Bigudi Club () is a lesbian and queer

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

and bar located at Mis Sokak No. 5 in the

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...

area of

Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population over , it is home to 18% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is among the largest cities in Europe and in th ...

. It is the first lesbian-exclusive nightclub in the country of Turkey, established December 2006. Around 2017, they redefined the space as a queer bar, not exclusively for women.

History

In Turkey, historically lesbianism has not been encouraged or supported, this is particularly true within Turkish psychiatry. In the 1990s, lesbian organizations in Turkey were established to provide community support, including Sappho's Girls () and The Sisters of Venus (). Bigudi Club opened in December 2006 by Adar Bozbay and was the first exclusively lesbian venue in the county. It was previously located a 5 İstiklal Caddesi in Şehit Muhtar, Beyoğlu, Istanbul. It is now at Mis Sokak No. 5 near the former location, and is situated on a

terrace Terrace may refer to: Landforms and construction * Fluvial terrace, a natural, flat surface that borders and lies above the floodplain of a stream or river * Terrace, a street suffix * Terrace, the portion of a lot between the public sidewalk a ...

above an apartment building. Until 2016, the Bigudi Club was the only queer club for women in Turkey, and they struggled with harassment by police. Around 2017, the nightclub decided to open up to the larger queer community, not exclusively lesbian. In March 2020 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the nightclub temporarily closed and was uncertain about the future. During this time of closure, Adar Bozbay started working in filmmaking and created the documentary film ''Incomplete Sentences'' (2021) (), about the Turkish author and human rights activist

Aslı Erdoğan Aslı Erdoğan (born 8 March 1967) is a prize-winning Turkish writer, author, Human rights in Turkey, human rights activist, and columnist for ''Özgür Gündem'' and formerly for ''Radikal,'' ex political prisoner, particle physicist. Her second ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bigudi Club Lesbian culture in the Middle East Buildings and structures in Beyoğlu LGBTQ culture in Istanbul 2006 establishments in Turkey 2006 in LGBTQ history Lesbian bars

History

See also

References

External links