Gay party bans ‘women, skinny guys, men with bad skin’ from their photos

Organizers of a popular gay party – Poof Doof – are scrambling to apologize over a photography brief that featured strict instructions on people it deemed desirable enough to photograph.

Poof Doof – whose tagline is ‘a gay club for homos’ – is a long-running gay party in the southern city of Melbourne. Organizers also regularly host parties in other Australian cities including, Perth and Sydney.

But now Poof Doof is at the centre of a controversy after one of its photographer briefs was leaked on social media.

The brief gave the photographer clear instructions on who exactly was desirable enough to be photographed at Poof Doof parties.

‘Boys. Poof Doof is a gay club for homos. No one here is to see girls. Ever,’ one instruction read.

Another instruction read: ‘Boys with Muscles. Big Ones.’

But the brief was also very clear who was not deemed ‘Power Poof’ material.

‘Messy Boys. Anyone who looks like they’ve packed down a 10-pack, is OUT,’ the brief read.

‘Indi’ boys and boys in conventional fashion (burgundy t-shirts and chinos) were also out.

‘Boys with Bad Skin.’ another instruction read.

a list of instructions on a photography brief

The controversial photography brief | Photo: Facebook

It was a different time

Poof Doof’s general manager, Susie Robinson, said the brief was seven years old and no longer reflected the ‘brand today’.

‘We’re not shying away from the fact we did write, but it has been taken out of context,’ she told Gay Star News.

‘It was written so long ago, it’s not something we circulate now.’

‘We’re distressed we may have caused any upset.’

Robinson said the brief was written at a ‘different time’ when attitudes may have been different. But since then Poof Doof has tried to become more inclusive.

‘No brand is squeaky clean and perfect,’ she said.

‘We have changed over the years.’

Where did the photo come from?

Robinson accused a former Poof Doof photographer of allegedly leaking the brief after losing his job. She said he acted in ‘retaliation’.

Gay Star News has learned from sources that the photographer has been very distressed with the attention from the furore.

But Robinson vowed the end of his employment was not from a ‘falling out’. Poof Doof claimed that photographer

‘That photographer has been recently let go. It was time to move on, we were launching extra events and he wasn’t able to commit to those events and he couldn’t give us the time,’ she said.

Poof Doof’s policy

Robinson promised the brief was destroyed not long after it was distributed. She said Poof Doof updated its policy of who it wanted photographed, but could not confirm when that happened. But Poof Doof did not put the new brief in writing.

The general manager is not also sure if or when that particular photographer had been updated on the new policy.

‘It would’ve been verbal,’ she said.

‘A verbal change of brief like, “you’re here at the club to take photos, take photos of everyone”.’

But another photographer Poof Doof hired, who asked not to be named, said he received the briefing as late as 2016.

Since the leaking of the brief, Poof Doof has taken to Facebook to issue a statement and an apology. It also launched a survey to ask people how it could become a more inclusive party.

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