Nigeria is a ld-blood untry for gay men -- I have the srs to prove | CNN

Contents:

• OPN: NIGERIA IS A LD-BLOOD UNTRY FOR GAY MEN – I HAVE THE SRS TO PROVE
• GAY NIGERIA: 'EVERYBODY SE ME AS AN ABOMATN'
• 5 NIGERIAN CELEBRI WHO HAVE OPENLY ADMTED TO BEG GAY
• LGBTQ+ NIGERIANS ARE CELEBRATG PRI MONTH DEFIANCE OF ANTI-GAY LAW
• GAY IN NIGERIA: LGBT LIFE IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST HOMOPHOBIC NATNS
• 'SEX EDUTN'S' GAY TEEN ERIC TAK A RISKY TRIP TO NIGERIA. HOW REALISTIC IS ?

OPN: NIGERIA IS A LD-BLOOD UNTRY FOR GAY MEN – I HAVE THE SRS TO PROVE

Many Ains who are not gay or bisexual – sexually attracted only to people of the same sex or of both sex – claim that beg gay or bisexual is not acceptable for relig and cultural reasons. Gay and bisexual people are aware of this, and often anticipate discrimatory acts even when they are not immediately prent. Taken to the extreme, gay and bisexual people n imbibe the negative attus and direct them towards themselv – what’s known as ternalised stigma or self-hatred.

Collectively, the strsful factors crease the likelihood of mental health problems and low life-satisfactn among gay and bisexual relative to heterosexual dividuals.

GAY NIGERIA: 'EVERYBODY SE ME AS AN ABOMATN'

We asked 89 gay and bisexual Nigerian men to fill qutnnair that asked them about self-stigma due to beg gay and bisexual, qualy of life and the pg strategi they ed.

The fdgs tell that gay and bisexual men Nigeria who have low levels of self-stigma and have adopted posive pg strategi n mata a good qualy of life. This means that one way of helpg gay and bisexual men – Nigeria as well as other Ain untri – is to teach them posive strategi. It also lls for a change punive legislatn, and posive addns such as laws to protect gay and bisexual dividuals om beg discrimated agast.

I wanted to start meangful nversatns around genr norms and masculy that speak specifilly to our reali as gay men wh a culture that is poisonoly patriarchal and eply homophobic. Agast a backdrop of adly anti-gay vlence, A Nasty Boy dared to be a haven for gay men Nigeria and, no time, received ternatnal attentn through CNN, BBC, The Guardian, The Enomist, Vogue, and others. And yet, even this gome attack pal parison to the fatal btaly many Nigerian gay men have too often experienced the form of lynchgs or pillory wh tir before they’re set on fire and burnt alive—not for terrorism or worse, but for beg gay, for beg human, a sperately homophobic untry.

5 NIGERIAN CELEBRI WHO HAVE OPENLY ADMTED TO BEG GAY

A 2017 survey by The Iniative for Equal Rights (TIERS), a Nigerian-based human rights anizatn, showed 90% of Nigerians support the ntued enforcement of Nigeria’s anti-gay laws. Homophobia is the tie that bds a divid untry; the one thg a natn of chronic ethnic loyalti, of relig tensn, of failed ernment, n agree upon.

In universy, I beme a social pariah and the poster child for “faggots” after beg outed by my bt iend on a mp that waged a ‘War on Homosexualy. They also claim there’s been a rise stanc of extortn and blackmail of the LGBTQI+ muny by secury a after the law passed, our rrponnt Mayeni Jon vtigat what life is really like for Nigeria’s gay muny. Campaigners say the se is an important tt of a law banng gay marriage and same-sex “amoro relatnships”, which me to force five years ago.

Xeenarh Mohammed, the executive director of the Lagos-based Iniative for Equal Rights (TIERS), said the law had historilly been ed to harass and blackmail gay people but there had not been any nvictns. The acced say they were attendg a birthday Same Sex Marriage Prohibn Act, which banned gay relatnships and entrenched tolerance of sexual mori Nigerian society, was signed by Goodluck Jonathan, then print, January law ed an ternatnal outcry, wh nmnatn om global human rights anisatn and wtern ernments. Surveys have historilly shown high levels of homophobia Nigeria, but some have poted to what mpaigners say is a tentative, growg acceptance of gay men and June, high urt judg Botswana led that laws crimalisg same-sex relatns were unnstutnal and should be stck down, a major victory for gay rights mpaigners Ai.

