The Dolls are Taking Over Amsterdam

It is difficult to disregard the tangible link between electronic music and trans women—there are even memes that attest to it. "DJing is inherently trans,” according to Nita Aviance. “It's putting things together that aren't supposed to be together. It's tearing things apart and seeing the world in a different way." 

Queer and trans people pioneered electronic music as we know it (Wendy Carlos, one of the inventors of the first commercial synth, was a trans woman), yet only now are trans femmes beginning to get their long-awaited dues. 

With trans-centric collectives such as New World Dysorder and Club Carry gathering momentum, I asked Alma Noor, a trans femme organiser, radio host, and DJ under the moniker YoungWoman, about her thoughts on the scene in Amsterdam, where we both live. 

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Noor is fairly new to Amsterdam, having moved here one month before lockdown started, but is already deeply involved in the city’s queer electronic music undercurrent. Earlier this year, alongside Val Dechev and Maria Walhout, she founded Los Angles, a T4T collective dedicated to showcasing and nurturing trans talent through workshops, performances, curated club nights, and grassroots campaigns. (Los Angles is a play on Angel, a quintessential trans woman’s name, explains Noor.)

“We were complaining about people not getting booked,” she continues. “And then I realised I don't know anybody. I'm not sure that I know all of the transsexuals living in Amsterdam. So Los Angles was a way to bring everybody to one place.”

Noor didn’t know much about electronic music before coming to Amsterdam, but became inspired by DJs like Noise Diva and LaserGazer and their eclectic, genre-bending approach. The first two Los Angles events took place at Kanaal40, a venue located in Amsterdam's Red Light District with a fitting mission to reclaim the city center.

Dutch culture prioritises normativity, a quality which makes parties feel dull and uninspiring. “I’m over the boring lineups and everybody playing it's safe,” she says. "Don't put three men in different hats and call it a diverse lineup.”

Upon first glance, Amsterdam appears to be a hotbed for an inclusive cultural life, especially because, as Dechev states, "we really make the time to be there for one another in meaningful ways." But in many cases diversity is little more than a strategy invoked by promoters. 

"Underneath layers of a tolerant city, there are issues that need to be addressed," points out Ghaith Kween Qoutainy, a Syrian-born artist and organiser—issues like assimilation-focused policies, superficial diversity initiatives, and safety concerns.

“With this growth that is adding a lot to the city's cultural colour scheme and the municipality opening up slowly for more investment in our community, comes also a responsibility of organising things in a way that is sustainable and prosperous"

Much of this work is done in the night. In May, Dechev and Danii Walton (also known as DIORA) took over De School, a club that is highly symbolic of the Amsterdam techno scene, with their concept, Dollicious. The interdisciplinary evening featured a panel discussion, an intimate live concert, and an art exhibition, followed up by an exhilarating club night boasting an all-trans femme lineup.

The club often serves as a space of empowerment, community, and collective effervescence. "[A]s I grew into my queerness and transness over time, I did realise those long and dark techno nights were the only place where I found people like me and felt a sense of being present in the moment," says Dechev, who is a trans femme writer, reader, organiser, and music and dance enthusiast. "[T]o be able to bring the trans femme fantasy to that space for the first time ever was a monumental moment for us."

Exploring different types of connections beyond nightlife is also important. Integrating club nights with performances, workshops, and panel discussions not only enhances the experience of the club night itself, but also grants access to a wider audience. 

Inspired by mutual-aid collectives like We Are the Ones We've Been Waiting For and Arm the Girls, which organise self-defense classes and raves for BIPOC trans femmes in the US ("They also distribute self-defense kits in Telfar bags, which is iconic!"), Dechev initiated a series of self-defense classes for trans femmes in Amsterdam.

“With this growth that is adding a lot to the city's cultural colour scheme and the municipality opening up slowly for more investment in our community, comes also a responsibility of organising things in a way that is sustainable and prosperous," says Qoutainy. Motivated by a need to foster alternative forms of community engagement Qoutainy founded Pam Wide Open, the cultural outlet of the popular queer bar Pamela, in hopes of establishing collaborations with sibling queer organisations and carrying each other's work forward. 

Behind its façade of abundance, Amsterdam is truly a neoliberal hellscape, and funding for grassroots initiatives can be difficult to source. Says Qoutainy, “We need a professional and an adequate plan to govern how to establish connections, get funding, distribute it fairly, and evaluate our ways of working together.”

In the absence of institutional support, queer and trans people have historically relied on resourcefulness and solidarity. “Money for us trans people is so scarce,” says Noor. Recognising the system's limitations in providing resources, many turn to crowdfunding as a pillar of support. 

Tired of witnessing GoFundMe campaigns that go nowhere, Noor came up with the idea for Don't Go We’ll Fund Them in 2022. Based on a tiered monthly subscription model, the initiative allows for consistent support with covering the costs of gender-affirming care. At the time of writing, the fundraiser has amassed 2000 euros in monthly donations and has aided 15 campaigns in achieving their funding goals.

“I feel like now we are in a good position where we can help people with the last push, but I would love to be able to give out €10,000 a month, because usually that's the average of what people ask.

The doll takeover in Amsterdam might be well underway, but there is further ground to cover. “I want to see bookers take more risks with artists they book and more experimental happenings,” says Dechev. “Oh, and more trannies running shit but we're already taking over so I'm not worried about that”.

Although it is encouraging to see so many doors open, Dechev argues for greater involvement of trans people as organisers, not just performers. She acknowledges that "[a]s a very privileged trans femme, my story is vastly different from the experiences of other trans femmes in this city. Let's work to prioritise those stories first and foremost."

Words: Eleni Maragkou