Honigman: Why do you think there are so few lesbian bars and establishments even in major cities as compared to the places the cater to gay men? And what can we do to fix this?
Hanson: Economic parity. I think that men across the board enjoy a higher economic status than women. That trickles down to our own community. It’s easier to sustain gay nightclubs than I think it is lesbian night clubs because it gets right down to economics.
The movement that’s happening right now #TimesUp has to also do with equal pay. When women start seeing their own economic status rise then their allocated dollars towards entertainment rise and that creates healthier places to enjoy a nightclub experience or a dance club experience.
Honigman: One of the biggest challenges to initially starting the Dinah was negotiating with the conservative stakeholders in Palms Springs. Could you talk about that experience?
Hanson: When I started the Dinah, Palm Springs was an incredibly conservative, Republican town and I had an unproven track record. I couldn’t go there and say ‘hey I’ve done this, let me come here and do the same thing.’
I arrived in Palm Springs at 28 years old and said ‘I have an idea, will you take a chance on me?’
And that’s where the force of personality also comes in handy. I think I was a bit like my name as I was a force of gail magnitude and Palm Springs just didn’t say no to me.
You’ll always find a yes in a pile of no’s, you’ve just got to keep looking. It’s no mistake that passion, conviction, dedication and perseverance are all common themes when you’re talking about an entrepreneur.
Honigman: How do you think other professionals can get a seat at the table with their ideas if they don’t have a track record to point back to?
Hanson: You have to present a good game plan. You have to present a good model and say this is what I’d like to create and here’s how I’d like to create it and I need your help in doing that.
I don’t think any business person is going to pay a whole lot of attention to someone who doesn’t have a plan in place. When you’ve got a good solid plan, being steadfast in that plan is critical.
Personality does come in there, but you can be an introvert and push forward. If you really believe in your ideas that’ll come through in your presentation no matter how grandiose or understated. It really has to do with internal passion.
Honigman: Running a successful music festival since 1991 is no small feat. How have you maintained the event’s reputation for the long-term as the competition for the attention of LGBTQ consumers increases?
Hanson: I don’t concern myself necessarily with the event’s reputation. I concern myself with producing the most amazing event I have inside of me.
I have an incredible staff of five or six core women who’ve been working with me for about a decade now.
They are committed to the same vision of really offering a multi-layered event that speaks to a common denominator of having a really incredible time and then all the other layers that we add in there of our own messaging of community, of inspiring women, of living out loud and being who you are as you are.
We have this opportunity to present an event that to a lot of people looks like this amazing wild party, but for us is also laced throughout with this really powerful messaging that we hope our customers take home with them.
Honigman: As an LGBTQ role model and leader yourself, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced throughout your career?
Hanson: Really conservative hotel corporations that buy a new hotel that I’ve worked with, that I am dealing with a whole new paradigm that doesn’t always incorporate an inclusive and tolerant attitude towards LGBTQ.
That’s happened to me and it was really, really heartbreaking because it was one of my favorite hotels. So you never know when something shifts and you’re all a sudden faced with homophobia – it’s still here, and in fact, it’s emboldened right now.
So that’s probably the greatest challenge I’ve had with dealing with homophobia – with corporate homophobia. Thankfully Palm Springs itself is a very LGBTQ friendly city, but that doesn’t protect me from companies that buy into Palm Springs, as they have over the years, that don’t necessary incorporate the same values.
Honigman: What can you do to escape that criticism and harassment? Do you have to resell yourself? Quit with that option at times?
Hanson: I lose the option to (work with them). I don’t want to work with homophobic companies, I don’t want to support them. Our dollars are one of our best assets. I think we need to be very careful about how we use them because I think that when we do hold back our dollars, it needs to be really well thought out.
Honigman: The 2017 Dinah featured artists and entertainers who broke the glass ceiling for women. Why was this an important theme to focus on?
Hanson: The Dinah has always been about women’s empowerment. However, what’s resonating socially is aligning now with our own mission statement, so it’s becoming more and more relevant. We believe in presenting good role models.
We believe in presenting great stories that inspire. And that story can take the form of an artist that we choose because they have a backstory that we find intriguing, inspiring and empowering.
This is all messaging we’ve been dedicated to from day one. Right now, it’s more powerful than ever because finally, these female voices are being heard.
This demand for equality is taken a giant leap forward right now and it’s critical that this momentum be sustained and increased so that we become the strength of the idea whose time has come.
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