A new documentary, 'Unfivable,' follows Geovany, a gay former gang hman, who grappl wh both his sexualy and his vlent past.
Contents:
- BEG GAY ALGERIA
- DOZENS OF STUNTS HAND PRISON SENTENC FOR THE ALLEGED ‘CRIME’ OF ATTENDG A ‘GAY WEDDG’
- INSI A PRISON CELL FOR GAY FORMER GANG MEMBERS EL SALVADOR
BEG GAY ALGERIA
A urt Algeria has sentenced dozens of universy stunts to prison for attendg a "gay weddg", on "same-sex relatns" charg. * prison gay algerie *
’ The peculiar habs of sgers are part of the folklore of Algeria’s barets, rai mic venu wh a reputatn for alhol, prostutn and homosexualy that are tolerated as long as they rema on the margs of pole society. Algerians know homosexualy exists, but tend to avoid the subject and feel gay people should keep to themselv.
Homosexualy, when mentned at all, is prented as an illns that requir treatment by a psychiatrist, or the terventn of an imam. Some acce the Wt of seekg to export a ‘gay inty’ that don’t exist Algeria; this may enurage homophobic behavur by the thori and nservative elements of society (1) Last July, some Arabic media plaed when the Brish embassy Algiers raised an LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual and trans) flag support of the Pri London para.
Until the 1990s, Algerians rarely mentned homosexualy, pecially the prence of adolcents. Most gay men I terviewed said they had felt alone durg their teens.
DOZENS OF STUNTS HAND PRISON SENTENC FOR THE ALLEGED ‘CRIME’ OF ATTENDG A ‘GAY WEDDG’
Slimane scribed why he had felt alone durg his teens: ‘I didn’t know any other homosexuals, so I thought I was the only one, and that was sry.
‘The language is homophobic’. Acrdg to Mariem Guellouz, a doctor of lguistics, ‘every word for homosexualy Arabic has negative nnotatns, other words the language self is systemilly hurtful and discrimatory. The language is not jt a sign of homophobia; ’s homophobic self’ (2).
A homosexual may be given a girl’s name as a nickname, or sulted as ‘a man who giv’ (’attay). It’s very different for those born after the civil war (1992-2000); they are on new media all the time, and the offer a view of homosexualy that is not guilt-ducg, and posive role mols.
INSI A PRISON CELL FOR GAY FORMER GANG MEMBERS EL SALVADOR
Am, a universy stunt, joked, ‘The character Mar, Degrassi [a Canadian drama seri that als wh the teenage problems and issu a realistic way], changed my life: I realised that beg gay was a thg.
The poort are the most vulnerable, bee when public spac are the only place where you n have sex, there are many dangers: the police, homophobic attacks, theft, and health risks if you don’t have a ndom. The hierarchy of the sex and the domance of men fluence even homoerotic relatnships;many men prent themselv as active toprerve their digny, and assert their virily by rejectg anythg that might be perceived as feme.
They imagegay men’s liv as nsistg of bchery, shame and lonels. Society perceiv the two ways of life as totally antagonistic, and few gay upl live together Algeria. This perceptn of homosexualy, and an unqutng rpect for parental thory, lead many men to nform to the social norm.