Luciano referenced Wallis’ video, pointing out that they no longer felt safe at Centro. “It’s something that’s so fetishized in Miami during the day, and then at night you have to be this hypersexualized version of yourself if you’re feminine presenting.” “It’s not that I’m showing less skin, it’s that I’m wearing pants instead of a skirt,” said Luciano. “Other girls go with spaghetti straps out, sleeveless dresses and bikini tops, and they’re let in.”įor Luciano, Ladies Night seemed hypocritical and deceiving. “I was wearing these baggy black army pants, a sleeveless shirt and boots… but I was wearing ‘hip-hop attire,’ to quote the bouncer,” said Luciano. Luciano said they were denied access, and blamed for their attire. The queer Miami native recalled the last time they attended the club in 2019.
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The club serves free drinks and free entry for women every Thursday from 9 p.m. Luciano used to spend Ladies Nights at Centro. “Such a ‘knowledge gap’ between the accounts of victims and the law enforcement agencies tasked with protecting them is problematic,” was reported in the study. “I think the incident had to do with a comfortableness that these masculine bouncers get from knowing the police would back them up, knowing that are LGBTQ+ people,” said Luciano.īesiki Luka Kutateladze, an FIU professor of criminology conducted a study in 2018 which explored LGBTQ+ hate crimes in Miami-Dade County. Krystal Luciano, 26, an FIU senior studying english, expressed concern about the situation. “Even teenagers were let inside after paying the bouncers.”
“The police just stood there and did nothing,” Wallis told PantherNOW. In Wallis’ case, he claimed police ignored the situation. “ is just a hectic place where the rules are suspended all the time.”Ī Rey wears makeup facial hair at The Corner, a Miami cocktail bar on Feb. So I rush through the streets… and hang out in a group,” said Rey. “On Ladies Night, women are encouraged to go home and drink. She explained she often feels targeted, as a queer person assigned female at birth. Rey has felt this fear while driving downtown as a host for Pedal Pub, a party bike company in Wynwood. “You just have to be very high precaution for a visibly queer person to be walking around Wynwood at night.” “When you see me with a makeup mustache, I do go out and dress up in ways that are a little bit more subversive like as a joke, prank or gender bender,” said Rey. “The level of discrimination, humiliation, unkindness and unprofessionalism by these people is absolutely absurd.”Ī Rey, 23, a queer Cuban and FIU graduate student studying history and philosophy, says these events are nothing new. “Wynwood has gone to shit from what it used to be,” said Wallis in the video. However, many shared their own incidents as victims of homophobia, and sexist microaggressions. Within a week, Wallis’ Instagram post flooded with over 200 comments of condolences, support and backlash. “Hopefully those kinds of protections will signal to them that their actions will have consequences… in terms of their ability to be employed.” “The laws don’t change the climate, they just protect us,” said Gonzales. Orlando Gonzales, executive director of Safeguarding American Values for Everyone (SAVE), an LGBTQ+ South Florida nonprofit, hopes to expand protections for transgender and gender-nonconforming people. This also applies to Miami-Dade County’s hate crime protections. “This was for sure driven by homophobia, or a gendered microaggression,” Wallis told PantherNOW.įlorida’s hate crime act protects those discriminated against due to sexual orientation, but does not protect gender identity or expression, according to state statutes. The club’s event site Discotech notes the attire is “casual,” which is not explicitly detailed online. The upbeat hotspot blends reggaeton and hip hop vibes, featuring local DJ’s Thursdays through Sundays. Contributed by Felipe Wallis.Ĭentro nightclub is known to bring “the best nightlife experience in South Florida,” according to their website. Felipe Wallis poses in exact outfit worn when denied at Centro Wynwood nightclub.