---
title: "Trash Your Gender & A note to Georgia"
authors: ["nikomas.md"]

---

# Trash Your Gender

“Trash Your Gender: Electronic” (12.05.18) was the third instalment of a series of events run with the intention of providing a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community to celebrate and dance. This time, the event was run after the Pride Parade in the North of Cyprus, and acted as the after party, hosted at “1984”.

Many people came, the small place was full up until the close. People were dressing freely, and there were even clothes provided for people to have full access to express themselves; it was a wonderfully queer affair. The DJs were locals from both North and South, and they played well, the selection was varied across the night, sometimes more psychedelic, sometimes more minimal, but consistent in vibe.

ɢᴀʀᴏꜱᴇ came on stage at 2am and treated the room to some deep techno until the end. At some point in the following days, while reflecting on the night, someone said something which struck me as interesting:

> How often do people, worldwide, cross into “another country” to party? Furthermore, how often does a marginalised community go to somewhere where they are generally more marginalised, in order to access a space where they are more free in expressing themselves. There’s some irony within that inversion.

For what it was, running Trash Your Gender was defiant, and due to the actively political nature of Pride and the after party, the event was a reminder of the cultural and social values that made underground electronic music what it was. The warehouses in which Jeff Mills and Frankie Knuckles played in Detroit, Chicago, were spaces dedicated to providing somewhere for marginalised communities to dance and have fun. It was in these political arenas where the ethos behind rave culture fused with the music itself. It is this aspect which many critics suggest is missing today in many clubs and scenes worldwide.

# A Note to Georgia

As an end note, i hope to extend a ray of Cypriot sunshine to Tsibili and the Georgian techno scene. The horrific images of what happened are reminiscent of personal nightmares that we all share in the global dance music network. The thousand-strong response, just a day later, was contrarily, one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen; to see so many turn out in such a way was inspiring, and many of us here in Cyprus are so proud to call the ravers of Georgia our family.
