In Los Angeles, the night life is as varied as our population. We have clubs that play everything from acid jazz to hip-hop to southern rock and everything in between. We also have clubs for Christians, those under 21 as well as over 30, gay/lesbian/transgender and hot spots like Hyde, LAX and Roxbury where you can see celebrities as well the other "beautiful" people. When I first heard that someone was opening a club meant for plus-sized women and those who admire them, I thought ‘Why?’ It wasn’t to be judgmental or funny because I pretty much came out of the womb wearing a double-digit dress size. Yet, in my days of running out to nightclubs and bars, I had no problem being asked to dance and didn’t do anything I wasn’t ready for just to get a free drink. Even in the land of La-la, I never felt not being a traditional beauty would stop me from having a good time. Unfortunately, plus-size does not stop at a size 22 or 24 - and the woman who outsizes stores like Lane Bryant or Ashley Stewart may not share my sentiment. Sometimes the furniture in a regular club may not be comfortable, they may not be asked to dance or converse or when they get on the dance floor the stares or comments may be too much to tolerate.

In the late nineties, Club Curves opened its doors in Culver City - located near West Los Angeles and known best for its movie studios as well as diverse population. One evening in 2000, after a particularly hard day at work I decided to check it out for myself. It seemed to be no larger than your average bar and fewer than 10 people including the staff, who were friendly enough. I also met the owner, Shadoe Grey, who not only welcomed me but boasted that Saturday nights were the extreme opposite of the much empty space surrounding me now. Since being in a space that was small and crowded did not sit well with my claustrophobia, I knew this was not the place to start hitting the club scene again. Yet this did not change my mind from not coming by during the week or signing up for their e-mailing list!

One day in 2004, opened my email to see an update from Grey. Major changes were taking place as far as a certain Culver City hole in the wall was concerned. They were now re-christened Moxie (or Club Moxie, which more than likely had to do with the fitness center franchise Curves - which got its start in 1995 and was branching out into more U.S. markets) and relocated to the Pier at Redondo Beach, CA. This was about 20-30 minutes south of their previous location which was right on the ocean. For years, the Pier has always been a tourist attraction until a 1987 fire nearly destroyed it. At the time, more people began to gravitate towards Westwood or Venice Beach as the "places" to see and be seen (this included celebrity sightings) so anyone who was not a local may visit the Pier to go fishing or for dinner and a quiet walk. Since the rebuilding process was a slow one, there wasn’t much else to do until the mid-nineties when novelty gift shops, karaoke bars and a few more restaurants were added. The last tenants, prior to Moxie’s arrival, were an alternative rock dance club and a magic club that were both located underground.

While I was happy that a woman-owned business had made it past the ‘five year make or break period’ that is sometimes used to determine the longetivity of a new business - but I as a former resident of Redondo Beach, I was very concerned. In nine years, I’d experienced my own neighbors questioning me to my face as to where I really live, being called derogatory names and being verbally assaulted by the local police - all because my "tan" did not come from a bottle or machine. In 2002, it had a census count of nearly eighty percent White, with Latinos following at almost fifteen percent and the remaining five was made up of Blacks and other races. If you were to pass by or check out Moxie’s web site, it was not hard to tell that this was NOT the place to hear Blink 182, Green Day or any music that did not require rhythm to dance to. Hip-hop, R&B and even soul oldies were in constant rotation and everyone, regardless of race, was welcome to join the party, Wednesday through Sunday until 2 a.m. Like any other major city nightclub, they had a promotion (or street) team and held themed events like Sports Night, Poetry Slam and Pajama Night.

Sometimes it's normal for a gal (or guy) to step out in the early morning to go get coffee or that one missing item that completes breakfast; wearing a pajama top with jeans or sweats. The club’s website photos of PJ Night, were more Frederick's of Hollywood than roomy, flannel or cottony things with cartoon prints or flowers. While my club buddies and I would push the limits of good taste when it came to showing skin on a night out, we knew what would get us arrested for indecent exposure.

As I began to start some side projects outside of work and began to consider myself lucky to have a drink with friends, just saying that I was going out to any club was not even worth conversation. As far as I was concerned, going out was about as relevant as jewelry for pets until October 2006, when I got an email from Shadoe Grey describing vaguely an incident with Redondo Beach Police, business relationships gone bad and self-proclaimed dominance over "copycat" clubs that were suddenly opening (but unlike her operation, did not have a permanent location). The somewhat hostile message also addressed rumors of the club closing its doors for good, which grey dismissed as just that and that the party would continue. The message ended with the statement that "sporty casual" attire would be enforced on Saturdays. The Daily Breeze newspaper (September 6, 2006) - which covers the beach communities south of LAX and adjacent cities reported that on August 27, thirty police officers had been called to the club to break up a melee that involved four males and two females (race is not mentioned) . The article went on to mention that between March 2005 and April 2006, 33 incidents had taken place, one of which where owner Gray had been physically assaulted by a female clubgoer. Between the fights,"loud" music and patrons driving under the influence, the City of Redondo Beach had a hearing later that year and Club Moxie's live entertainment permit was revoked (interestingly enough it was combined with other operating permits). Grey admitted defeat to the press by stating that without it, business would not be profitable.

In early 2007, I got an email announcing their new location inside of Club Bounce in Long Beach, CA. While most outside of Los Angeles County may associate Long Beach with the West Coast rap scene, it is one of the most diverse and least cliche’ cities a normal person could live in. It has a section for every lifestyle - urban, artsy, suburban and even a noticeable gay/lesbian community. It is for this very reason I was shocked to get an email two weeks later from Shadoe saying that the staff/owners at Club Bounce were less than gracious to the mostly African-American and Latino clientele. She apologized to all and promised that the search would continue for a permanent home.

At the end of 2007, Moxie had two semi-regular locations. One was Camachos in sleepy City of Industry and the other was in downtown Inglewood (which has been known in recent for police corruption outside of LAPD). In May 2008, they announced that their new location would be at the old Wilshire Red Onion (which had to close in the mid-90s because it was getting too violent). They also operate under many names (sometimes referring to themselves as Club Curves, or the Big Girl Club along with Moxie) but you have to give it Shadoe Grey, she likes to keep the party going - even when the bumps and grooves seem to eclipse good times.