Venus Social Club carves out space for Milwaukee sapphics

Recently, a hot-pink flier advertising a party caught the eye of Uniquely Milwaukee guest host Rachel Tarby. It was for Venus Social Club, an organization that hosts events specifically for the sapphic community.If you’re not familiar with the term, the word “sapphic” traces back to Sappho, the Greek lyric poet who lived on the island of Lesbos around 600 BCE and was known for writing about her desire/love for other women. Thousands of years later, sapphic is a common term for women who love women.“I feel like in Milwaukee we had no sapphic spaces,” Venus Social Club founder Mya Goetsch said. “Well, we had some … but [not] specifically party ones, and I want to go party with all lesbians and queer people all the time, not just on Pride.”Goetsch created the organization in November of 2024, somewhat by accident. What was meant to be a small house party turned into a big sapphic celebration. Since then, Venus Social Club has hosted many events across the city — from yoga to barbecues to, of course, themed dance parties.In this episode, Tarby takes you inside one of those events and talks with the people who were searching for a space exactly like this in Milwaukee.#####Guest host: Rachel Tarby.Uniquely Milwaukee is made possible by the support of our Radio Milwaukee members.