Lick My Legacy: Are Women-Identified Spaces Still Needed to Nurture Women-Identified DJs?

Abstract

This article documents Lick Club; a Vancouver, BC lesbian bar that operated from 2003 until 2011, employing predominantly female (as well as trans and non-binary) DJs. Specifically, this study examines the effects of Lick’s physical space on the careers of those DJs in the region, focusing on the queer DJ network that evolved from the club. The author bases her findings on qualitative data generated from interviews with key players in Lick’s localized DJ network. The interviewees describe how their participation in Lick provided them with access to mentors, DJ equipment and performance opportunities that proved to be integral to their development as professional DJs. This research corroborates other studies of female DJs in the USA (Farrugia 2004, 2012) and Europe (Gavanas and Reitsamer 2013, 2016) that demonstrate how mentors are of acute importance in fostering the careers of female and non-binary DJs. This study concludes that, although female and non-binary DJs are becoming more common in Canadian nightclubs and festivals, networks such as the one fostered by Lick are still significant to the careers of DJs whose identities do not afford them access to the “boys’ club(s)”.