The Shane Factor

On our second night in Calgary we went out to Twisted Element. One of the few remaining gay spaces we could find in Calgary, I might add. I had been there once before (years ago) and the place had not changed much, if at all. My memory of my previous visit is a bit funny, to say the least. Although, I could have sworn the basement level had pool tables instead of a cabaret lounge the last time. Anyway, the place is decent and the crowd was cute, so we had a good time.

One notable oddity in the place though was the appearance of many of the lesbians. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but the popularity of the L Word has resulted in legions of lesbians doffing plaid shirts and sensible shoes for the "Shane look". Don't get me wrong, she's very fashionable and very attractive, but there almost seemed to be some sort of Stepford House Wife air to the place. In fact, at one point later in the night, my friend Klaus turned to me and said, "Oh look, Shane from season 3 is going home with Shane from season 2."

WTF?!?

I guess it's just a pop culture thing, or a Calgary thing, or maybe a lesbo thing. Who knows? In any event, the Shane Factor was in full force that night and I found myself wondering why no one wanted to look like Phyllis (too old?) or Helena (too lipstick?). It seems Calgary lesbians only have eyes for Shane.