Set at an undisclosed location, Amame seeks to be a safe space for queer women to mingle and hang out.

Makati lounge Amame

AC Coloma

ABS-CBN News

MANILA - While gay clubs have spread around Metro Manila, spaces and events for lesbians, bisexual women, and other sapphic members of the LGBTQ+ community have remained sparse. This was what queer couple La Diaz and Jec Sarabia aimed to address as they finally opened all-sapphic lounge Amame in Makati, just in time for Pride Month. Set at an undisclosed location, the concept of <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@amame.space">Amame</a> started off as an idea after a night out at a bar with friends.  &quot;That was 2019. Sobrang random thought lang. I think we were talking about … We went to a party, tapos like, parang we wanted to meet friends or meet people. Tapos like, parang, kasi bigla ko nilang maisip na, wala pala &#x27;yung yung mga bar na for women, kasi may gay bar for the gays, and then for the lesbians, there&#x27;s none. So, maganda siguro kung meron,&quot; Sarabia told ABS-CBN News. (It was a random thought. Because we wanted to meet friends and meet people. And I was like &#x27;there aren&#x27;t many spaces for women&#x27; right? Because gay men have gay bars, and then for lesbians, there&#x27;s none, so it would probably be great to have one.)<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17186295920071718629585540.png" style="width:947px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Situated in Makati, Amame wants to provide a safe space for queer women to mingle. AC Coloma, ABS-CBN News"/>Situated in Makati, Amame wants to provide a safe space for queer women to mingle. AC Coloma, ABS-CBN News</div>Along the way, they faced numerous challenges -- including dealing with landlords who made last-minute changes, while lacking understanding on the importance of a dedicated space for queer women.&quot;They want to know what you&#x27;re gonna do with the space, right? And then … &#x27;Yung mga landlords. They initially feast on the idea of having an  all-female group. They&#x27;re curious, right? They&#x27;re always curious,&quot; Diaz said. &quot;They want to know, they even want to enter, &#x27;di ba? Parang, &#x27;Oh, we can go in?&#x27; Kasi sila may-ari ng building [because we own the building].&quot;<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/06/26/23/aya-fernandez-hopes-for-more-sapphic-stories-in-mainstream-media">&#x27;So worth telling&#x27;: After Stand-in Love, Aya Fernandez hopes for more sapphic stories in mainstream media</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/08/12/23/cinemalaya-review-sapphic-romcom-rookie-brings-the-kilig">Cinemalaya review: Sapphic romcom &#x27;Rookie&#x27; brings the kilig</a></div>&quot;And then after that, they would ghost us or jack up the rent, or come up with some lame excuse [why] we can&#x27;t rent. [Or they will impose something like], &#x27;Okay, you can rent, but you&#x27;re until 10 lang ang operating hours,&#x27; when actually, the building is 24/7. You can only [say], ba&#x27;t may ganoon? Parang nire-restrict ka,&quot; she added.Both of them recounted an incident where landlords changed the terms just as they were about to sign the papers. “[The terms] increased by 20 percent from what we agreed upon,” Diaz said. Later in 2019, they finally struck up a deal to open the space in BF Homes in Paranaque. But just as they were about to open, the government declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic, spurring heavy restrictions on gatherings for at least a couple of years. As lockdown levels eased, and Amame was trying to scale back into its operations, its founders had to go back to square one. Another problem was acquiring the right investors, as other businesses undermined the potential of having a lounge space specifically for queer women. &quot;We try talking to people, you know, who wants to collaborate with us. Hindi talaga nakikita. May market ba talaga?&quot; Diaz recalled. &quot;Kasi nga, it&#x27;s a new concept .. So like, there&#x27;s some, &#x27;Are you sure? So, gusto niyong gawin?&#x27;&quot;&quot;They&#x27;re not convinced of the idea,&quot; she added. &quot;Because it&#x27;s new. There&#x27;s nothing like it.&quot;With doubts cast over their idea, they felt disheartened until they posted a TikTok teasing events that they could potentially do. The post gained thousands of likes, and the idea soon became validation for the couple. They started operating bit by bit -- first with holding mixers and events in rented bars around the central business district. Membership spiked up to more than a thousand, and then they started holding more events in bars and other commercial businesses from September last year.