The UAE's posn on gay rights is actually surprisgly progrsive – and I should know | The Inpennt | The Inpennt

Contents:

• GAY EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO LIVE DUBAI WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS PUNISHABLE BY 10 YEARS PRISON
• PERIL AND PRIVILEGE: GAY EXPAT NIGHTLIFE DUBAI
• THE UAE'S POSN ON GAY RIGHTS IS ACTUALLY SURPRISGLY PROGRSIVE – AND I SHOULD KNOW
• TRAVEL SAFETY REPORT: 20 WORST PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2021

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

ON the surface, beg gay Dubai sounds like a dangero prospect. 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. 4 Atralian expat Pl Ewart shar his experience of beg a gay man DubaiCred: Pl Ewart.

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. Here, Atralian expat Pl Ewart shar his experience of beg a gay man 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.

Nothg strange here you might thk, I mean, there are gay clubs the world over, right? 4 Pl claims clubs are packed wh a sea of sweaty, gay men gettg their groove on to Madonna classicsCred: Pl Ewart.

PERIL AND PRIVILEGE: GAY EXPAT NIGHTLIFE DUBAI

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. From the get go, I’m unr no illns about Dubai’s official attu to homosexualy. 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.

THE UAE'S POSN ON GAY RIGHTS IS ACTUALLY SURPRISGLY PROGRSIVE – AND I SHOULD KNOW

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. I break my Dubai gay club virgy at one of the most popular hangouts.

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). 4 Pl says a vibrant gay scene flourish the Arab untry, spe homosexualy beg agast the lawCred: Pl Ewart.

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.

TRAVEL SAFETY REPORT: 20 WORST PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2021

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. Acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian and Gay Associatn, nsensual gay sex Dubai is punishable by up to 10 years prison.

Bee the mentaly here is that gay men need to be terred om homosexual activy, police raids of clubs and private parti are mon. For a time, the thori even patrolled the plethora of Dubai malls, searchg for “obv” signs of homosexualy. When unspectg gay men are entrapped, the nsequenc of their sexualy are pennt on their natnaly.

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.

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.

“As two queer rearchers, we were able to enter the worlds of relatively privileged Wtern gay expatriat.