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Club My-O-My

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Coordinates: 30°01′10″N 90°07′24″W / 30.0195°N 90.1233°W / 30.0195; -90.1233
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Wonder Bar
Map
Address125 Decatur Street
New Orleans, Louisiana
Coordinates29°57′09″N 90°04′00″W / 29.9526°N 90.0668°W / 29.9526; -90.0668
OwnerEmile Morlet
TypeNightclub
Genre(s)Female impersonation
Opened1933
Closed1936
Club My-O-My
Map
Former namesWonder Club
Address1744 Lake Avenue
Metairie, Louisiana
Coordinates30°01′10″N 90°07′24″W / 30.0195°N 90.1233°W / 30.0195; -90.1233
OwnerPat Waters
TypeNightclub
Genre(s)Female impersonation
Construction
Opened1936
ClosedJanuary 17, 1972
Rebuilt1948

Club My-O-My was a former nightclub in the New Orleans area that employed female impersonators as entertainers. Its predecessors were the Wonder Bar, and the Wonder Club.

History

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Wonder Bar

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In 1933, a predecessor to Club My-O-My, the Wonder Bar, opened up with underground drag shows.[1] The Wonder Bar was located in the French Quarter at 125 Decatur Street.[1]

In 1936, the Wonder Bar was raided by police. Owner Emile Morlet requested an injunction in court, but was denied on grounds that the club was a menace to morality.[2]

Wonder Club

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In 1936, after the police raid of the Wonder Bar, it was moved to Jefferson Parish, outside police jurisdiction, and reopened as the Wonder Club.[1]

Club My-O-My

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In the late 1940's, the Wonder Club was renamed to Club My-O-My.[1] The name Club My-O-My was in use as early as October 1947, when it appeared in Billboard magazine.[3]

On May 4, 1948, Club My-O-My was badly damaged by a fire, but was rebuilt shortly thereafter.[4][5]

Club My-O-My had a sheriff assigned to keep watch at the front door for any issues. If there were issues, entertainers would deny any accusations.[6]

On January 17, 1972, Club My-O-My was destroyed by a second fire.[4][5]

Demographics

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In 1972, Esther Newton listed Club My-O-My as being in the top four largest tourist clubs for female impersonation.[7] The list included Club 82, Club My-O-My, Finocchio's Club, and the Jewel Box Lounge.[7] She described a tourist club as one specializing exclusively in female impersonation performances, rather than acting primarily as a gay bar with only occasional performances.[7]

One source says that Club My-O-My catered to a white audience, both heterosexuals and homosexuals, and was popular with tourists.[1] Another source characterizes club-goers as mainly middle-class white heterosexuals and tourists.[8]

Culture

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Kate Marlowe (born Kenneth Marlowe) worked as a female impersonator at Club My-O-My in the 1960's, and describes the close bond of the entertainers there:[6]

All the cast was really a club. We got thicker than thieves. We had potlucks together. We had orgies together. We went to the beach together. All of us were always together. I found that when you worked at the My-O-My you were part of the clique.

Sex work

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Marlowe describes Club My-O-My's culture of entertainers mixing with guests and hustling tables:[6]

We hustled drinks again here. I wasn't new at this game. I thought I wrote most of the rules, but here it was a bit different. For one thing we worked together, sometimes in larger groups, but most of the time in pairs. If you were at a table you called to another "entertainer" to join the "party". It took only a couple of nights to learn they did all the tricks of Calumet City and a few new ones.

Customers purchased overpriced drinks, photos of female impersonators in drag, or other small items.[6] In some cases they paid to see or touch entertainers.[6] If customers paid enough, they could arrange for sex with an entertainer. Sex between customers and female impersonators occurred primarily in the apartments of the female impersonators, who lived near one another in the French Quarter.[9] Away from work, entertainers from Club My-O-My also cruised the French Quarter for tourists, to turn tricks.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Club My-O-My Pamphlet: 2015.0049". The Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly. Vol. XXXIII, no. 2. New Orleans, LA: The Historic New Orleans Collection. Spring 2016. pp. 23–24.
  2. ^ Springate, Megan E.; Crawford-Lackey, Katherine, eds. (2020). Identities and place : changing labels and intersectional communities of LGBTQ and two-spirit people in the United States. New York: Berghahn Books. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-78920-480-3. OCLC 1128887550.
  3. ^ "Ringling-Barnum". The Billboard: The World's Foremost Amusement Weekly. Vol. 59, no. 42. Brighton, OH: Bill and Roger Littleford. October 25, 1947. p. 53.
  4. ^ a b Springate, Megan E.; Crawford-Lackey, Katherine, eds. (2020). Identities and place : changing labels and intersectional communities of LGBTQ and two-spirit people in the United States. New York: Berghahn Books. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-78920-480-3. OCLC 1128887550.
  5. ^ a b Takach, Michail; Daniels, B. J. (2022). A History of Milwaukee Drag: Seven Generations of Glamor. History Press. p. 66. ISBN 9781467149174.
  6. ^ a b c d e Marlowe, Kenneth (1964). Mr. Madam: Confessions of a Male Madam. Los Angeles, CA: Sherbourne Press. pp. 98–99. ISBN 9781127031740.
  7. ^ a b c Newton, Esther (1972). "The Fast Fuck and the Quick Buck". Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. p. 117. ISBN 9780226577609.
  8. ^ Delery, Clayton (2017). Out for Queer Blood: The Murder of Fernando Rios and the Failure of New Orleans Justice. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 49–51. ISBN 9781476668840.
  9. ^ a b Friedman, Mack (2003). Strapped for Cash: A History of American Hustler Culture. Los Angeles, CA: Alyson Books. p. 127. ISBN 9781555837310.
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