THEGAYUK

Day: 6 May 2020

  • It’s Deaf Awareness Week, so here’s how you can say, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender in Sign Language

    It’s Deaf Awareness Week, so here’s how you can say, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender in Sign Language

    This week (4th May – 10th May) it’s Deaf Awareness week in the UK. So here’s how you say some important LGBT+ terms in British Sign Language.

    A few years ago, Deaf Direct produced a video, just before Pride season, which included various British Sign Language signs to help everybody get to grasp with a few LGBT+ terms.

    The video was created by Deaf Direct to “celebrate the diversity of our community”.

    If you’ve ever wanted to know how to sign the words lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer, this simple video helps you say those words perfectly.

    William and Simon, who both appear in the video explain that in the UK we use BSL – rather than ASL (American Sign Language) and they take us through the gestures you need to make to say, in BSL, a few terms which identify LGBT+ folks.

    The words they recreate are:

    Lesbian

    Gay

    Bisexual

    Transgender

    Queer

    Straight

    Leather

    Bear

    Drag

    Pride Day

    Happy Pride Day

    Fabulous

    So go learn how to say Happy Pride Day you Fabulous Queers

  • Are there any gay saunas open during the Covid-19 lockdown?

    Are there any gay saunas open during the Covid-19 lockdown?

    As with many businesses the UK’s government has said that all non-essential shops and venues open to the public should not be open during the lockdown to “flatten the curve” of the coronavirus.

    Since the last week of March 2020, many businesses and services that were open to the general public across the UK have been ordered to shut including many shops and venues deemed not essential.

    The ruling applies to massage parlours, gyms and other health resorts – so unfortunately if you’re looking for an open gay sauna, you’ll be hard-pressed to find one open – and if you do, it’s most likely operating outside of the Government’s guidelines.

    When can we expect gay bars and saunas to reopen?

    The Government is expected to review its lockdown policy on the 7th May – and will make decisions about the types of businesses which will be allowed to reopen.

    It’s unlikely however that gyms and health spas will be high on the priority list for the Government to allow opening.

    Bars and clubs are also low on the priority list of business expected to be allowed to open once the UK’s lockdown is eased.

  • TODAY IN LGBT HISTORY | 1933: Nazis start the destruction of lesbian and gay culture in Germany

    TODAY IN LGBT HISTORY | 1933: Nazis start the destruction of lesbian and gay culture in Germany

    Today in 1933 the Nazis started their war against the gay and lesbian community in Germany by confiscating materials from the Institute of Sexual Science. The institute’s works were destroyed as part of the regime’s censorship programme, by youth brigades.

    The organisation was opened in 1919 and key in collecting and collating data concerning sexuality, gender and psychology.

    The Nazis burned the books and documents on the streets of Berlin as part of their censorship policy.

    Students organized by the Nazi party parade in front of the building of the Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin prior to pillaging it on May 6, 1933. They confiscated its books, photos and periodicals for burning. The Institute had been established by Magnus Hirschfeld, a Jewish homosexual doctor, as a center for sexology. It provided counselling and other services, and sought rights for homosexuals and transsexuals.

    The institute was opened by Magnus Hirschfeld and his collaborator Arthur Kronfeld in 1919.

    Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images

    Magnus is also famous for coining the term transsexualism. The institute also employed transgender people. Pioneering modern sex reassignment surgeries were offered here in 1930.

    To find out more visit the wikipedia page

  • Lost LGBT Scene | Molly Moggs

    Lost LGBT Scene | Molly Moggs

    We’re creating an online memory board for some of London’s lost venues. Since the turn of the century, London’s gay scene has lost over 100 venues.

    We’d love for you to help us grow this historical archive of London’s lost gay scene. If you’ve got photos or memories of any of the venues you’d like to share please use the comment section below and we’ll add them right here.

    Molly Moggs

    A small bar on the corner of Old Compton Street right in the centre of Soho. Was renowned for it’s tiny stage area where drag performers would entertain the patrons. It was small and always crowded with regulars who loved this place.

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  • Lost LGBT Scene | The Boltons

    Lost LGBT Scene | The Boltons

    We’re creating an online memory board for some of London’s lost venues. Since the turn of the century, London’s gay scene has lost over 100 venues.

    We’d love for you to help us grow this historical archive of London’s lost gay scene. If you’ve got photos or memories of any of the venues you’d like to share please use the comment section below and we’ll add them right here.

    The Boltons

    From “JC”

    This was the busiest gay bar in ’60s /’70s London.

    Open Lunch & Evenings 7 days (old licencing hours).

    There you could meet all types incl CD & Trans.  It was mostly men but a few lesbians mixed freely.

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