THEGAYUK

Day: 29 November 2020

  • What does AMAB mean? And is it offensive to use?

    What does AMAB mean? And is it offensive to use?

    AMAB stands for Assigned Male At Birth, where a person’s gender was given by medical professionals based on the baby’s genitalia found at birth giving a person a biological sex marker on their birth certificate. In this case, AMAB would mean that doctors or midwives found the baby to have a penis, therefore, would assign male to their birth certificate.

    Using the AMAB acronym could also be used to describe a person’s former gender or biological sex identity – used in the case where the person now lives as non-binary, a trans woman or feminine-presenting or a factual status on a man’s gender identity.

    Is using AMAB to describe someone offensive to say?

    Is using AMAB to describe someone offensive to say?
    Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

    No, but as with most language, it is how the words are applied or the context in which they are used where offensive can be taken. As being described as AMAB is a fact it shouldn’t be considered problematic unless the person you are referring to has said that they are uncomfortable with being called by a certain term. It could in the case of a transgender person out them as trans, or lead to a situation of deadnaming or deadgendering.

    Can you expand this definition? Use the comments below and your answer could be used to expand or define this glossary entry.

    Check out more definitions in our Big Gay Glossary

  • FILM REVIEW | Ghosts of the Republique – Gay French couple desperately want a child

    Rating: 5 out of 5.

    A newly married French gay couple journey to America to find a surrogate in the moving documentary ‘Ghosts of the Republique.’

    It was love at first sight for Aurelien and Nicolas when they meet at a gay club in Paris. They wind up getting married and such begins the film and their journey. It’s 2014 and estate agent Nicolas and flight attendant Aurelien make a perfect couple, while both their parents have accepted the fact that their gay sons would never be parents. Even Nicolas’s mother is happy to now have two sons but upset that she’ll never be happy as she’ll never have a grandchild.

    However, Aurelien and Nicolas do want to have a child, but they face serious obstacles – the most difficult one being that the French government does not allow surrogacy. It’s a government that passed same-sex marriage in 2013 but is not quite progressive enough. Aurelien and Nicolas are so determined to be parents that they fly to Las Vegas to start a family of their own through international surrogacy. They search high and low for an egg donor and also a surrogate to carry the egg to produce a child. They interview several local women, make decisions, and proceed with the process.

    It’s a process that’s complex, full of loopholes and uncertainty, and where every step has to go perfect and according to plan. Getting their non-French born baby back into France and establishing French citizenship is another hurdle to tackle. We go through the highs and the lows with Aurelien and Nicolas in the documentary – it’s an emotional ride made bearable by the charming couple who desperately want a baby, and we see them travel back and forth from France to the US several times to check in their baby mama.

    Ghosts of the Republique, directed by American Jonathon Narducci, provides us with much joy and drama in this sweet and touching story of Aurelien and Nicolas. 

    Ghosts of the Republique is now available on Amazon Prime, iTunes and other platforms.

  • Drag and cabaret artists “overlooked” by Government’s tier system

    Drag and cabaret artists “overlooked” by Government’s tier system

    It goes without saying that the bar, pub and club industry has been completely brutalised by lockdowns and Tier systems in place in the UK caused by the on-going coronavirus pandemic.

    As Boris Johnson’s administration announced which areas in England would be placed into which tiers, many cities which have large LGBT+ scenes found themselves in Tier 3, leaving them unable to open unless operating as a takeaway or drive through. Many gay bars are simply not set up to handle or offer food.

    Earlier this week Boris Johnson’s handling of the crisis was described by the CEO of the Royal Vauxhall Tavern as “inflicting devastating pain to an industry on the verge of collapse”.

    Live venues and performer in Tier system overlooked by government

    One drag performer tweeted Boris Johnson demanding to know why certain settings like theatres, casinos, theme parks and escape rooms were permitted to open yet live venues which, do not offer food, but offer live entertainment such as cabaret and drag shows were not permitted to open.

    Carrot, a non-binary drag performer wrote,

    “Live performers & venues in music, cabaret & drag need clarity from @10DowningStreet NOW. Why can theatres open and sell drinks in the intervals, when live venues who have spent huge amounts of £s and time making safe allocated seating cannot without selling food?”

    “Why can casinos & theme parks & escape rooms open in tier 2, places that are essentially impossible to clean entirely & keep safe, yet pubs & bars with allocated seating and table service cannot?

    “Live artists & venues have lost so much already & are still being overlooked.

    “It’s really heartbreaking. and yet somehow completely unsurprising.”

    How does hospitality contribute to the rising numbers of Coronavirus cases?

    Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer & Pub Association said, “Hospitality has accounted for as little as 2% of Covid cases”, and Kate Nicholls CEO, UK Hospitality said, “Pubs and restaurants pay the price of tougher tier restrictions – no other sector are facing restrictions like these.”

    Government data has shown that house-to-house mixing has the highest rate of rates of transmission for the virus.

    Bars and clubs have closed because of COVID-19 restrictions.

    2020 has seen numerous gay bar closures. Earlier in the year, Birmingham’s Eden Bar was forced to close due to devastating restraints placed on the pub industry. Also in the West Midlands, Midland Zone magazine also fell victim to the economic downturn.

    gay and drag bars closed because of covid tier system

    Nottingham’s only LGBT+ club, Propaganda closed in May and in Brighton, two venues have already shuttered. This month The Broadway closed and earlier in the year Legends fell into administration, before being reopened by new owners.