Pearl's Rainbow, Lesbian Landmark, To Welcome Men During Bad Economy

miamiherald.com:

Guests lounge around the pool at Pearl's Rainbow, soaking up the sunshine and tropical vibes typical of a Southernmost guesthouse. Not a man is in sight -- and that's the way these vacationers like it.

But over this Thanksgiving weekend, Key West's only lesbian-exclusive resort is going ``all welcome.''

The decision was made public about the same time Pearl's Rainbow was honored in October by Curve, the best-selling lesbian magazine, as the guesthouse that had the greatest impact on lesbian culture over the past 20 years.

Read the whole story: miamiherald.com

Comments

[atl50]

03:54 PM on 11/27/2010

I think that it's nice they don't have to put the seat up.

[one1byke]

03:34 PM on 11/27/2010

Wow! Lesbians have a place they can go to feel safe and "do their thing in the USA.
What harm could that do?

[Ioan Lightoller]

04:18 PM on 11/27/2010

Apparently enough that straights are screaming "discrimination". Sad, isn't it, when the whole society caters largely to them.

[asiclilpup]

03:16 PM on 11/27/2010

LGBTs are people too. Wake up CHRISTIANS.

[tonygumbrell]

11:52 AM on 11/27/2010

A few years back I was walking by the Wild Rose cafe, the only lesbian bar in this hick burg, and a chunky macho-mama in leathers was trying, and not succeeding, to kick start a vintage Harley. Now those old 'hogs' have a set of breaker points, the same as in a Delco distributer on a Chevy, so I, fool that I am, asked if I could help, and she gave me the one finger salute and told me to "rotate". I don't think that I'll be booking a room at Pearl's Rainbow the next time I'm in Key West, too scary.

[asiclilpup]

03:51 PM on 11/27/2010

What's wrong with you? Did you learn a new word from fuxupthenews?

[Titanshanks]

04:28 AM on 11/27/2010

Another list of comments where white men insist that any sort of discrimination against us is just as bad as any discrimination against GLBT people, blacks, women, etc. This is no doubt based on our long history as an oppressed people, ever since... um....

Really--do you need me to explain this or can you just sit down for a few minutes and think about it? I swear it's not difficult to understand. Tell you all what--I'm turning in; you battered and bedraggled males come take a crack at it, and if tomorrow you still need help, or don't bother, we can talk more.

[battlinbob]

11:34 AM on 11/27/2010

So in order to oppression of the past you segregate yourselves? Its hypocritical... But thanks!

[Titanshanks]

01:31 PM on 11/27/2010

Nice sentence. To take just the male/female case for simplicity’s sake:

Exclusion of men is NOT the same as exclusion of women. It may annoy a man, as you are clearly annoyed (though I think some people do tend to work themselves up into a state). But critically: exclusion of men doesn't reference millennia of oppression and as such, doesn't carry the same harmful weight that exclusion of women may.

As a metaphor I used earlier, if my friend has a bad day and I comment, "Well, life sucks and then you die," that's probably not going to upset my friend. But if another friend has had a certain experience, say a brother who committed suicide, my same comment could be very hurtful.

Sexism against women, like racist jokes directed at people who have suffered racial oppression, risks falling into that second category.

When a woman is barred from a business club, that presents very real problems and draws upon a very real history of real oppression. When you find out upon reading an article that there are hotels for lesbians where you’re not allowed, is there anything in your experience that makes this policy personally painful? Do you have a history of being kicked out of hotels by women?

Women and men, lesbians and heterosexuals, have different histories and different experiences, and as such it is perfectly reasonable to have different laws and customs regarding membership rights.

[Ioan Lightoller]

02:35 PM on 11/27/2010

Fanned and faved! Thank you for putting it out here, but only those who can "get" that lesbian-only space is critical will. The rest think that they have a right to barge in everywhere and the sensibilities and needs of lesbians be damned!

[PDXPLT]

11:06 PM on 11/26/2010

To Joan and others in support of the same view:

What's being asked here is to walk back several decades of hard-won civil rights legislation. As the cliche goes, discrimination hurts everyone. Not only, say, the weary travellers that arrive in Key West only to find that the only rooms in town are at this establishment, where they are denied accommodation because of who they are, rather than anything they did.


And for what, a false promise of safety? The vast majority of men are no threat to lesbians. And women are not free from criminal behavior, even violence.

