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<\/p>\nTrump Supporter Peter Thiel is Funding a Members-Only LGBTQ Social Club in SF Called \u2018Yass\u2019<\/b>
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A venture capital firm co-founded by Peter Thiel, the gay<\/a> conservative who donated $1.25 million to Trump, is the sole backer of Yass<\/a>, a new members-only LGBTQ \u201cco-working space and social club.\u201d<\/p>\n Yass is set to open in San Francisco\u2019s Mission District in the spring. But it already has expansion plans, given a poll on its homepage<\/a> asking if visitors want a \u201cYass\u201d in their city.<\/p>\n The Guardian<\/em> reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n Yass, announced last month and set to open in the spring, will provide LGBTQ people who pay membership dues access to events and a co-working space and social club, according to founder and CEO Brian Tran.<\/p>\n The ties to Thiel and Silicon Valley and the decision to open in the Mission, a historically Latino neighborhood that has rapidly gentrified amid the tech boom, means Yass is sure to be controversial. Even before its physical launch, the project is already inspiring backlash in San Francisco, a city that is known internationally as a\u00a0gay<\/a> mecca, but has the\u00a0most expensive real estate market\u00a0in the country, leading to the rapid displacement of\u00a0cultural spaces, LGBT nightlife and longtime queer residents.<\/p>\n Critics of the project cite dues which they feel will keep lower-income queers out, the need of existing organizations for financial support, the appropriation of the term \u201cYass\u201d from\u00a0drag ball culture, and of course, Thiel:<\/p>\n \u201cThe LGBT community in San Francisco, we need a space. But we don\u2019t need a space that is tainted by the hate of Donald Trump,\u201d said David Campos, a former elected supervisor who represented the Mission and is gay<\/a>. He said the neighborhood should reject a project linked with Thiel, who infamously\u00a0funded a lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0that\u00a0destroyed the news organization Gawker<\/a>.<\/p>\n Membership fees will range from $50 to $300 based on income level. Its founder promises Thiel isn\u2019t involved and promises diversity and accessibility:<\/p>\n Tran, 25, said Thiel was not involved in the project, which he said was being funded by Cyan Banister, another partner at Thiel\u2019s firm Founders Fund. Tran insisted that Yass,\u00a0<\/strong>financed through FF Angel, the firm\u2019s early stage investment vehicle, was dedicated to being inclusive and accessible to a diverse group of queer people, not just tech workers.<\/p>\n \u201cMy commitment is to serving the queer community and their needs. And that is separate from what individuals at Founders Fund believe,\u201d he said, adding that although Thiel is a \u201ccontroversial figure\u201d, \u201cI don\u2019t know what his real intentions are, and it\u2019s hard to make a judgment \u2026 Undeniably, he has made a large impact in our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full article HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n Would you belong to a social club and working space funded by Peter Thiel?<\/p>\n The post Trump Supporter Peter Thiel is Funding a Members-Only LGBTQ Social Club in SF Called \u2018Yass\u2019<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\nRECENTLY:\u00a0New Orleans is About to Break the Next Drag Superstar and It\u2019s One of These 7 Fierce Queens<\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n