Témoignage. Être gay (et étranger) à Dubaï

Contents:

• CAN I BE GAY DUBAI?
• GAY DUBAI
• TéMOIGNAGE. ÊTRE GAY (ET éTRANGER) à DUBAï
• ASIE EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY DUBAI
• WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE A GAY EXPAT DUBAI
• PERIL AND PRIVILEGE: GAY EXPAT NIGHTLIFE DUBAI
• BEG GAY DUBAI
• VIAGEM GAY PARA DUBAI. É POSSíVEL VIAJAR EM SAL?
• DUBAI GAY MAP
• GAY TRAVEL DUBAI
• ASIE EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY DUBAI
• GAY EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO LIVE DUBAI WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS PUNISHABLE BY 10 YEARS PRISON
• WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE A GAY EXPAT DUBAI
• BAR 44DUBAIMENUI BARVIAGG GAY A DUBAIMAPPA GAYBAR 44
• TéMOIGNAGE. ÊTRE GAY (ET éTRANGER) à DUBAï

CAN I BE GAY DUBAI?

As every untry, there are plenty of gay people Dubai, is more a qutn of how openly you n be gay Dubai. There are no LGBT (Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgenr) rights any of the Uned Arab Emirat. Knowledgeable expats Dubai remend that Gay upl should not even risk old hands public.

This means that the more ual punishments for beg gay – beatgs, prolonged imprisonment, flogggs, torture, and chemil stratn – would be nsired to be gettg off lightly. Back 2013 they discsed troducg some form of ttg to prevent gay foreigners om enterg any of those untri. They only dropped the proposal bee they feared a ntroversy that might rail the 2022 FIFA World Cup , no: not a gay-iendly regn.

GAY DUBAI

There are no gay bars Dubai, but you n rt assured that there is a high gay-quotient every trendy bar. Gay marriage is not regnized Dubai, no matter how married you may be your home untry.

Ironilly, beg sent to prison Eygpt only rults more gay sex. Gay Dubai Dubai Cy GuiWh s futuristic skyle and amb archectural landspe, don’t take long to see that Dubai is a cy of superlativ.

TéMOIGNAGE. ÊTRE GAY (ET éTRANGER) à DUBAï

That said, we would be remiss not to mentn that homosexualy remas illegal throughout the Uned Arab Emirat. As a gay tourist, you are unlikely to enunter any problems, provid that you avoid all public displays of affectn.

ASIE EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY DUBAI

Wh that md, disver the bt this rzy Middle Eastern cy has to offer wh our fe gay Dubai gui.

Where to stay DubaiBefore bookg your Dubai hotel, ’s important to ll to md our above note that homosexualy is illegal.

As a rult, many hotels will require gay travellers to rerve a room wh two sgle beds (as opposed to sharg a kg or queen.

WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE A GAY EXPAT DUBAI

) That said, ternatnal five-star brands tend to be the most acmodatg to gay travellers—and our Dubai gay scene gui purposefully clus the most luxur hotels where you are ls likely to enunter discrimatn. If upon arrival your bed preference is changed, we do not remend argug wh the assigned sleepg arrangements—this is an unfortunate circumstance of visg a lole where homosexualy remas illegal.

Now, whout further ado, here are our favoure upsle, Dubai hotels for a memorable gay Rishab LamichhaneAl Maha is an oasis of luxury tucked away amidst the sweepg sand dun and lh palm grov of the Dubai Dert Conservatn RerveSpecial SelectnExclive Mr Hudson offersExplore more. As you'd expect, the Uned Arab Emirat is not a particularly gay-iendly statn. It has sodomy laws punishable wh imprisonment, but wh such a diverse populatn everyone knows there's plenty of gay lols and visors.

It's also slightly more liberal than other Arab stat, wh no ter ntrol, although many Wtern s are blocked and foreigners have been jailed and ported for simply attendg private "gay parti. Obvly there are no gay bars and clubs town, but everyone mix at the top spots, ually nnected to hotels.

PERIL AND PRIVILEGE: GAY EXPAT NIGHTLIFE DUBAI

Gay crowds also s at the fés of the Dubai Mall, g bluetooth nnectn on their cell phon to "nnect" wh others. Gay-Friendlier Beach.