I have an elderly aunt and uncle that several years ago were assaulted and robbed. To this day the experience gives them nightmares. If they run into someone of the same ethnic group as their assailant, they're terrorized. They would certainly feel more safe and comfortable in an establishment that excluded people of that ethnic group.

That does not make their attitude right. Condemning an entire ethnic, religious, or gender group because of the past actions of some individuals who happen to share the same traits is wrong, whether it is used to deny people permission to build their house of worship where they wish, to deny them a job, or even a room at the inn.

Besides, the proprietors could always close down the illegal guesthouse and re-open it as a legal private, members-only club, if they feel so strongly about it.

[Ioan Lightoller]

02:48 PM on 11/27/2010

Why can you just not accept that men DO NOT have to be everywhere? Why are we not allowed space where we can be ourselves without men ogling us? We are human beings, not objects for male titillation. There should be places we can go on holiday where we can be affectionate with our spouses or SOs without hassles for "inappropriate PDAs". Heterosexuals have plenty of places they can have this. why invade the few places lesbians do have?

[Ioan Lightoller]

03:05 PM on 11/27/2010

Why can you not accept that lesbians need a place where they can be themselves without male intrusion. Where they can be affectionate with their spouse or SO without feeling that they are objects for male titillation or comments about "inappropriate PDAs". Straights have plenty of venues to be themselves. Why the need to invade the few places we have?

[Mariposas Amarillas]

10:42 PM on 11/26/2010

I think, men should stay away anyways. Just by reading at some of these comments. There may be some upset guests there. It's obviously operated in a legal manner. Just like that golf club Rush belongs to, but I wouldn't be a patron on them either, even if they change policies on race.

[Ioan Lightoller]

11:00 PM on 11/26/2010

Erm, are you a lesbian. If not, then do you really have a dog in this fight?

[theseusofaustralia]

03:32 AM on 11/27/2010

didnt you hear, an individuals sexuality is the whole society's concern.
Your opinion and views may not matter, but what two consenting adults do with their genitals must be regulated and have governmental and societal approval.

[Mariposas Amarillas]

03:34 AM on 11/27/2010

Public forum honey. I am a man. Men is on the headline.

[Crushedknee]

10:42 PM on 11/26/2010

Is this a Public establishment?..Or a members type Private Club?..I know private clubs can Use selective criteria that are not Allowed for businesses open to the general Public.

[Tropiholic]

09:41 PM on 11/26/2010

it's curious that you want to be granted access to this establishment as if it's your right but you don't afford gays and lesbians the same rights as you have!

[Ioan Lightoller]

11:14 PM on 11/26/2010

I find this curious as well. They want us giving up lesbian only space but how many of them back the repeal of DADT and the repeal of DOMA and giving GLBT people the right to legal civil marriage?

[Titanshanks]

03:50 AM on 11/27/2010

Do you guys want me to tell you what the difference is, or do you want to try to figure it out by yourselves?

[Titanshanks]

01:39 PM on 11/27/2010

Very sorry! That comment absolutely wasn't meant for you--my HP page wasn't scrolling well; I wrote my message in Word and I pasted it in response to your comment by mistake. I was aiming to respond to the nitwits who think lesbian-only space is as offensive as male-only space. It came out as incredibly nasty. Sorry to hit you with that; I've enjoyed your comments on this article.

[GrandOldParty]

09:11 PM on 11/26/2010

This is addressed to whom ever is reading the pending comments and deciding which ones to post and which ones not to.....

I have been posting though-out the days that this is a form of discrimination, why have they not shown up?!?!?!? Is discrimination limited to "white men?" Because if that is your view you should have the word re-defined...

[Ioan Lightoller]

11:00 PM on 11/26/2010

White men regularly discriminate.

[GrandOldParty]

11:23 PM on 11/26/2010

O.K.?!?!?!? discrimination is discrimination plain and simple... I think we can all agree that discrimination is wrong!!!

[Titanshanks]

04:07 AM on 11/27/2010

I also wish your comments would come up; I hate Puritanical censorship of opinions some moderator thinks will make me cry if I read it. We'll see how mine goes, if yours is still there....

To respond to your question, there are times when discriminating on certain criteria makes perfect sense. A support group for widows may be open to the public, but may only allow widows to participate. A group for men dealing with ED, if it exists, I could certainly envision being male-only. Nothing wrong with either of those cases.