<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17186296866321718629685895.png" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="AC Coloma, ABS-CBN News "/><span style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:center;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none">AC Coloma, ABS-CBN News </div>But that also proved to be a challenge as attempts to encroach on the members’ spaces remained. Both Diaz and Sarabia recalled a time in February where a group of men attempted to enter while an Amame event was happening, leaving some of its members shell-shocked. (The author of this piece was also a guest at the time.) &quot;Some females are uncomfortable. Still uncomfortable even though the... When there were male crew. There&#x27;s male crew. Diba? Yeah. Some of them, the members expressed that explicitly na sana female din yung [servers],” Diaz shared. Staff of other events also attempted to take pictures of Amame’s own members. It was in May that they finally got to find the perfect space. And after five years: the space dedicated for Amame is up and running, on limited service. Most of the interiors are pink, embracing “femininity.” They add that the colors of its interiors were specifically lifted off the pink shades in the lesbian, bisexual, and transgender flags. Lighting is also ambient in the space, which can hold up to 50 people. Shoes were not allowed in the space, which is carpeted. Diaz, an architect, mostly conceptualized the acoustics behind the venue, intended for more cozy and intimate conversations between guests and patrons. &quot;I think one of the considerations that we had was we needed a space na tago. So that&#x27;s one. We also wanted a space that would be cozy, which is why it’s carpeted. So that&#x27;s like the design. I mean that&#x27;s the purpose behind it. Para you can sit on the floor. We&#x27;re gonna have some more beanbags,&quot; she shared. (We needed a secluded space. We also wanted a space that would be cozy which is why it&#x27;s carpeted. So that&#x27;s the purpose behind it, so you can sit on the floor. We&#x27;re gonna have some more bean bags.) <div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17186297232691718629723068.png" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="AC Coloma, ABS-CBN News"/>AC Coloma, ABS-CBN News</div>Members can visit the lounge, with plus-ones allowed on certain events, as founders seek to uphold its members&#x27; privacy. They will also need to pay membership fees depending on the tiers, with benefits such as getting access to the location.&quot;We, non-straight women have always appeared as second-class citizens in the Philippines, &#x27;di ba? Same&#x27;s true within the community, with the lesbian community or the sapphic community. And it&#x27;s usually the gay men who dominate the scene.  So, female events were held, or normally held within male-owned... Male-owned or dominated spaces. So, we believe having a physical space bound by four walls is empowering. Because it fosters a sense of community, belongingness, and ownership. So, yeah. It&#x27;s our space and it&#x27;s not just, you know, one day in a week,&quot; Sarabia said. Amame will also be holding speed dating events, parties, and soirees for its members. For now, Amame is open on days when they hold their events, but founders are eyeing to open it full-time by July. Founders said they found hope in Amame&#x27;s reception so far. Opening in other destinations outside Metro Manila is part of what they are eyeing to do in the future. &quot;It&#x27;s aligned with the branding. But like... Wouldn&#x27;t it be nice if we had more pink doors all around the Philippines? And then you would say... Ay! Ito! Amame ito sa loob. So... It&#x27;s a thing that we want to... We dream of,&quot; Diaz said. You may sign up <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://amame.space/">here</a>. <div> </div><div> </div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"> </div>

Set at an undisclosed location, Amame seeks to be a safe space for queer women to mingle and hang out.

Express Your Pride: Makati lounge Amame is a safe haven for sapphics | ABS-CBN

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Express Your Pride: Makati lounge Amame is a safe haven for sapphics

Express Your Pride: Makati lounge Amame is a safe haven for sapphics

AC Coloma,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 18, 2024 12:56 PM PHT

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