The SSO A-Z guide to queer Sydney

A is for:

Arq Dudes, drag (kings and queens), DJs and Divas. Supermodels may well prefer Super-clubs, as evidenced by the number of shirtless gods hogging the dancefloor at Arq, often accompanied by their beautiful girl friends. Occasionally derided for attracting a straight crowd, Arq is still the best place in town to check out local and visiting international divas. And it’s the only place to dance in a big, messy room full of detergent at the semi-regular Fomo parties (BYO swimmers).

Clubs come and clubs go, but Arq’s Saturday nights power on, probably because of the original point of this piece: the model-like punters. They have been an irresistible force for some time, as noted by the Star‘s David Mills before Arq’s third birthday in 2003. The DJs and the dudes exert a powerful gravitational pull on Arq patrons, bringing them back time and time again, he wrote.

Anal bleaching Once believed to be just a myth, the quest for a lighter, brighter and cleaner-looking anus is actually on the wish-list of a growing number of gay men (and Hollywood celebrities, if the rumours are true). In Sydney, it costs about $600 for four treatments -“ the recommended minimum -“ and then the would-be lighter-arsed customer takes a special cream home to finish the job.

When the Star‘s Myles Wearring broke the story of gay men taking up anal bleaching a couple of months ago, the main problem he faced was coming up with a suitable headline: All white on the night was tossed around, as was Colour my anus and Brighten your smile, before he settled on the safer The bottom line. The most obvious question is: why? As Hairstop’s beautician Wendy Gilbert-Grey says, It’s often the darkest part of the body. It’s nice to see that part of the body looking clean.