Lesbians in America (as with most places in the world), do not always have an easy time. They may have to hide their relationship. They may not hold hands if dangerous looking men are around. I remember sitting on a bench with an old friend, her wife and their baby, and passers by assumed he was my baby, and rather ignored my friend's wife. It must have stung.

An exclusively lesbian place is set up to be free from all the offenses, unease, risks and hassles that lesbians face from society from day to day. That's a perfectly good justification, in my mind, to choose to limit guests to lesbians.

[brooklyncitizen]

11:07 PM on 11/26/2010

No they aren't. But gay men are funner!

[cef911f1]

08:20 PM on 11/26/2010

I understand gay couples wanting places that cater exclusively to them. It's sad though that they can't just enjoy their partner's company wherever they want without fear of being discriminated against or abused.

[Ioan Lightoller]

11:01 PM on 11/26/2010

F&F. Thank you! Someone finally understands!

[Ioan Lightoller]

11:15 PM on 11/26/2010

Fanned and faved. We need that space because of homohatred. If we could enjoy each other's company in mixed circumstances we would not need lesbian- or gay only space.

[flyn2hi]

07:45 PM on 11/26/2010

I'm disappointed that the only reason men are now welcome is because of the economy. Does everything have to be regulated by the value of the almighty dollar?

[Jordan Anderson]

04:54 AM on 11/27/2010

That's not the only reason.

"Pearl's Rainbow's lesbian owner, Heather Carruthers, said it was a business decision based on tough economic realities, the request of some lesbian guests who would like to bring male family members or friends -- and on some good news. Lesbians are being more accepted and feel more comfortable in the mainstream these days.

``They can hold hands wherever they want to,'' Carruthers said. ``It's really the world we want to have. We don't necessarily want to be segregated.''"

[KIVPossum]

06:50 PM on 11/26/2010

I was not aware you could run a boarding establishment and only cater to one group of people

[Ioan Lightoller]

07:12 PM on 11/26/2010

Are you lesbian? How will this affect you? I am a lesbian an I can tell you that this will mean one less safe space for my wife and me to have to go on vacation.

[KIVPossum]

07:52 PM on 11/26/2010

Was my question worthy of an attack? I think not. I made a simple statement of my understanding, which is (or was) an establishment offering lodging must offer it to all regardless of race, creed, sex, or national origin.

As to the rest of your statement - dare I ask an honest question and expect an answer without attack? If so, that question would be, is it that dangerous for lesbians on vacation? Is discrimination more aggressive or violent in areas away from one's home?

[PDXPLT]

08:11 PM on 11/26/2010

So you have to exclude all persons of a certain type from an establishment in order to feel safe?

How is this attitude in any way just?

I don't see how this any different from whites who cite Willy Horten, and say they'd only feel safe in a resort that excludes African American. Not only is this wroung, it's illegal.

[JackNasty]

11:03 PM on 11/26/2010

There is no state law in Florida, nor is there a federal law that bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

[Tim The Enchanter]

04:46 PM on 11/26/2010

Actually, if you look at history, bigotry and racism and sexism have been great drivers for minority owned businesses that help equal the playing field. When blacks weren't being served by whites they started their own restaurants, bars, clubs, etc. Same with gays, same with latinos, same with Asians, same, apparently, with lesbians. They had all the customers that either weren't being served at all, served well or, at least, felt uncomfortable elsewhere for reasons real or perceived. And as those barriers came down, they could expand their business outside their own group, at the same time others were being more inclusive as well.

IOW, if straight white men hadn't been exclusive in the past, they could have maintained a much better stranglehold on business. And, in fact, you could argue that the Civil Rights Act actually was to the advantage of racists, sexists and bigots who were forced to accept customers they were stupidly turning away before.

[TFlint]

06:42 PM on 11/26/2010

Twist anything to avoid facing the truth.

[Tim The Enchanter]

09:56 PM on 11/26/2010

You should talk. You simply deflect anything rather than facing the truth.

This is historical fact.

[PDXPLT]

08:13 PM on 11/26/2010

Yes, but when I go to the local Taqueria, I'm not kicked out because I'm not Mexican.

[Tim The Enchanter]

09:57 PM on 11/26/2010

And guess what? They, then, make more money than the racist does. Economics punishes bigotry, racism and sexism.