Nairobi gay night clubs

Nairobi is revered by many as the capital of East African nightlife. Like any other bustling city, partying in these ends equates to the centering of joy as a necessary timeout from the constraints of societal pressures. Every Furahi-day evening signals the possibility of enjoyment.

Matatus rouse the streets with loud music. Vendors flock the town and entice you from every corner. Everybody wants to escape the chaos of Nairoberry and kula sherehe. Photography by Phoebe Apondi. Though the nightlife continues to shimmer at a distance by dazzling the average onlooker, closer inspection reveals that the Nairobi scene is characterised by exclusion.

A recent altercation they experienced with their girlfriend at a popular club reminds us why a night out for many queer Kenyans is met with harassment. On the incident, they explain:. We were kissing until we noticed this man visibly ogling at us. Photography gay from Strictly Silk.

The club and nairobi of Kenyan queerness continues to be eclipsed by criminalisation. Furthermore, the Constitution of Kenya does not include night couples in the definition of marriage as marriage is defined as a union between two people of opposite genders. The banning of queer Kenyan films is not isolated.

While the law may not directly criminalise queer existence, the climate of queer censorship within the arts and cultural industries is a direct consequence of homophobic, colonial laws. Metamour, a term recently popularised by polymarous circles, is a word synonymous with community. It all began on a fateful day in June of Each room in the house was endowed with a unique vibe.

Dancing in resistance: queer nightlife in Nairobi

In another corner was a carefully curated Frank Ocean Room for people to mellow out in case they felt overwhelmed. The lights were dimmed and a projector played Frank Ocean music videos for the entirety of the evening. One of their frequent attendees is KIMa Kenyan model and creative.

KIM refers to Metamour as their extended home. Such positive reviews inspired Erica to keep curating events so that nights like Queerphoria could become the norm instead of the exception. Strictly Silk is an organ of the Nest Collective, a multi-award winning multidisciplinary collective living and working in Nairobi.

The Nest Collective started Strictly Silk in as part of a larger music project. At the time, they just released an album and recruited new DJs. They were inspired to start curating events by envisioning the types of gigs they would love to perform at Njeri Gitungo and Akati Khasiani created Strictly Silk to pave way for transformative spaces for non-binary folk, cis and trans women that are focused on joy and safety.