Poof Doof is a popular gay circuit party in Melbourne that bills itself “a gay club for homos” and “Melbourne’s favorite gay rave.” It also hosts pop up events in other Australian cities, including Perth and Sydney.
Now, organizers are scrambling to do damage control after a damning internal document leaked on social media.
The document is a photography brief that features strict guidelines on which types of people should be photographed at Poof Doof parties and which types of people are, shall we say, undesirable.
Related: Sex club under fire for charging vastly different admission prices for “tops” and “bottoms”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“Boys,” the document reads. “Poof Doof is a gay club for homos. No one here is to see girls. Ever.”
Another instruction says: “Boys with Muscles. Big Ones.”
And: “Drag Queens. But ONLY the BEST. And never more than 3-4. And once they’ve had their photo taken once, that’s it. Forever.”
In regards to undesirables, the list includes:
- “Messy Boys. Anyone who looks like they’ve packed down a 10-pack, is OUT.”
- “Skinny boys in burgundy tshirts and chinos. They are a dime a dozen. There is nothing interesting nor cool about them.”
- “Indi boys. They are not Power Poof worthy unless they are BREATHTAKINGLY good looking or epically stylish.”
- “Boys with Bad Skin.”
Susie Robinson, Poof Doof’s general manager, tells Gay Star News the leaked brief is seven years old and is not reflective of the brand today.
“We’re not shying away from the fact we did write, but it has been taken out of context,” she says. “It was written so long ago, it’s not something we circulate now.”
Related: Violet Chachki ‘physically dragged’ out of Paris sex club for being too femme
Robinson adds that organizers are “distressed” by the leak, but says “no brand is squeaky clean and perfect.”
“We have changed over the years,” she insists.
And while this may be true, a quick visit to Poof Doof’s Instagram page shows the vast majority of photos feature cisgender “boys with muscles”, a few drag queens, and hardly anyone else.
Robinson claims the document was leaked by an angry photographer who had recently been let go and was acting in “retaliation.”
She says Poof Doof has since updated its photography policy, though she could not confirm when the update happened or provide the new photography brief in writing, saying the instructions were all “verbal.”
Related: A gay club denied this hottie entry because he went out in high heels
“A verbal change of brief like, ‘you’re here at the club to take photos, take photos of everyone’,” she says.
To its credit, Poof Doof has taken to Facebook apologizing for the brief and asking people how it could become a more inclusive party.
iamru2
Releasing my pearls as I type and recover from the shock that a company has ( ridiculous) guidelines in its advertising specs!
Vince
This has been going on since forever. Gay clubs and websites will only showcase the young hotties.
Pot calls the kettle black eh Queerty.
GayMafiaKingpin
LOL. So true.
caliboy17
Racist.
TheMarc
So true, Vince!
Josh447
Yikes, that’s the best they have to offer? Next!
caliboy17
Whatever happened to the kind and nurturing gay bars?
crowebobby
I lived in LA very briefly in 1983. Gay bars were friendly to mature men because they thought anyone might be a film producer or director. SF still had the tree-house mentality where the wrong color socks could get you serious side-eye.
WSnyder
We all enjoy seeing people and companies hoisted on their own petard don’t we? The laugh gets better when they spin their damage control and usually [like here] makes things so much worse. Everyone is too blame, obsessing over youth and beauty, ostracizing age and average. Social media and even on-line news does this to no end. Sensational Headlines and pics over everyday News.
kcXanadu
I don’t have a problem with the no girls rule. I rarely go out but when I do it’s to be with my own. I specifically go out to be around gay people. I pay an expensive cover as well. I am not paying to have to be nice to the girl that wants to talk about how accepting she is, and then expects me to compliment her all night on what a good person she is. I know it sounds bad. I’m well aware of it. However, I would be lying if I said I enjoyed a bunch of women in the club. I don’t mind a few but I do want it to be capped. If I want a diverse crowd I’ll go to a diverse club. Those are the clubs I usually choose, but when I want a GAY gay club then that’s what I want. I want to be with my people sometimes. Asains are notorious for this same mindset and we say nothing about it when they want to get their Asian on. Even Margaret Cho talks about needing to be with her people every now and then. Now to ban any gay person that wants to come is a big no no. That’s just bad.
BloodyMary
But what about gay women… don’t they class as ‘your people’?
Wicked Dickie
You started out with the “no women in gay men clubs”, which is fine, but then you veered into the “no diversity, please”. I take it that’s the code word for white guys only? Especially when you went on and on about Asians.
gymmuscleboy
@Wicked Dickie People don’t complain when non-white races create exclusive spaces for their own kind. Isn’t that just as wrong?
redzebra1
Female patrons ARE allowed in PD, we’re not talking about the Laird Hotel here. The point is they’re stereotyping for ‘marketing’ purposes and that it filters down to the mindset & behaviour of staff, patrons, etc. Their motto is “A Gay club for Homos”. Not “everyone”
seaprime
I am surprised there isn’t more outrage about the woman harassing the patron getting a pedicure in Lynnwood Washington – I am from Seattle and feel very much ashamed that someone like that lives in our liberal area of the world. Who is her employer – I hope someone steps forward and tells us more about her
surreal33
Why does gay media and the gay community act if this behavior is shocking?
