Bouncers at gay clubs in Georgia screen patrons for bigotry

QUEEN YULIALGBT spends her nights lip-synching in a cheap wig and a disco-ball bra. Sometimes she does so on a plastic horse. She is one of a handful of professional drag queens in Georgia. She is also a co-owner of Success Bar, the country’s only avowedly gay pub. (Some other clubs in Georgia run occasional gay nights.) Before she made a living on stage, she was in charge of “face control” for the bar. For bouncers at most other venues, that means maintaining an air of exclusivity by letting in only stylish folk. For Queen Yulia and security guards at other events in Georgia, it means screening out bigots who might turn violent.This is hard. Hatred, unlike a cool outfit, is not instantly visible. Partygoers hoping to attend a gay night at Bassiani, a nearby club, must submit their names, dates of birth, links to their Facebook profiles and even passport numbers days in advance. The party’s security team then screen for signs of prejudice before allowing anyone to hit the dance floor. Nomadic Boys, a travel blog catering to gay tourists, advises clubgoers in Tbilisi to “avoid entering in big groups” and “keep silent as the bouncer scans you”, lest innocent punters be taken for violent homophobes. Such scrutiny is needed in Georgia, where violence against gay people is alarmingly common.