 2019
It’s not a safe space for LGBTQ+ people at all, which is desperate considering it’s really the only gay bar in Cork city.
— Sinead Walsh (@fuzzOFk0) November 7, 2019
Murray is now hopeful that Chambers will reflect on the impact of catering to “predominantly straight students with little respect for the space they’re entering on certain nights.”
“I understand that the bottom line is key for business continuity and longevity but it’s clear that there’s a lack of awareness for what it really means to be a gay bar and that the LGBTQ+ community aren’t just another segment to target and market to,” he added.
“It would greatly serve the LGBTQ+ community of Cork (and perhaps the wider Munster area upon success) if Chambers really understood and implemented the extra care, security and consideration required when creating what is meant to be a safe space for this particular community.”
PinkNews has contacted Chambers in Cork for comment.