What 's like to be a gay expat Dubai - NZ Herald

Contents:

• ASIE EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY DUBAI
• DUBAI GAY TRAVEL
• 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
• PERIL AND PRIVILEGE: GAY EXPAT NIGHTLIFE DUBAI
• GAY BARS AND NIGHTCLUBS - DUBAI FOM
• DUBAI NIGHTLIFE FOR GAY MALE TOURISTS - DUBAI FOM
• WHAT HAPPENED WHEN FOUR GAY GUYS FROM TEL AVIV TOOK A VATN TO DUBAI
• GAY CAB CREW SECRETS OM THE MIDDLE EAST
• DUBAI GAY-FRIENDLY BARS
• DUBAI: GAY TRAVEL ADVICE (OM A LOL)

ASIE EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY DUBAI

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. 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 TRAVEL

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. 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).

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

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.

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. Bee the mentaly here is that gay men need to be terred om homosexual activy, police raids of clubs and private parti are mon.

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. In this gui, I’ll help you navigate all the nfg rmatn about gay travel to Dubai, ver sential safety tips, and mentn some of the bt hotels and lol thgs to do. However, there is always the lgerg realy that you mt monor and censor your actns here, pecially a untry where beg gay is illegal.

WHAT 'S LIKE TO BE A GAY EXPAT DUBAI

Police are not patrollg the streets lookg for pairs of gay men, but bears to mentn that the law remas archaic disallowg any gay rights. While you won’t fd any specifilly gay hotels Dubai, choosg one of the larger ternatnal hotel chas will have a big impact on your sense of safety as an LGBT traveler. While you should be credibly skeptil when browsg misleadg lists of Dubai gay bars, you n still have a fantastic time enjoyg the cy’s nightlife.

Barbary Cocktail Club is another awome spot known as one of the few Dubai gay bars, remend by a iend of me who liv Dubai. Dubai’s thori will certaly not tolerate gay public displays of affectn, so remember that would be dangero to hold your partner’s hand while walkg down the street. But if you’ve ever met a male flight attendant that works for Emirat, they’ll tell you about all the Dubai gay lols livg this glzy metropolis.

Although homosexualy is officially forbidn, gays and lbians n enjoy private gay life relative fort pared to other untri the regn. Ined, should you be unlucky enough to be ught engagg homosexual activy the regn, reports claim that punishment n range om 10 years prison, f, portatn and even the ath penalty.

PERIL AND PRIVILEGE: GAY EXPAT NIGHTLIFE DUBAI

Dpe this, Dubai is host to a thrivg unrground gay scene, wh men flockg to unofficial LGBT clubs wh ltle fear of the nsequenc, acrdg to Detaed Dubai. 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 difficult. On 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.

GAY BARS AND NIGHTCLUBS - DUBAI FOM

Enterg via an unrground r park 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). The 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.

Many LGBT dividuals may chose to vis Dubai or the UAE but is extremely important to be rmed of the nsequenc of beg openly gay this regn. Wh harsh and discrimatory laws nmng homosexualy and promotg homophobia the name of relign, one mt nsir the risks que refully. There are no official gay clubs, but lotns of unofficial gay clubs circulate on the Inter and men gather wh ltle fear of the nsequenc.

DUBAI NIGHTLIFE FOR GAY MALE TOURISTS - DUBAI FOM

Some claim that the police will simply disperse crowds if a gay club is bted, but other people are fearful that the suatn might be worse. When the police fd out about gay iendly clubs they get shut down fast, people get ported and punishments are likely imposed. There are stori of fundamentalists chattg onle and meetg up wh gay men and subsequently threateng to report them to the police.

Eleven of the men nfsed to practicg homosexualy and were sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for homosexualy, and an addnal year for obsceny. Kafkaque claims he was disuraged by the police om prsg charg and even faced the possibily of beg charged wh crimal homosexual activy himself.

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN FOUR GAY GUYS FROM TEL AVIV TOOK A VATN TO DUBAI

What is apparent though, is that there have been var s over the last 5 or so years that monstrate harsher treatment for foreigners and crimalizatn of homosexualy.

GAY CAB CREW SECRETS OM THE MIDDLE EAST

Homosexualy has a grave impact on a society where relig books nmn homosexual behavr for beg immoral and agast human nature.

While is clearly a vlatn of human rights to crimalize homosexualy and promote discrimatn, there is a fe le between the right to be yourself and the importance of rpectg other people’s cultur. While is imperative that homosexualy be accepted the UAE, is also important for foreigners to be rpectful of the culture which they impose themselv – even if they disagree wh the ctoms. The charg arose January and another man, MN was also charged wh prostutn, nsensual homosexual sex, pornographic material, cross-drsg and sultg relign.

There were only few reports of prosecutns and punishments but many people on the Inter censor their nversatns and inty gay chat rooms. 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. 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.

DUBAI GAY-FRIENDLY BARS

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.

DUBAI: GAY TRAVEL ADVICE (OM A LOL)

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.

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.

Women are expected to have arms and legs vered when visg a mall (Getty)Beware who you tell if you're gayDubai’s thori are not the bs of searchg for gay tourists to arrt, even though homosexual sex is illegal. 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. 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.