To Be, or Not to Be, Bhutan - The Gay & Lbian Review

Contents:

• BHUTAN GAYS CELEBRATE AFTER HOMOSEXUALY CRIMALISED
• BHUTAN’S FIRST PUBLIC GAY UPLE RECEIVE POSIVE RPONS AFTER G OUT
• HOW GAY ARE BHUTANE GAYS?
• GAY NIRVANA: BHUTAN’S LGBT POPULATN EMERG OM THE SHADOWS
• BHUTAN BE LATT ASIAN NATN TO DIAL BACK ANTI-GAY LAWS
• GAY TRAVEL TO BHUTAN ADVICE PLEASE... - BHUTAN FOM
• BHUTAN OVERLAND: A GAY TRAVEL CULTURAL TOUR

BHUTAN GAYS CELEBRATE AFTER HOMOSEXUALY CRIMALISED

In neighborg India, the Supreme Court stck down one of the world’s olst bans on gay sex 2018.

In Augt, Sgapore crimalized gay sex, although the ernment also spoke of safeguardg marriage as a unn between a man and woman. Bhutan’s penal — which clud the ban on gay sex — took effect 2004, four years before the untry held s first electns as part of a transn om absolute monarchy to nstutnal mocracy. ”“It’s all happeng much more quickly than I anticipated, ” said Namgay Zam, the former director of the Journalists’ Assn.

BHUTAN’S FIRST PUBLIC GAY UPLE RECEIVE POSIVE RPONS AFTER G OUT

She me out to iends on social media when she was 15, and a few months ago announced to her fay she is gay.

(Namgay Wangch / AFP/Getty Imag) “They had a strong reactn, but I want to give hope to people like me, who e om a hard nservative fay, ” she said. Photo: Tashi TshetenOn June 7, Bhutan’s lower hoe overwhelmgly voted to repeal Sectns 213 and 214 of the Bhutan Penal Co, takg a historic step towards crimalisg homosexualy the Himalayan untry. And while the Fance Mister of Bhutan, Namgay Tsherg, lled the existg sectns “a sta” on the untry’s reputatn, the legislative mtee of the Bhutane Natnal Assembly went on to move the motn to pass the amendment to s penal , on June Tsheten—a 26-year-old gay Bhutane om Thimphu and the director of lol LGBTQ anisatn Rabow Bhutan—tells VICE about growg up queer a patriarchal society, and what this piece of news means to him:Growg up queer Bhutan was a ltle lonelyI wouldn't say growg up queer was difficult Bhutan but there has never been much visibily of the LGBTQ muny the untry.

Not g across any gay, bisexual or queer persons ma me feel very Tsheten, an LGBTQ activist om BhutanBullyg was mon bee boys are expected to be a certa wayI realised I was gay back 2015 when I turned 22. Before that, I wasn't bullied for beg gay, but more for beg [effemate].

HOW GAY ARE BHUTANE GAYS?

The fance mister [Namgay Tsherg] stood up for and plead to the NA.

A jot stg of both ho of Bhutan’s parliament approved a bill on Thursday to legalize gay sex, makg the ty Himalayan kgdom the latt Asian natn to take steps towards easg rtrictns on same-sex relatnships.

GAY NIRVANA: BHUTAN’S LGBT POPULATN EMERG OM THE SHADOWS

Sectns 213 and 214 of the penal had crimalized “unnatural sex, ” wily terpreted as homosexualy. “Homosexualy will not be nsired as unnatural sex now, ” Wangdi told Rters by phone om the Bhutane pal of Thimphu, whout givg tails.

Neighborg India removed a centuri-old lonial prohibn on gay sex 2018, triggerg celebratn across the untry.

"A lot of cried, " said Tashi Tsheten of Rabow Bhutan that reprents the untry's lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny. "We are a small and margalised muny and when our rights are discsed parliament, mak extremely happy, " Tashi law had never been ed, but Fance Mister Namgay Tsherg, who submted the remendatn to repeal sectns 213 and 214 of the penal , said they had bee "a sta" on the untry's Tsherg said the sectns had bee rndant sce Bhutan beme a nstutnal monarchy 2008.

BHUTAN BE LATT ASIAN NATN TO DIAL BACK ANTI-GAY LAWS

"There is no annual Gay Pri rally or other public display while Tashi said there was a general acceptance of transgenrs, pecially ral areas, they still face much discrimatn, pecially schools. After Deyon Phuntsho and his partner Tenz Gyeltshen me out publicly about their gay stat the last week’s issue of The Bhutane, the uple said that they have been receivg posive rpons om their iends sce then. “It is not important to e out and tell the world that you are gay, lbian, bisexual, or transgenr; what is important is to accept yourself first.

The biggt support for the gay uple me om their rpective parents who not only accepted the sexualy of their sons but also supported the relatnship. While Bhutan remas eply relig, Buddhism do not actually nmn homosexualy.

But, of urse, gay, bisexual and transgenr Bhutane people do exist.

GAY TRAVEL TO BHUTAN ADVICE PLEASE... - BHUTAN FOM

There are reportedly high levels of mental illns and prsn amongst the gay and transgenr muny, wh over a fifth of gay and bisexual men admtg to havg attempted suici more than once acrdg to a 2016 survey [3]. Article 213 Chapter 14 of the Penal Co of Bhutan stat, “A fendant shall be guilty of the offence of unnatural sex, if the fendant engag sodomy or any other sexual nduct that is agast the orr of nature” Do unnatural sex, which is grad as a petty mismeanour, clu homosexualy? Whenever there is talk of the subject most people ask, “Are there gays Bhutan?

BHUTAN OVERLAND: A GAY TRAVEL CULTURAL TOUR

Many Bhutane people still have shocked exprsns on their fac when there are any discsns about homosexualy. But more shockg is that even the ted are ignorant about the fact that there is a gay populatn Bhutan.

Acrdg to him, there are gays Thimphu, rangg om the young to the old and the married. Most of the gays Letro knew refed to even give ments for fear of beg intified if their inty was not kept secret, spe promis that their nam would not be revealed.

Inter s mentn Bhutan as a untry where there is a law agast homosexuals wh imprisonment rangg om a month to a year.

But legal experts say there have been no s of homosexuals beg imprisoned Bhutan to date. Even Letro was hant to talk at first bee he thought that homosexualy was punished Bhutan. Acrdg to science, sexual orientatn (cludg homosexualy and bisexualy) is the rult of a batn of environmental, emotnal, hormonal, and blogil factors.

Also, beg homosexual or bisexual do not mean the person is mentally ill or abnormal some way. In most societi, people who are agast homosexualy often ll “unnatural”.