A Columbus resident, who calls himself J J Sporty, waited in a long entrance line at The Bar of Modern Art on a Saturday night a couple weeks ago. When he reached the front door, he said he was “harassed because of (his) sexuality.” He said he has been told to leave three times because of his choice of clothing. Two of the times in the past, he felt he was not allowed in because he was wearing what he called a “girlie outfit.”
J J Sporty said he came in clothes that he wears to class as a dance student because of their comfort. The security guards at the entrance told him he could not enter and that he was to, dress to impress the owner, he said. They told him he was not dressed appropriately and did not allow him to enter for a third time, J J Sporty said.
In defense he told the security guards he would go to another gay club, but because of the embarrassment the incident caused him, he said he stayed in that night.
BoMa is a restaurant, dance club, and art gallery all under one roof; in a building that used to be a Baptist church. BoMA is co-owned by a former New York City club bouncer, Tom Starker, and Columbus native and artist, Pam Theodotou.
Theodotou has noticed the long wait some guests endure to enter the establishment.
“Later in the evening, people line up around the door,” she said. Asked about the concern about a strict dress code Theodotou said, “we try to distinguish ourselves as a higher-end entertainment establishment.”
Theodotou describes BoMA as a place Columbus has not seen before and something Columbus has needed for a long time. J J Sporty may disagree.
In his e-mail sent Nov. 20 to the Lantern, he said “I was told by a friend that BoMA is like Mekka,” a dance club in Columbus that no longer exists, but found out it was not like the other dance club he once enjoyed. “I felt discriminated because of what I had on,” he said.
J J was not the only one told they could not enter. Mary Loritz, who was on campus the day of the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game, decided to travel downtown to meet up with some friends at BoMA later that night.
She and her friend Neil Gettz did not wait in a line, however, they were approached by a security guard and were not allowed in because of the dress code. “The security guard was not snotty about it, he just came up to us and said ‘there is a dress code here,'”Loritz said.
Loritz admitted she was dressed down. She said she was wearing sneakers and a skirt. Gettz, an OSU graduate, was wearing baggy jeans and a hat, she said.
Theodotou has lived in Columbus her entire life and she said as a whole, the community has become more casual when they spend a night out on the town. With help from a dress code like the one at BoMA, she said, “(It) will hopefully become a natural choice to think about what they are wearing.” She asks future guests to “please come in style.”
Theodotou said BoMA offers a “complete scope of entertainment: They can come for an early dinner, then dancing and they can stay as long as they wish.” Guests like J J Sporty and Loritz have to make sure they dress to impress next time they want to get inside.
