Makg Visible the Unseen Queer: Gay Datg Apps and Iologi of Tthmakg an Outg Campaign Moroc | SprgerLk

Contents:

• GAY-IENDLY: MARRAKECH FOR HOMOSEXUALS
• DOZENS OF GAY MEN ARE OUTED MOROC AS PHOTOS ARE SPREAD ONLE
• MAKG VISIBLE THE UNSEEN QUEER: GAY DATG APPS AND IOLOGI OF TTHMAKG AN OUTG CAMPAIGN MOROC
• GAY MOROCNS FACE BLACKMAIL, BULLYG AFTER THEY WERE OUTED ONLE

GAY-IENDLY: MARRAKECH FOR HOMOSEXUALS

Even though Marrakech’s clubs and hotels do not openly e labels such as “gay” or “gay-iendly” for advertisg, is the new “Pk Cy”, havg overtaken the formerly ternatnal zone of Tanger.

The gay night life n be bt experienced one of the clubs mentned above, but is advisable to keep a keen md even there: It is not unlikely that the young man showerg you wh pliments is a prostute, and the police are rather strict their effort to nta prostutn, pecially as is gradually creasg Moroc.

DOZENS OF GAY MEN ARE OUTED MOROC AS PHOTOS ARE SPREAD ONLE

It backfired S/Agence France-Prse — Getty ImagPARIS — At least 50 to 100 gay men were outed Moroc over the last two weeks, rights activists say, after the men were intified on lotn-based meetg apps while shelterg at home amid a ronavis at least three s, men were kicked out of their ho, L. ”In Moroc, a North Ain kgdom where homosexualy and sex outsi marriage are crim, gay people are pafully acctomed to the feelgs of peril and rejectn, and many keep their sexual inti unr, their ver has been blown a way that would be crimal most Wtern societi, rights advot say.

”What mak this episo particularly paful, gay lears say, is that was igned by someone who had also been sgled April 13, a Morocn transgenr Instagram personaly based Istanbul, Naoufal Mosa or Sofia Talouni, was sulted about her sexual orientatn. In a rage, she released a profany-laced vio enuragg women to download the lotn-based meetg apps, like Grdr and Pla Romeo, which are ually ed by gay subsequent vios, she said her aim was to reveal the hypocrisy of Morocn society by showg her attackers how many gay men were livg their vicy, perhaps even their own people followed Ms. Mosa’s lead and created fake acunts on the apps to gather photos of gay men, which they then posted on private and public Facebook pag, settg off the homophobic attacks igned a firtorm of cricism, both of Ms.

Abllah Taia, a proment gay thor and one of few to publicly clare his sexual orientatn Moroc, says that the state keeps people a gray area, makg them vulnerable to abe and discrimatn and forcg many to hidg. ”Moroc’s Interr Mistry did not rpond to a requt for outg episo is seen by many as stroyg a agile balance that the untry’s unrground gay culture has built laborly over the years, ma even worse a time of uncertaty and enomic hardship. But they do have some support at Bezad, the print of the Pan-Ain Organizatn for the Fight Agast AIDS, said that while Moroc’s laws were unlikely to change, s health mistry enurag associatns like hers to help vulnerable populatns, cludg gay people.

MAKG VISIBLE THE UNSEEN QUEER: GAY DATG APPS AND IOLOGI OF TTHMAKG AN OUTG CAMPAIGN MOROC

At a time when much of Europe and North Ameri imposed particularly nservative laws, Tangier was a liberal haven where alternative travelers uld e and dulge all the thgs that were taboo back home, cludg dgs, gay sex and prostutn. Pacha Marrakech Bar, Nightclub, Gay Bar © David Boyle/Flickr Pacha Marrakech A lively bar and nightclub loted Gueliz, Pacha Marrakech proclaims self to be “the bt club Moroc” and is part of the well-known ternatnal club cha.

Plastik Club, Hotel Riad Salam, 55, Boulevard la Corniche A Diab, Casablan, Moroc Café Rams Rtrant, Morocn © Thibt Démare/Flickr Loted the btlg heart of Moroc’s largt cy, Café Rams don’t serve alhol, but is open until late the eveng and offers a relaxg, gay-iendly spot. LGBTQIA+ travellers are those who intify as lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr (a more clive LGBT ialism), pl queer or qutng, tersex or asexual dividuals, as well as those who intify beyond the monly ed sexualy and genr exprsns.

Alongsi other popular gay apps like PlaRomeo and Hor, Grdr appeals to s ers wh the promise that, by downloadg the app, they will be put ntact wh an unseen world of men-seekg-men that exists around them— their neighborhood, their cy, their muny—through the means of s lotn-based chat servic. In recent years, lotn-based gay datg apps like Grdr, Hor, and PlaRomeo have been ployed as tools for homophobic vigilant to “hunt” gay men orr to expose their sexual orientatn, to shame gay men ont of their fai and iends, and to m homophobic acts of vlence. In Rsia, for example, crimal gangs are known to create fake profil on gay datg apps, lurg unspectg men to meetg them only to extort the men for brib unr the threat of exposure or vlence (Carroll, 2019).

GAY MOROCNS FACE BLACKMAIL, BULLYG AFTER THEY WERE OUTED ONLE

In South Korea, screenshots om gay datg apps have been ed as evince ary trials implitg active-duty soldiers of illegal same-sex acts (Gzen, 2021) this chapter, I analyze a mpaign targetg gay, bisexual, and queer men Moroc which young women create fake profil on Grdr and PlaRomeo orr to expose or “out” lol men prumed to be gay. Footnote 1 In addn to facg potential crimal punishment on the basis of their sexualy, many Morocn gay men experience abe and vlence om the police, neighbors, and fay when they are perceived to challenge lol heteronormative expectatns of proper genred behavr (Ale-Ebrahim, 2019). I argue that the sign featur of lotn-based gay datg apps like Grdr and PlaRomeo allow for the possibily of both sirable nnectn and unwanted exposure for queer men Moroc, challengg the misnceptn that the apps functn as unplited “safe spac” for queer timacy and muny buildg.