VIP: Very Inaccessible Places
It is a summer late afternoon, my friend just invited me to her girlfriend’s birthday party in one of Montreal’s most liked clubs of the Village and I accept. I look at pictures and reviews and notice that the club is on three floors plus the rooftop. I call the club to ask if there is an elevator and the employee laughs on the phone: ‘‘I mean… no’’, they say. I thank them and hang up. This is not the first time I have received laughter or dirty looks for asking about accessibility, but nightlife venues such as bars and clubs seem to be the worst, especially in Montreal. Elevators and ramps, things that would facilitate my life and that are needed by some, are seen as ridiculous in those facilities. This employee thinks that an elevator is not needed in a club because people who would need them perhaps don’t belong in a cool and sexy club like this one. I feel unwanted, like I am different. The inaccessibility of nightlife venues excludes me, and this exclusion makes me feel less than and encourages a false narrative about me and others who also have reduced mobility