LGBTQ+ NIGERIANS ARE CELEBRATG PRI MONTH DEFIANCE OF ANTI-GAY LAW

Botswana is regard as one of Ai’s most stable and mocratic natns, but homosexualy was outlawed unr the untry’s penal of, Mozambique and the Seychell have scrapped anti-gay laws recent judg rejected the precent set by India, which last year legalised gay sex between nsentg adults, as well as by a seri of other judgments across the Commonwealth and elsewhere, and said Kenya should make s own laws to reflect s own Tanzania, thori Dar Salaam, the biggt cy, have lnched a seri of crackdowns on gay people recent years. In the most recent, the cy’s ernor lled on cizens to intify gay people so they uld be arrted, forcg hundreds of people to hidg. Homosexualy punishable by ath some Ain natnsAttu ntrasts wh progrsive stanc on women, refugeA member of the South Ain Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr and Intersex muny  Durban, South Ai.

SiegedSec, a self-scribed group of gay furry hackers, took s skills to state ernments late June, breachg agenci across five stat and releasg a wealth of data.The stat targeted on June 27 were Texas, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and South Carola. "Uwu gay furri pwn you~ We'll be back aga soon to ntue our chaos and stctn!"Some news outlets, such as Them, raised ncerns that the group's actns uld expose random people to harm, not jt the targeted ernments. Geni Pictur (“Mrs Lowry & Son, ” “Good Luck To You, Leo Gran”) has optned Emmett Monterey’s acclaimed memoir “Go the Way Your Blood Beats” – about growg up gay and disabled 1980s London – for TV adaptatn.

GAY IN NIGERIA: LGBT LIFE IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST HOMOPHOBIC NATNS

At his mastream school, teachers refe to schle his class on the ground floor, and at his llege for disabled stunts, he’s told he will be expelled if the mors are te, if he’s gay. YouTuber Victor Emmanuel knows first-hand how tough life is for people who are openly gay Nigeria, where LGBTQ+ relatnships and even same-sex displays of affectn are year, he was kidnapped by seven men who blackmailed, extorted, and tortured him for two days an attack that has sce left him nstantly lookg over his shoulr.

”Nigeria is a eply relig untry, where many reject homosexualy as a rptg Wtern 2014, the Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibn) Act was signed to law, which bars not only gay relatnships but also any public sign of same-sex affectn or membership of LGBTQ+ groups, wh punishments of up to 14 years sex is illegal more than half of Ain untri, acrdg to global LGBTQ+ rights tracker Equalx, although Gabon, Kenya, and Botswana have all crimalized same-sex relatns recent spe the risks, activists are phg to exprs themselv and mand change this June, a month which is marked around the world wh LGBTQ+ Pri ralli and parti.

”Growg VisibilyWhile there have been no nvictns unr the same-sex marriage act, rights groups, and activists say effectively sanctns ab of LGBTQ+ people and has embolned both police officers and members of the public to rry out legislatn amounts to “refully nstcted state vlence” which “exacerbat queer-phobia and prevents om havg a muny”, said Kayo Ani Somtochwu, founr of the Queer Unn for Enomic and Social Transformatn (QUEST) Mistry of Jtice and the police force did not immediately rpond to requts for 2018, a group of 47 men were arrted and later charged for allegedly jog a gay club, a se that drew ternatnal outcry and was wily seen as a tt of the men said they were at a birthday party and the se was thrown out by a judge due to the “lack of diligent prosecutn. ”But LGBTQ+ people are growg creasgly vol and visible, wh the ter providg a space for gay-iendly films, talk shows, and rights groups barred om formally registerg as an anizatn unr the same-sex marriage law, most anizg, and support groups take place onle. Younger adults, ag 18 to 25, are 30 percent more likely to be faiar wh some who is a gay, a promisg number for future advocy, says Mr.

'SEX EDUTN'S' GAY TEEN ERIC TAK A RISKY TRIP TO NIGERIA. HOW REALISTIC IS ?

But for Sarah Nwosu, a graduate who fs the youth mographic that is most likely to change their perceptns on gay rights over time, the law is a good thg. Wele to queer nightlife Nigeria where, on weekends, apartments turn to gay clubs, barred wh pass-guardg doors to protect agast hoe parti, discrete rav, and clubs are now beg creasgly popular amongst young queer Nigerians.