Club Church

About

Church has been Amsterdam's main cruise club since 2008, on the Kerkstraat a few doors from the Spijker. It runs more than fifteen different themed parties covering a wide spread of fetishes, and the club is deliberate about not being only a gay men's space: it hosts a drag family, trans people, BDSM nights and straight guests alongside the regular crowd.

The layout is built for what happens there. Five private cabins, two of them with slings, and two more slings in public space. A large darkroom, also with a sling. A five-man glory hole wall. Four toilet cabins fitted with douche taps, and two free showers. Condoms and water-based lube are stocked throughout the club, and the coat check is guarded rather than a locker wall.

The club is loud about the politics of the thing, campaigning on HIV and stigma, PrEP, drug education, gender acceptance and sex workers' visibility. It puts its own case simply: in the age of Grindr, people still need somewhere uncensored to meet in person.