It's Hard To Be Gay Armenia | Instute for War and Peace Reportg

Contents:

• GAY AND LBIAN ARMENIANS
• PORTRA OF A YOUNG GAY ARMENIAN MAN
• GAY YEREVAN, ARMENIA | THE ESSENTIAL LGBT TRAVEL GUI!
• ON LIVG AND DYG AS A GAY PERSON THE ARMENIAN CHURCH
• IT'S HARD TO BE GAY ARMENIA
• SUICI OF GAY COUPLE ROCKS ARMENIA
• UNZIPPED: GAY ARMENIA BY MIKA ARTYAN
• IT'S HARD TO BE GAY ARMENIA
• ‘YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO LL YOURSELF ARMENIAN’ SAY GAY MAN’S ATTACKERS

GAY AND LBIAN ARMENIANS

Now, he intifi as queer: a self-affirmg term ed by many people who are gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and non-heterosexual.

Homosexualy is still heavily stigmatized wh the Armenian muny, he said, and he experienced ternalized shame and guilt. Two of Armenia’s most celebrated poets the early 20th century, Vahan Tekeyan and Yeghishe Charents, were gay or bisexual. On Monday, there was another gay-bashg Armenia, this time agast a member of Right Si NGO, a trans activism anizatn.

Max Yarzhapetyan was walkg on the street Yerevan, the pal and largt cy, when three men started to follow him, swear at him, and hurl homophobic slurs. He said an vtigatg office told him, "Gays are not allowed or loved this untry, and that's why happened to you.

PORTRA OF A YOUNG GAY ARMENIAN MAN

"I reached out to the thori Armenia for ments about the cint but did not get an immediate and other human rights activists are not optimistic that there will be any lseng of the systematic and stutnalized homophobia Armenia.

For them, was homophobia as ual. They shouted homophobic slurs and threats, mandg that Hakobyan and his guts leave the village.

Hakobyan and his iends fled the hoe and the crowd ran after them, htg and kickg them, throwg ston, and shoutg "get rid of those gays" and "tch them and beat them up.

GAY YEREVAN, ARMENIA | THE ESSENTIAL LGBT TRAVEL GUI!

Followg the gay-bashg, Gev Petrosyan, an Armenian Parliament member wh the Prospero Armenia Party, ma this statement on his Facebook page: "I don't know who will crimate me and to what extent, but we should have already driven out (I'm statg this lightly) homosexuals, relig mori, and their protectors om our Holy land wh jot efforts. " The statement ntued, "Durg the last several days, there has been a wave of extremist and homophobic acts Armenia, targeted at the event.

" said Haig Boyadjian, print of the Gay and Lbian Armenian Society, a U. "Homosexualy has been legal Armenia sce 2003, but there are no legal protectns for LGBTQ Armenians, and Armenia is ranked 49th out of 50 European untri when to LGBTQ rights, only beatg out Azerbaijan.

ON LIVG AND DYG AS A GAY PERSON THE ARMENIAN CHURCH

How are gay people viewed Armenian society and fay? As gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenred muni emerge the ntemporary Armenian world (both Armenia and the diaspora) more and more Armenians are makg public their personal sexual inti. Armenia crimalized gay male sex on Jan.

Male homosexualy was crimalized unr the early Soviet perd and only banned durg the Stalist perd. While gays and lbians Armenia still face many obstacl that prevent them om leadg open and equal liv, many diasporan Armenians are not hred by homophobia and the level of acceptance is more often related to the prevalent cultural attus of the greater non-Armenian muny. There are active Armenian gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenred associatns Los Angel, New York, Paris and elsewhere.

IT'S HARD TO BE GAY ARMENIA

Famo Gay, Lbian and Bisexual Armenians. Famo Armenians who are believed to be eher gay, lbian or bisexual clu:. Gay Catholis Grigoris I or Grigor Aghtamartsi.

gay Armenian Amerin lerary pneer Gee Stambolian.

SUICI OF GAY COUPLE ROCKS ARMENIA

An Armenian gay and lbian group Glendale will be holdg s third roundtable Saturday for LGBTQ Armenians, their parents, fai and iends to discs issu about their sexual inty and brastorm ways to rce stigma the Armenian muny. “The biggt fear that everyone has is the fear of isolatn om the muny, ” said Erik Adamian, a board member of the 20-year-old Gay and Lbian Armenian Society, or meetg and sharg experienc and ncerns what Admanian scrib as a culture still fixated on tradnal genr rol, “a kd of submuny builds wh the Armenian muny that hasn’t existed before, ” he ssns, morated by mental health profsnals and typilly kicked off wh a short film as a nversatn starter, draw on the Armenian ctom of socializg over a cup of ffee, or first Soorj Ssn held April was so popular the group cid to make a recurrg event. Portra Of a Young Gay Armenian Man.

I prayed to God every day to not be gay -Movs Shakarian. And then he me out as gay. Experts Armenian culture believe that the roots of prent-day homophobia the Armenian muny go back to the Armenian Genoci of 1915.

So when to homosexualy, there’s an ia that queer people nnot procreate, which therefore means that the persecutor has won. Growg Up Gay and Armenian the Shakarian Home. “I prayed to God every day to not be gay” he remembers.

UNZIPPED: GAY ARMENIA BY MIKA ARTYAN

’ and she said ‘Y’, and then I said ‘Ok mom, I’m gay. Monique rells the moment she was certa that her big brother was gay, “He had e home om llege for the weekend wh some theater buddi—which I really feel like should have tipped my parents off the first place, ” she says lghg.

“I jt remember lookg at him and thkg, ‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure [Movs] is gay. Helen, remisc on that first show, says, “Actually was fun, but I also was like, ‘Oh my god oh my god, why do your openg joke have to be Armenian and gay! ’” Others lled him ‘disgtg, ’ plaed about how bold gay people are, told Movs that he was not a real Armenian and one ment even told him to take the Armenian flag emoji off of his Instagram profile.

Are you some kd of homo? “His edy ma his sexualy impossible to ignore, he stigmatized beg gay, and ma easier for other gay Armenians to know they aren’t alone, ” explas Monique. Holdg a microphone and tellg jok about beg Armenian and gay to dienc that my fay is stg , I would’ve told you that you’re crazy, ” he says.

IT'S HARD TO BE GAY ARMENIA

Movs' parents me to Ameri om Armenian the 70s, and the Armenia they me om was unr the Soviet regime, and did not have a progrsive stance regardg gay rights. Though Armenia has progrsed a lot of ways, they have yet to make signifint stris towards gay rights.

Movs' Big Fat Gay Armenian Weddg.

‘YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO LL YOURSELF ARMENIAN’ SAY GAY MAN’S ATTACKERS

“If I told my 16-year-old self that my whole fay would be at my gay weddg, I never would’ve believed , ” Movs lghs. Dpe this, Yerevan isn’t even close to beg a gay-iendly cy.

Bee of the untry’s strongly tablished homophobia and social nservatism, Armenians who are lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr suffer a difficult life. Although homosexualy was crimalized Armenia 2003, the untry’s stat for LGBT persons has not improved.