By Ruth Finch
Gianna Bissa returned to Sacramento in 2019 after graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and getting her bachelor’s degree with a double major in ethnic studies and women’s and gender studies. She then earned her teaching credential at Sacramento State. After teaching for a while, however, she had a change of heart.
Bissa taught middle school and high school but felt that, as a teacher, she didn’t receive enough pay, respect from students or support from the school’s administration to compensate for the exhausting work of teaching. So she shifted gears dramatically, and went into stripping.
In 2024, she went on a solo trip around Europe for three months. While she was in Europe, Bissa met a DJ at Amnesia, a nightclub in Ibiza, Spain.
“She was telling me that she throws these Chapelle Roan parties and basically goes all around the country,” Bissa says. “That gave me that little nugget of like, ‘hm, throwing events could be a cool thing.’”
She threw her first event last December at Jolene’s, a lesbian bar in San Francisco. The event, dubbed “Sexmas,” combined a few different inspirations into a unique party. Taking place on Friday the 13th in December of last year, with dancers in both Grinch costumes and devil horns, she threw what she called a “Sagittarius, spooky, stripper party,” where the first 50 Sagittarians in attendance were awarded with a free jello shot. “And sapphic,” Bissa adds, “always sapphic.”
Bissa has been an advocate for the queer community for over 10 years, beginning when she started college. “The year that I got to Cal Poly we started the Queer Student Union,” Bissa says. “It’s just something that always has come naturally for me to make my own communities of people who are similar to me in these ways that we have these interests or we share this humor or these values.”
She found a similar sense of community among her fellow dancers. She had a problem, however, with how the clubs she worked at were run, and the culture surrounding them.
“I really have been inspired to give that opportunity to girls who are beautiful and talented and love to perform and be a star,” Bissa says. “And to be able to kind of rewrite and reinvent that in a way that they can be doing that for queer people, for queer women and still making money in an environment that is fun and safe.”
After throwing another zodiac-themed event at Jolene’s — this time an Aquarius-themed party on Valentine’s Day earlier this year — she debuted the first official Club Astro in Sacramento at Radclyffe’s Bar on July 25.
This event, themed around Leo, was inspired by lions and big cats, and she centered the event’s costuming and setting around animal print and lush foliage. For Bissa’s most recent event, themed Virgo, she took artistic inspiration from angelic imagery of Virgo’s Latin translation: virgin, or maiden. The event, titled “Heavenly Bodies,” featured a costume contest with a $100 prize.
Bissa has always felt an affinity for astrology and the way it connects people, especially in the queer community. “Even if you don’t believe in it, it’s still at the bare minimum a template to offer a connection with somebody,” Bissa says. “When you’re inquiring about someone’s big three, for example, like their sun, their moon and their rising, you’re extending this interest in getting to know them.”
She takes a lot of inspiration for the visual language of Club Astro from astrology, planning each party with the character of each of the zodiac signs in mind. Bissa uses astrology as a tool to understand herself. It influences the way she designs these events, and her desire to make everyone in her community feel included. “That way every sign can have a birthday party,” Bissa says. “ [They can] have a party that’s all about them.”
Ultimately, Bissa’s artistic inspiration is also directly tied to her community, and to help curate a safe, fun atmosphere by queer women for queer women.
While Club Astro is just getting started with four events under its belt, Bissa has big plans for the party. Wherever Club Astro goes, Bissa wants to host it as a space where queer people can come together and grow together. “I just really want to build it up and have people come and have a really special experience and meet people in the community,” Bissa says. “It’s been beautiful to be able to see that growth and be able to celebrate ourselves so much.”