Gay-Friendly Hotels. There are obvly no gay hotels Dubai, but orr to feel safer and be surround by like-md people, you may want to stay at Wtern chas close to Jumeirah beach. Un journaliste stralien rante son expérience en tant qu’homosexuel dans une bulle relative liberté en ple Moyen-Orient.

BEG GAY DUBAI

Je n’ai cune illn sur l’attu officielle s torés Dubaï en ce qui ncerne l’homosexualé.

VIAGEM GAY PARA DUBAI. É POSSíVEL VIAJAR EM SAL?

Dans le groupe prse où je travaille, on me d dans s term très clair que je ne dois pas faire référence à l’homosexualé dans m articl ce qui – quand on écr sur s célébrés, sur la culture pop et sur la mo – éta particulièrement difficile. Une vraie munté LGBT ternatnale Pourtant, malgré c ndns vie pénibl, il se rend pte, grâce à s amis gays renntrés sur place, qu’il existe une vérable munté LGBT: “Du fa la très importante populatn jn ls blancs expatriés, la munté LGBT t une s pl multiculturell et divers du mon. Raids la police, prison, expulsn… Pour tant, il ft être très pnt r l relatns homosexuell sont passibl dix ans prison et l scent police dans l clubs et l soiré gays sont nombrs.

It’s 2am and the club is packed wh a sea of sweaty, gay men gettg their groove on to a Madonna classic — and I’m one of them. Nothg strange here you might thk, I mean, there are gay clubs the world over, right?

Dpe beg nservative by Wtern standards, this is where alhol and sex-starved Arabs flock to drov to get their fix — and that clus the gays. My iends back home London joked about my forthg years of celibacy and, though I lghed along wh them at the time, as the plane touched down on the tarmac of Dubai’s airport my bravado the get go, I’m unr no illns about Dubai’s official attu to homosexualy.

DUBAI GAY MAP

At my publishg pany, I’m told no uncerta terms to avoid g gay referenc wh stori which — when wrg celebry, pop culture and fashn — was particularly the surface ndns for gay Dubaiians might seem bleak, but thanks to some quickly acquired gay iends I learn quickly that, spe the legali, a vibrant gay scene flourish. I break my Dubai gay club virgy at one of the most popular hangouts.

Enterg via an unrground rpark on a Saturday eveng, my male iend and I enunter the uneven door polici that are rife throughout gay venu (a vague attempt to curb gay activy). Passg on that offer, I quickly meet an equally forward New Zealanr workg as crew for Emirat Airl (where a large portn of the cy’s gay ntgent work). Though I had a boyiend (an English expat) for the bulk of my time the cy, my gay iends played the field extensively and I know om their rpective tal that there was no shortage of actn.

GAY TRAVEL DUBAI

Ined, wh a meltg pot of party-lovg Asi and Brs, lubrited wh large quanti of booze, no matter if you’re gay OR straight, bedhoppg is a cert. While Dubai has bee somethg of a gay Mec for Arabs om surroundg untri where there are even harsher views on homosexualy (you n’t get much harsher than the ath penalty, after all) gays the cy n’t afford to rt on their lrels. Acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian and Gay Associatn, nsensual gay sex Dubai is punishable by up to 10 years prison.

ASIE EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY DUBAI

Bee the mentaly here is that gay men need to be terred om homosexual activy, police raids of clubs and private parti are mon. For a time, the thori even patrolled the plethora of Dubai malls, searchg for “obv” signs of homosexualy. When unspectg gay men are entrapped, the nsequenc of their sexualy are pennt on their natnaly.

GAY EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO LIVE DUBAI WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS PUNISHABLE BY 10 YEARS PRISON

Foreigners are often put jail and then eventually ported, lols may have to endure hormone therapy to al wh their “problem” hard le taken by Dubai officials has led to var reports of jtice makg ternatnal headl, but unfortunately, there are untls s of gay persecutn that undoubtedly still rema undocumented. Dpe s nservative culture, Dubai is home to a thrivg unrground gay scene. Photo / 123RFSpeakers boom the darkly l, smoky 's 2am and the club is packed wh a sea of sweaty, gay men gettg their groove on to a Madonna classic - and I'm one of an all-day drkg ssn, followed by a spot of impromptu karaoke, durg which I ma iends wh a lovely lbian uple (we bond over our love of '80s power ballads) I've end up at this unrground hotspot.

WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE A GAY EXPAT DUBAI

Dpe beg nservative by Wtern standards, this is where alhol and sex-starved Arabs flock to drov to get their fix - and that clus the gays. My iends back home London joked about my forthg years of celibacy and, though I lghed along wh them at the time, as the plane touched down on the tarmac of Dubai's airport my bravado the get go, I'm unr no illns about Dubai's official attu to after arrivg orr to secure a workg visa I'm tted for HIV (any expat wh the disease is immediately repatriated, alongsi anyone found to have tuberculosis) my publishg pany, I'm told no uncerta terms to avoid g gay referenc wh stori which - when wrg celebry, pop culture and fashn - was particularly the surface ndns for gay Dubaiians might seem bleak, but thanks to some quickly acquired gay iends I learn quickly that, spe the legali, a vibrant gay scene flourish. Enterg via an unrground rpark on a Saturday eveng, my male iend and I enunter the uneven door polici that are rife throughout gay venu (a vague attempt to curb gay activy) is a nservative cy, but the unrground gay scene is packed.

Passg on that offer, I quickly meet an equally forward New Zealanr workg as crew for Emirat Airl (where a large portn of the cy's gay ntgent work).

And while the UAE employs strict censors to prevent accs to pornography or datg webs, an easily downloadable program bypass censors to allow accs to datg and hook-up s, such as Grdr and I had a boyiend (an English expat) for the bulk of my time the cy, my gay iends played the field extensively and I know om their rpective tal that there was no shortage of actn. Ined, wh a meltg pot of party-lovg Asi and Brs, lubrited wh large quanti of booze, no matter if you're gay OR straight, bedhoppg is a Dubai has bee somethg of a gay Mec for Arabs om surroundg untri where there are even harsher views on homosexualy (you n't get much harsher than the ath penalty, after all) gays the cy n't afford to rt on their lrels.

BAR 44DUBAIMENUI BARVIAGG GAY A DUBAIMAPPA GAYBAR 44

For a time, the thori even patrolled the plethora of Dubai malls, searchg for "obv" signs of unspectg gay men are entrapped, the nsequenc of their sexualy are pennt on their natnaly. Foreigners are often put jail and then eventually ported, lols may have to endure hormone therapy to al wh their "problem" hard le taken by Dubai officials has led to var reports of jtice makg ternatnal headl, but unfortunately, there are untls s of gay persecutn that undoubtedly still rema undocumented.

That is the qutn that LSE’s Dr Centner and his -thor Harvard’s Manoel Pereira Neto explore their groundbreakg rearch to Dubai’s expatriate gay men’s nightlife. “As two queer rearchers, we were able to enter the worlds of relatively privileged Wtern gay expatriat. [but] not bars intified as gay.

Not a sgle venue’s webpage the word ‘gay’ or related phemisms, nor do they ht at targetg a gay crowd. They also nducted terviews, relyg on personal ntacts, to fd 26 gay men, aged 24-48 and reprentg 15 natnali.

TéMOIGNAGE. ÊTRE GAY (ET éTRANGER) à DUBAï

Their forthg paper explas: “Much of the Dubayyan gay nightlife tak place venu wh the cy’s p ternatnal hotels, which are technilly open to all who n afford them. The rearchers wonred, at first, how so many men knew that the are events attend by many other gay men: “The were ed ‘parti’ – on a specific night of the week for different s – equented by gays, not bars intified as gay.

Gay datg apps are also shunned for fear of entrapment by ’s this nstant sense of your hair standg on end and havg to be ut about who's listeng, who's at the door, who's ved, or what might be said and passed along, that uld get most such venu, the rearchers note that the mic played is rarely the kd of remixed, beat-heavy tracks or classilly “gay” songs that domate self-proclaimed LGBTQ bars across many global ci.

Only those wh the most cumulative privilege among a generally imperilled populatn of heterogeneo Dubai-based homosexuals would attempt to ploy this repertoire openly. Fdg your “gay fay”.