This standard operating procedure. Gay media, gay community, is ALL phony and shallow.
prarie pup
Agreed–that’s why, for the most part, I ignore it. Who needs all that childish, superficial pettiness? All it takes to be “famous” in the gay community is a hot bod and a pretty face. He could be a horrible person–and dumb as a stump in the bargain–but if he’s hot, he’s in.
Don’t get me wrong; the straight community does it too, (Exhibit A: any one of the Khardashian sisters) but we take it to the much higher level.
frankcar1965
Yes it is, and don’t look for it to change either. Besides, it’s THEIR thing and maybe go make your own party and include whomever you want. It sounds as if someone is jealous that they don’t fit in, that’s until they actually get in and then want to do the same to everyone else! That’s gay for you, don’t look for it to change.
Wicked Dickie
I’m shocked that they have a black guy on one of their covers.
Kangol
There’s often a token or two.
[email protected]
What a grossly misleading headline. No one has been banned. RIP your journalistic integrity, Graham.
Black Pegasus
I’m surprised there wasn’t a bullet point banning certain racial groups. Maybe it’s an unspoken/unwritten rule.
DHT
what do you think “indi boys” are?
Polaro
They weren’t banned, they just didn’t photograph them unless they were hot. Hmmm, not really racist now is it?
Catholicslutbox
indi=indigenous=black
…and they basically were banned/blocked.
gymmuscleboy
I am not white and I demand that this club find me attractive!
Polaro
LOL, I thought the scandal was who they were letting into the party – which is apparently anyone. Whom they chose to photograph is not a big deal. Reality calling.
[email protected]
Amen sis
prarie pup
If you don’t understand why such insulting, juvenile behavior is a problem it would be a waste of time to explain how offensive it is. If the flyer said, “Only take pictures of black guys and nobody else” you’d see why it is a “big deal.”
gymmuscleboy
@prarie pup I wouldn’t be offended. Who complains when the focus is exclusively on black culture? It doesn’t happen. If it’s not your cup of tea, you go elsewhere. In mainstream culture, you see music videos with a large cast of all black people all the time. People only complain when the focus is on white culture.
djmcgamester
So they’re having a party for gay men. Shocking that women aren’t wanted. They want hot guys. OMG, the world is going to end! Who cares? Clubs in general have done this sort of thing for ages. But, as others have pointed out, this is in reference to photographs not entry.
redzebra1
It affects the behaviour and atmosphere inside, that’s the point.
MarathonBoy
You go to an event which promotes promiscuity, expect to be judged like a piece of meat from the get-go. You don’t get to demand kindness and understanding and equality in the context of a soulless meat market.
BTW, notice that this same event also promotes cross-dressing and refers to gay men as “poofs” and “homos.” Promiscuity, gender deviance, and self-degradation are the pillars of the pathological subculture created by urban gay men in the 1970s, the legacy of which we live with today. The sooner this subculture withers and dies, the better all gay and bi men will be.
Vince
I remember you. Danny595. Still as bitter and toxic as ever.
ShowMeGuy
It is called **Marketing**.
Unclench your buttholes……they were letting everyone into the party.
Catholicslutbox
It’s more an issue of how it is all laid out. “Hot guys only” would’ve been enough, but it basically translates to “Hot guys only- no fems, fats, or blacks”
redzebra1
The mentality is reflected by the promoters and many patrons, I know from personal experience. That’s why I don’t go there. The leak of this brief should not have to be necessary to force them to drop this garbage.
olfwob
“Queerty” isn`t showing under “instastuds” Joe the plummer typ of guys too or did i miss this kind of pictures? ?
QueerTruth
Are people really expecting circuit party political correctness?
Honestly. Who cares? The advertising is intended to shock us. (Eye roll.) It’s just lowbrow marketing.
yaletownman
When I came out in my 20’s I was excited because I had such high expectations from what the gay world was like especially the gay male world. I was expecting something classy, dignified and sensitive. Was I wrong.
What has been most fascinating is to hear people ridicule and hold up others to standards that they themselves don’t even meet. That said, even if one does meet these standards there is nothing classy about ridiculing and trying to ostracize those they feel do not. An ugly attitude and outlook can make the best looking, best dressed guy in the world unattractive in my book. There is nothing classier and sexier than a person that is comfortable and accepting of others.
I’ve been to my share of the type of events this article is about and unfortunately this is the norm. It’s also why I eventually stopped going because my heart felt like it had to die so that my ego could have fun and what I thought was fun was anything but.
I have found compassion in that I’ve learned that people who do subscribe to this mindset don’t usually think well of themselves. They believe that if somehow they can be part of an elite group like this party strives for they might be ok. What they end up finding is that the more elite and segregating a group is the more lonely it is. The drugs help mask that for a while but eventually if they don’t kill them they might just wake up to the fact that it’s not in our clear skin and our muscles where we find our value and when we discover that we can really start seeing that the real party is everywhere.
frankcar1965
Wow what a diatribe! You said it yourself, just don’t go and stop whining because some people are snots. Make your own party and invite everybody! Stop whining about something you have no control. Move on from these types, don’t waste a thought on them.
Ashke113
Meanwhile people act like this is something new, like no one has ever heard the tag line “no fats, no fems etc”. Any homo who acts shocked that this is happening should take acting classes because Hellen Keller can tell you’re a damn liar. We invented the “Shame ’em To Death” tag lines for everything from a simple hello to a brutal hell no……we’re the wrst type of people in the world when it comes to acceptance yet we demand everyone accept us……fickle fags go figure.