So, uh, there were some back rooms, but, um, it was not that much of, like, you know, sex party and …
LA: It was more a space of liberation and freedom.
HS: Yeah, and they really have this very conscious, um, approach, as I said, to consent, for example. For example, when people entered, they were to select a bracelet. It was, like, red, yellow, or green. So, basically, if you’re interested in any kind of interaction, it’s green. If you’re, like, doubting, it’s yellow. If it’s- if you s- just, like, came to explore, um, without any contact, it’s red.
There was a big festival, um, called [inaudible 00:27:18], uh, that is, like, um, happening, uh, every year. This year, they had this festival, and, um, they usually, like, during the festivals, they always gather a lot of money for, uh, for the army, and to buy things for the army. So, it’s like, somehow, it’s, uh, even like if the places where people have the most fun and they’re the most chill, it’s still this conscious of war going on is still very present.
Whenever I go to these raves, I always make a point of trying to talk to the bartenders because they see it all. They see, like, you know, the aggression, the … you know, at every party, there’s this one asshole that will try-
LA: There is always that one asshole. Always.
HS: [laughs] That- there’s always that one asshole who’s, like, at the bar, trying to make the rounds, like, you know, hitting on girls, being absolutely just his most horrendous self. You just don’t have that at these raves.
I actually talked to a bartender, I think it was at a certain festival, uh, last summer where I actually asked, like, “So, you know, how’s it going? You know, you have probably having a busy night.” And he was like, “I love these nights because everyone’s so friendly.”
LA: We’re taking a break for the next couple weeks and we’ll be back on January 11th with a brand new episode. While we’re away, we’re revisiting one of my favorite episodes, with best friends Nicole Byer and Sasheer Zamata. We’ll also be dropping into your feed an episode from The New Yorker‘s smash hit podcast, Critics at Large, about Brittney Spears’ new memoir. And we’re working on an upcoming show about traveling for art obsessions.
If you have a story you can share with us about a trip to experience something you are truly obsessive about, DM us on Instagram @WomenWhoTravel or shoot us an email at [email protected]. See you in the new year.
I’m Lale Arikoglu, and you can find me on Instagram @LaleHannah. Our engineers are Jake Lummus and Gabe Quiroga. The show’s mixed by Amal Lal. Jude Kampfner from Corporation for Independent Media is our producer.
