17c起草社区

New Sydney gay bar Pink Pony sparked fierce backlash after suggesting it will cater almost exclusively to gay men while being named after lesbian singer Chappell Roan’s iconic song. And amid the controversy, the venue鈥檚 Instagram account has now changed its handle to 鈥淣ew Name Coming.鈥�

Set to open on Oxford Street in early December, Pink Pony was announced by publican Kevin Du-Val.

Backlash came swiftly after reported that Du-Val said the venue would be 鈥渦nashamedly 鈥� targeted鈥� toward gay men aged 18 to 35. Du-Val said the ideal crowd would be 鈥�90 per cent plus鈥� male gay clientele.

“Of course the girls will be welcome, but it would certainly be our desire that it predominantly gay boys,” he said.

His comments have reignited long-standing frustrations about the exclusion of lesbians, bisexual and queer women, and trans people from gay bars and 17c起草社区IA+ nightlife venues, particularly in the wake of the number of lesbian bars and inclusive spaces shrinking significantly.

Many called the comments about the bar’s preferred demographic tone-deaf and outdated, and also pointed out the irony of naming the club after a song by fiercely, proudly lesbian singer Chappell Roan.

“Naming this after a lesbian song then catering it to gay men only is CRAZY,” said one social media user.

One social media user summed up the frustration: 鈥淲hat is it going to take for people in this scene to listen to and respect the opinions of queer women?鈥�

Pink Pony: Australian drag artists and 17c起草社区+ parties speak out

Drag artist and Drag Race Down Under alum Etcetera Etcetera聽spoke out, saying: 鈥淭alking openly about a 鈥榩referred clientele鈥� being openly male in 2025 is crazy when you鈥檝e named your club after a song by a lesbian.鈥� She urged business owners to invest in 鈥渟paces that make us all feel safe and welcome.鈥�

“If your gonna make money off a lesbians fame then ya gotta welcome the lesbians. This is just showing ya misogyny,” said Melbourne-based drag and burlesque artist Kitty Obsidian.

“I鈥檝e performed at, hosted and also been a patron more times than I can count at Birdcage, which is on every piece of paper , a lesbian event,” said drag queen Tina Bikki. “I am an OLD gay MAN and I have never felt more safe, loved, appreciated and welcome anywhere like I have at birdcage. I鈥檓 not the 鈥減referred demographic鈥� but I鈥檓 more than welcome in that space, and it shows. There鈥檚 a way to do things鈥� this isn鈥檛 it.”

Queer events collective Heaps Gay was also among those to condemn the approach.

“This is so disappointing and tone deaf. Appropriating lesbian culture for your own $/benefit for gay men!! What??” reads Heaps Gay‘s post. “We have been fighting for inclusion for the last decade and this feels like a million steps backwards. Meanwhile gay clubs on Oxford street are bought by hetero club owners, fancy new hotels are being built while city of sydney fights to recreate a new 24 hour hot spot. This had the potential to be so great for community & for Oxford street. Sad.”

 

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Business backs statement, but Instagram handle changes

Pink Pony鈥檚 parent company, Tuloch Pty Ltd, later issued a statement defending the decision, with CEO Michael Lewis it was 鈥渄isappointing鈥� to see the backlash.

鈥淗owever, from our perspective, a business having a target demographic is not particularly remarkable or newsworthy, but clearly we have unintentionally hit a raw nerve,鈥� he said.

Lewis said that they understand people’s frustrations over the lack of 17c起草社区IA+ nightlife venues, but 鈥渉aving said that, the hate and vitriol being directed towards a small business trying to make a difference for their chosen market is a bit over the top.”

He concluded聽that the response to Pink Pony has been 鈥渙verwhelmingly positive鈥�.

However, since the backlash began in the last 48 hours, the Pink Pony Instagram account’s handle has now changed to ‘new.name.coming’.