Dolls Night Detroit, a Nonprofit Led by Three Michigan Trans Women, Is More Than Just a Party — It's a Movement
The org is a safe haven that celebrates freedom, expression and community care for trans and nonbinary people
There’s something magical and — in this current political climate where queerness is being threatened — crucial about stepping into a Dolls Night Detroit event. A wave of acceptance and support wraps around you, coupled with a fierce, audacious energy and the thumping pulse of entrancing techno beats. It's a space where safety, freedom and self-expression collide.
Founded in 2023 by three local trans women — Aidel Hawkins, Swan Irvin and Jay Philip — Dolls Night is more than just a party. It’s a movement with a mission to craft spaces that center trans women, nonbinary people, allies and the larger LGBTQ+ community in ways that are both empowering and protective.
“The term ‘doll’ historically and even now was mainly used for Black trans women, especially those who were often seen as hyper-feminine,” Hawkins explains. “Now it’s a term that is more colloquially used amongst trans women and trans femmes, and many girls when referencing themselves or other trans girls use ‘doll’ to describe the trans girls in the community. We always refer to ourselves as the dolls, hence ‘Dolls Night!’”
She adds, “It was simple honestly, as Jay and I were kind of joking about what this could look like if we did start this event, Dolls Night was one the first names to come up.”
Before Dolls Night, nights out for the cofounders often meant facing harassment and exclusion— even in queer spaces. They experienced things such as being called names, touched inappropriately, and made to feel like outsiders.
The trio knew something had to change.
“We wanted to take more control of the nightlife space and offer and create an environment where trans and nonbinary people can be centered in a way that also maximizes our visibility and our security,” Hawkins says. "We come together and see hundreds of people who are just like us and from our community. That’s really beautiful.”
A core element of Dolls Night is the concept of “radical visibility.”
“Radical visibility is about taking up space and saying, ‘We want to be present,’” Hawkins says. “If I want to go to this bar, I want to go to this club; if I want to have this experience, then I should be able to do it and feel safe…A lot of it for me is about creating spaces where we're public, we're seen, but we're also safe and supported."
Irvin adds, “To me, radical visibility just means showing up 100% as yourself, without fear of judgement. That’s what we wanted, that’s what going out is supposed to feel like, being able to go ahead and put on whatever you want to have a fun time. Dolls Night really emphasizes that.”
For Jalana Thomas, a local trans woman who has attended nearly every Dolls Night since its inception, the event has been more than just a party — it’s been a space to build lasting connections.
“It makes me feel safe. It makes me feel like I can have fun with no judgment,” she says. “I have many friends that I’ve met solely through Dolls Night. I have friends that I’d lost contact with and got heavily back into contact with because of Dolls Night. I just moved into my apartment and half of the people that helped me move in are people I know from Dolls Night. My boyfriend of nine months is someone I met through Dolls Night as well.”
More than just a venue for self-expression, Dolls Night actively nurtures trans and nonbinary artists by hiring local DJs and performers, offering them a platform to thrive while also providing paid opportunities.
"We want to create real pathways for visibility — connecting artists with development resources, press kits, grants and the tools they need to support their artistic dreams,” Hawkins says.
Resident Dolls Night DJ Cherriel, a trans woman who’s been DJing since 2015, sees the event as filling a gap in Detroit’s queer scene.
“I used to throw events back in the day where I would book a lot of trans people, but the city was a little less interested in femme-centric spaces,” Cherriel says. “I think to see them carrying on this sort of legacy is really inspiring and beautiful for trans people.”
She adds, “We are really enmeshed in a very patriarchal and queerphobic society, and I think liberation is a non-linear process as we're kind of seeing with rescinding of rights and things like that, so it kind of gives an infrastructural stability and free form creative expression space that can be really vital.”
Cherriel, who spins everything from pop ballads to glitch pop, EDM and club classics, describes music as a powerful form of expression. “Music can be a form of catharsis, celebration and collective grief,” she says. “Music can be a form of mirroring and self identification and co-identification and it can also be the destruction of systems that we feel we are powerless over, so in order to reinstate some sort of agency as a collective body can be really empowering through sonic exploration.”
Hawkins adds, “The music really is cultural — something where we can let loose, we can have a release, we can dance, and we can hear music that feels like us."
When they were first getting started, finding a venue for Dolls Night wasn’t easy. Many spaces were hesitant, fearing the “target on their back” that might come with hosting such an inclusive event. But after finding a home at The High Dive in Hamtramck, Dolls Night now primarily takes place at Spotlite in Detroit, where they’ve been embraced by the staff and patrons alike.
It has evolved beyond a party, especially in the current political era where it serves as community care. Every event has a designated Community Care Liaison, whose role is to ensure safety and support for all attendees. Saylem Celeste, a trans advocate with a background in transformative justice, helps design safety protocols for the events to ensure a secure, affirming space.
“The role is really important in order for people to feel comfortable and be themselves, especially in a time where trans people are being targeted by individuals and institutions, it’s really important that we maintain community trust and that people are able to actually enjoy being with each other without having to be hyper vigilant,” Celeste says.
“Nightlife, it goes both ways,” they add. “It's historically been a haven for trans communities to connect but also sometimes people come into the community to cause harm.”
Dolls Night prioritizes harm reduction, with the entire team trained in Narcan administration, CPR, safer use strategies, and de-escalation techniques.
“It’s a party series, but it’s also a trans health advocacy project,” Celeste says. “Part of that health advocacy includes joy and expression."
At every event, Dolls Closet provides free clothing for attendees, while The Dolls Lyft Fund offers transportation support for queer youth in metro Detroit, helping them get to medical appointments, job interviews, support organizations and select Dolls Night events.
Thomas knows firsthand how crucial transportation access is for LGBTQ+ people, as she has personally relied on the Lyft Fund — donations are accepted online, and those in need can apply for assistance — when necessary.
“I’m trans and I’m Black and I’m a woman; I don’t feel comfortable asking anybody to teach me how to drive,” Thomas says. “A lot of times people just don’t have that knowledge and it’s nice to know there’s people [connected with] Dolls Night aware of all of that and willing to help out.”
“I was without a car last year,” she adds. “I lost my car while I was homeless, and they were able to help me get around during that time.”
Looking ahead, the Dolls Night team hopes to expand its funding and reach. "One thing that I see is a service program that better supports people who are on injectable hormones — giving them access to supplies, education, and harm reduction resources,” Hawkins says. "We just want to create more partnerships with organizations and businesses who support our mission, because when we leave this party, we need support in the same exact way."
Alongside dreams of growing Dolls Night to a global scale, Irvin echoes a similar goal of helping people access gender-affirming care, especially in a time when it’s under attack.
“This is our form of protesting,” Irvin says. “This is our form of building community, so come here and actually create community with us.”
“We’re not here to judge you,” she adds. “We’re here to party.”
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