HOLLYWOOD, Calif.—This Thursday, Club Genderfuck comes to town. The new club night offers the transgender community an opportunity to socialize in upscale environment, something Tom Moore says has been missing in Hollywood since the beloved Peanuts nightclub closed.
“Peanuts was the last club that was really on this beam,” Moore said. “There really hasn’t been anything since.”
Club Genderfuck debuts Thursday, June 30, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. The venue is located at 6356 Ivar Ave., right on the corner of Hollywood and Ivar.
“Keep an eye out for the trans flag posted proudly out front that I had custom made for the club with the trans symbol on it. It's very nice,” Moore said.
Adult trans performer Morgan Bailey will host the opening of Club Genderfuck, and adult director Chi Chi LaRue will DJ on the opening night.
Though he’s a cis male, Moore is deeply engaged in the trans community. An adult performer, director and photographer, he has been in the industry since 1994, and he says he’s “performed and produced almost every kind of content there is.”
One of those genres is transsexual erotica. As Moore notes, “I was one of those early crossover guys.” He’s performed in TS content for many companies, including Devil’s Film, Evil Angel and White Ghetto.
Moore has been thinking about starting this club for the past couple years, and he has a vision for how Club Genderfuck will serve the community.
“So many of the clubs in the past have focused on specifically male-to-female trans. ... We are trying to appeal to all the trans community—female to male, the crossdressers. Being from the fetish community primarily myself, the lifestyle, I have a lot of friends who are more fetish cross dressers. Delilah Knotty, Sandra Gibbons—they do more fetish-based trans bondage types of modeling. So we’re trying to appeal to them as well," Moore said.
He added, “We want to be more inclusive. And especially to the female-to-male crowd as well, which frequently they don’t have anywhere to go. ... We definitely want to make an outreach to those communities.”
One smart move he’s made is to reach out to Kristel Penn from Grooby, who is a respected figure very much in evidence at Grooby’s big events, including the Transgender Erotica Awards. She will be a presence at the club as well, especially on nights when Moore can’t attend. “Having a nice girl like Kristel as well is great outreach—she has a lot of friends in the community.”
Originally Penn thought Grooby's involvement would be more behind the scenes, providing help with marketing, giveaways and the like. But then she learned that Morgan Bailey would be hosting Chi Chi LaRue would DJ, so when Moore approached her to take on a more hands-on role, Penn said, "I was thrilled to come on board. I then brought on my partner in crime at Grooby, Sparky Snakeden, to round out our team. It makes me really happy to see all of our unique personal and professional intersections coming together to bring this weekly event to fruition."
Moore also is delighted with the venue. “It took a while to find the right fit in a club group that is willing to put themselves on the line and offer the kind of club that I was willing to do this with. ... I love a neighborhood bar, but it’s not what I think this community needs and wants.
“It’s a very classy club... very up-to-date and ready to go,” he continued. The space just underwent a $250,000 remodel and has a restaurant attached. Moore explained that the front area of the club can handle almost 300 people. “And then if we hit that capacity we can open up a pair of doors ... so we can host over 700 if we want to.”
And he appreciates the club’s openness, which will extend to gender-neutral bathrooms. “They’re very open and considerate ... and are willing to be respectful to the community.”
Moore is looking to expand “beyond the drag show,” he says. He’s thinking about incorporating art exhibits and other forms of entertainment.
“I was just talking to Jamie French—her album is dropping in August. It’s all trans musicians. We’re going to try to get her to come out from Texas to do an all-trans show for us,” Moore said.
Club Genderfuck is in the same building as Club Hell, which was on Wednesday nights, and Moore hopes to incorporate some of the spirit of that club night as well. “It was a fetish-oriented club but they did have a broad appeal, because they supported different communities, one of them being local fetish-based artists, so that is something I want to try. I think it brings up the level of the clientele and brings in other people who would not come otherwise.”
Moore said Chi Chi La Rue may be coming in as often as once a month. And he’s thrilled to have Morgan Bailey on board, whom he has “known and loved for a very long time. She’s outgoing, positive, professional. ... She is going to be one of our regular hosts ... probably twice a month.”
Going forward, Moore said, “We’re going to try to use some performer DJs to raise the profile—they’re also pretty good at promoting themselves, which I like.” The first one he’s booked is adult performer Van Wylde and his brother, who will DJ the second week.
For more information, email here.
