Shakespeare’s enamored Juliet claimed that a rose by any other name would smell as good. According to the respondents to our annual readers poll, a lesbian bar without a permanent address is still the best gay bar in Arkansas.
In LGBTQ+ circles, the phrase “hairpinsis” refers to a new member of the community who is gay. Just one year ago, Whitney Butler and Victoria Capek founded a series of pop-up events for queer women in Central Arkansas, including lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people, and nonbinary people. These events have included karaoke at the popular dive bar White Water Tavern, dance nights at the tango hotspot Club 27, and daytime hangouts at queer-owned restaurants like Ciao Baci and El Sur. Caverns & Forests, a board game cafe in the Argenta neighborhood of North Little Rock, will hold an all-ages gaming afternoon on July 13 hosted by Hairpins.
After working in public relations for the film business in Los Angeles (on films like Knives Out, no less), Butler returned to her home state of Arkansas and now works as a graphic designer for an Arkansas cannabis grower. Capek, a former reporter and broadcaster for KATV, is the manager of development and communications for The Venture Center, an incubator for entrepreneurs located in Tech Park in Little Rock. The first time I saw Capek, she was causing a stir on my TikTok feed due to her prominence as an openly gay news anchor and her academic understanding of Taylor Swift’s catalog. Her book about literary intersections in Swift’s work is coming out in September.
After visiting Cubbyhole, a well-known lesbian club in New York City’s Greenwich Village, the pair, who were married in May, came up with the concept for Hairpins. As stated on the Hairpins website, they dreamed up something different—a place where queer women, transgender, and non-binary people could let their hair down and find each other—because they were craving something more sapphic-centered than the sporadic, seizure-inducing club night for queer women at one of the city’s many gay bars. They decided that the expression “dropping hairpins,” which describes how LGBT people have used cultural cues to locate one another, especially during the Stonewall demonstrations, would serve as the inspiration for the name. After discussing the idea with a few pals, Capek and Butler had a location for a Hairpins debut: the storied White Water Tavern, even before they had departed New York City for Little Rock.
It’s hardly surprising that news of a lesbian-focused event in Little Rock spread quickly. The loss of lesbian bars (R.I.P., The Aquarium and U.B.U., two establishments at 824 W. Capitol Ave. that were once favorites of the local lesbian community) is a nationwide trend, even though Little Rock has a thriving, award-winning drag community and a gay bar scene strong enough to support multiple gay nightclubs. There were over 200 lesbian bars in the US in the 1980s, according to The Lesbian Bar Project, an Emmy-winning documentary series. There are currently 36, all of which have been mapped and recorded by the project’s filmmakers, Elina Street and Erica Rose. The fall has been attributed to a variety of factors, including gentrification, economic stress, and the emergence of online groups that altered the ways gay women congregate in person.
Capek stated that she and Butler were unsure if anyone would attend the inaugural Hairpins event in July 2024. Since we didn’t advertise online ticket sales, we had no information about ticket sales. We informed visitors that payment may be made at the door. When nightfall arrived, the club was packed with more than 200 patrons, and there was a line at the door. “How did people find out about this?” we asked. “Capek said.” It’s such a satisfying sight. Two hundred gay women singing Paramore and Pink Pony Club, just being themselves. Like singing screams.
Since then, the singing has continued. Nakayla Pennington, a native of North Little Rock, has attended several Hairpins events in the organization’s brief existence. She was genuinely astounded by the sheer number of women, sapphics, and queer people in general that she witnessed at the first event at White Water Tavern. According to Pennington, she entered a pub for the first time without experiencing the usual anxiety spike that she and many of us are used to. Being neurodivergent, I don’t usually enjoy loud environments. I don’t usually spend a lot of time in noisy environments, but I think that night at Hairpins was the first time I’d ever felt so safe in such a setting. At Hairpins gatherings ever since, Pennington has ignited love relationships as well as friendships.
According to her, there was even a community up at the bar where people would go there and forget they were getting a drink in the first place rather than thinking, “Oh my god, how am I going to get a drink?” By the time your drink was placed on the counter, you would already be building a rapport.
“To be honest, it’s the same every time we have an event,” Butler remarked. I think, “Wow, people showed up.” People are coming from three hours away, despite the fact that we have a community and everything. The outreach is insane. It’s organic, too.
There have been difficulties in maintaining Hairpins’ focus on queer women while remaining inclusive. Butler stated, “The support is so great.” However, I believe that infighting begins when you are elevated to this level of safety and community. Like, Why can t you appeal to everyone? Why only women who identify as queer?
To be clear, Hairpins events are for gay non-men, according to their website. While we will not police who enters our event at the door, Hairpins was created as a space for lesbian/queer women, transgender individuals (MTF, FTM), and non-binary individuals.
Trans people will always, always be welcome in Hairpins space, Capek said. Point blank, period.
HB1668, an anti-LGBTQ bill introduced in March by Rep. Mary Bentley (R-Perryville), would have prohibited social transitioning for minors and allowed lawsuits against anyone helping trans youth in such a transition. Since its founding, the organization has raised over $1,300 for gender-affirming care for three transgender community members. (The bill was later withdrawn.)
As for its second year, Butler said, Hairpins might pop up beyond Arkansas state lines. Until then, they ll keep the calendar stacked and the Kelly Clarkson turned up to 11. Find them on Instagram: @droppinghairpins.
It’s dragon-slaying time!
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