By SF Collas (guest commentary)
Palm Springs, CA (The Hollywood Times) 9/25/22 – A pool. Alcohol. Lots of lesbians. “I’m in heaven,” said one of the festival goers I met yesterday at The Dinah in Palm Springs. She was partying like it was 1999 with rainbow pasties on; confessing that only at Dinah would she ever wear an outfit like this. Freedom from society’s stares and homophobic comments is what festival goers love about this annual event held in the sweltering desert paradise for the last 31 years.
The sense of community and belonging it fosters keeps bringing them back to what is called the “biggest lesbian party on the planet.” The manager, Jaquelyn, of business operations at the Asia Night Club, (a venue where there are performances of rap, drag, and other spectacles,) said she loves the energy. A self-identified transgender woman, Jacquelyn graciously posed for a photo with me at a cabana that I crashed. She was wearing a beautiful silk teal dress. For an additional fee, one can even have their own cabana that offers shade, misting water, and a television.
This huge lesbian party wasn’t without variety. There was diversity represented throughout The Dinah, including at the Olivia Table. Two beautiful African American lesbians were representing this lesbian owned cruise destination company celebrating its 50th Anniversary. They met while working for Olivia. There were white twenty-something hipsters, transmen, plenty of lesbians, African American lesbians, and Latinx lesbians. One Latina wore a banner that said: “One clit that’s it.”
I met a diverse group on Saturday night. A beautiful Croatian model, an editor/filmmaker, and a Latina femme who works with tax attorneys made up this rainbow crowd. The connections are what Dinah is about. We went to dinner with a butch/femme couple that we met earlier in the day. The butch blonde pool designer referred to herself as a “bottom butch,” a time-honored term in the lexicon of lesbian language. The butch had gone to the first Dinah 31 years ago.
“What’s the biggest change in Dinah?” I asked. “It’s a lot bigger,” she replied. “The first one there was about 150-200 people. They had the Black White party.” Three decades later, this massive lesbian event continues in the desert with corporate sponsorship, out and proud attendees, and the leadership of Mariah Hanson. Hopefully the cocktails continue to flow for decades to come.
Click below to see our exclusive Youtube video with Mariah
