Deputy Editor Ilaria Riccio evaluates how OutHouse’s prime sapphic event epitomises the ongoing battle to ensure queer spaces are accessible to everyone.
The sapphic community is a subset of the LGBTQ+ community that continues to face obstacles with regards to safety and overall inclusivity. Ongoing issues include the constant invalidation of bisexual women and the fetishisation of lesbians, without forgetting the ongoing debates on whether non-binary individuals can use sapphic terms to describe their sexual orientation. Relatedly, finding an environment where sapphic people can freely live their identities remains an aspect the queer community needs tackling.
For this reason, I was extremely pleased when I discovered that Dublin-based LGBTQ+ organisation OutHouse has been regularly hosting “Sapphic Socials.” Every Friday between 6:30 and 8:30 PM, OutHouse’s Capel Street Headquarters turns into a rendez-vous space for the Dublin sapphic community, offering an alternative to the traditional nightlife scene - with coffee and a quieter environment replacing bars and nightclubs. As a sapphic woman who recently started to be open about her identity, I was particularly looking forward to attending this event and interacting with other members of the community.
Or I was until I stood in front of the Capel Street building that houses OutHouse.
I was supposed to attend this event with UCDSU Welfare Officer Jill Nelis, who is a wheelchair user. As soon as we arrived on Capel Street, we were disappointed to realise that the OutHouse headquarters are in a three-storey building with a step entrance; there was no ramp in sight for Nelis to use, meaning that she could not access the building and participate in the event.
This occurrence is, unfortunately, quite common for disabled members of the queer community. Indeed, speaking to the University Observer, Nelis said, “one thing you should remember when constructing queer spaces and hosting queer events is that statistically, over a third of queer people are disabled - be that mobility-wise or in general. [...] If you have a number of disabled people who are going to attend your events, and you are aware of a statistical leniency, you really should accommodate and not make it difficult for those people to access your events. You can’t say that you are open to everyone and be so clearly not accessible for everyone.”
OutHouse advertises themselves as a “space for everyone”; however, I had to scour the organisation’s website to find information about the accessibility of their headquarters. It was bittersweet to realise that the organisation is aware of their accessibility issues; nevertheless, it appeared that they put the responsibility on the disabled person to inform themselves beforehand on whether they can access the building. OutHouse’s 2023-2028 Strategic Plan, which can be found on their website, expresses the organisation’s commitment to tackling the structural and architectural problems that render their Capel Street headquarters practically inaccessible to wheelchair users.
It was bittersweet to realise that the organisation is aware of their accessibility issues; nevertheless, it appeared that they put the responsibility on the disabled person to inform themselves beforehand on whether they can access the building.
Unfortunately, OutHouse’s lack of transparency regarding accessibility is not an isolated example, but reflects the struggle of the sapphic community - and the LGBTQ+ community more broadly - to ensure all its members can feel equally included - especially disabled people.