Mel Gordon - Voluptuous Panic - The Erotic World of Weimar Berlin

Clientele:Very selective. Usually no more than 60 customers at any one time. Favorite hangout for lesbian artists, intellectuals, singers, stage actresses, and film stars. Lesbians working for Max Reinhardt’s theatre organizations often stage birthday celebrations here.

Decor:Blacked-out picture windows. A relatively small room but decorated stylishly with a traffic light flashing red over the dance floor. Deep comfortable chairs in the corners and erotic lesbian paintings (donated by wealthy patrons) hanging on the walls.

Entertainment:Both hot jazz and sentimental love songs performed by professional male pianist. Crowd frequently shows its appreciation by clapping in time to the music. Also visiting opera stars or Russian actresses will be encouraged to sing arias or specialty lesbian songs in their own tongue.

Men:Not admitted unless accompanied by a lesbian habitué. Even with invitation, males are quickly disregarded by women after formal introductions.

Unusual:Mali, one of the owners, is a beautiful Jewish Garçonne -type who insists on dancing with each of her female clientele. Ingel, her partner, is a vivacious Gamine . Together they create an aristocratically refined if outrageously promiscuous mood.

Area:WILMERSDORF. South of the Kurfürstendamm. Adjacent to Berlin publishing conglomerates.

Atmosphere:Serious, intellectual. Moody.

Clientele:Regular crowd of famous journalists, novelists, graphic artists, and businesswomen. Mostly Dodos and their saucy Garçonne companions. Also unattached Sharpers at the bar.

Decor:Immaculate bar-counter. Ten tables set with linen and flowers.

Entertainment:Phonograph plays sentimental tangos.

Men:None.

Unusual:A pick-up joint for high-achieving lesbians. Except for plucking a cat’s hair from a stranger’s blouse or brushing a thigh, little overt physical contact. Lots of heavy shop-talk and networking here, capped off with a serious glass of Calvados or imported rum.

Area:BERLIN NORTH. “Two minutes from ALEXANDERPLATZ.”

Atmosphere:Extremely downscale except on Saturday and Sunday nights. Crude. Beery smell. An aura of frustration and menacing sadism. Sign on the door warns that the bar is closed for a “PRIVATE PARTY.”

Newspaper promotion: “WHERE TO MEET LESBIANS? WHERE IS IT SEXY? HERE AT THE TAVERNE!”

Clientele:Elderly, burly Bubis usually in singles or doubles. Troublesome, flirtatious Mädis .

Decor:Disgusting. Outer foyer looks like the waiting room of an abandoned train station. Main parlor consists of distressed furniture, an orchestra platform, and a ladies’ bathroom.

Entertainment:Very loud, overpowering jazz band, led by the one-eyed “could be a woman/could be a man” Charly. Hefty blonde chanteuse, Gerda sings current hits.

Men:None.

Unusual:Public necking and general bad behavior—humping displays by exuberant Bubis (pointing to bulging objects in their pants), jeers and Biergarten challenges brought on by inebriation, frequent attempts to cop feels from the preening Mädis , and related boorish activity. Like rutting moose, some aggressive Bubis are easily provoked from symbolic fisticuffs into real physical combat.

Area:BERLIN WEST. Near NOLLENDORFPLATZ.

Atmosphere:Dangerous, fun, sexy. Bohemian. Normally packed and difficult to get in on Friday nights. Regarded as a lesbian “Show-Bar” or “Stock Exchange,” it is an excellent place for female encounters.

Clientele:Lesbian groups, top-of-the-line actresses (entering after shows), singers, famous dancers, foreign tourists, Gougnettes , Hot Whores, unusually striking young Garçonnes , straight males in search of whipping and bondage sessions, curious married couples, S&M prostitutes.

Decor:The main room itself is surprisingly unattractive and filled with beer-hall tables and dim lights. Hanging from the ceiling are paper garlands of herons. Scribbled on the walls is phony graffiti, like a message of personal congratulations to the Ladies Club Pyramid from Mussolini. There is also a proscenium stage with ten holes cut in the fore-curtains for the late evening revue of the “Prettiest Female Calves,” knees, ankles, or feet.

More elegant space at the back of the club decorated with erotic murals and cutouts of entertainers and the hostess Gypsy-Lotte.

Entertainment:A lively four-piece brass band and—for one year—a cabaret show. Lesbian games, line dances, and contests are held through the night.

Especially popular is the ritual dance, the Black Mass, executed exactly at twelve o’clock. Led by a stunning Amazon in a black sombrero, the lesbian participants (holding full cognac glasses) form a circle around her as they obey her strict commands to kneel, stand, drink and fondle a fellow celebrant.

Men:Straight men are especially welcome—since they are reputed to be the premier drinkers and spenders. During the day, many are handed risqué flyers, asking them to participate in the selection for the “Most Attractive Female Legs” competition or “Best Breasts in Berlin” (of any sex) contest.

Unusual: Gougnettes , glamorous Half-Silks, and Dominas do a thriving heterosexual trade here, discussing their skills and negotiating fees for next-day sessions. Reserved tables of foreigners and formally-clothed married couples at the back of house are particularly welcome draws for these professional ladies. (Police reports claim that on weekdays close to 50% of the female spectators are actually high-end sex-workers.)

Area:BERLIN WEST. East of WITTENBERG PLATZ.

Atmosphere:Usually pleasant and chic in the early evening but erotic mood often turns tense with outrageous public scenes of lesbian courtship. Berlin Vice Police sometimes harass Verona patrons by monitoring their entrances and exits.

Clientele:Despite being advertised as “the ‘Love Domicile’ for All Girl-Friends,” the Verona is considered an afterhours headquarters for dominant Gougnettes . Also “serious” lesbians meet here, demonstrating intellectual support for their radical Sisters. Interested straight women and voyeuristic male artists.

Entertainment:Lesbian orchestra conducted by comic MC Harylett. Hot cheek-to-cheek tangos and contemporary social dancing.