Gay Dubai LGBTQ* nightlife and travel 2023

Contents:

• DUBAI: GAY TRAVEL ADVICE (OM A LOL)
• GAY DUBAI DUBAI CY GUI
• CAN I BE GAY DUBAI?
• WHAT HAPPENED WHEN FOUR GAY GUYS FROM TEL AVIV TOOK A VATN TO DUBAI
• GAY EXPAT REVEALS WHAT ’S LIKE TO LIVE DUBAI WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS PUNISHABLE BY 10 YEARS PRISON
• BRISH GAY UPLE ‘TAED DUBAI AIRPORT WHILE STAFF LGHED ABOUT THEIR SEXUALY’
• DUBAI GAY TRAVEL
• GAY DUBAI
• GAY CAB CREW SECRETS OM THE MIDDLE EAST
• GAY AND GAY-IENDLY HOTELS DUBAI
• GAY TRAVELLERS DUBAI - DUBAI FOM
• PERIL AND PRIVILEGE: GAY EXPAT NIGHTLIFE DUBAI

DUBAI: GAY TRAVEL ADVICE (OM A LOL)

To vtigate further we nnected wh Liam, a gay guy who lived Dubai for most of his life to learn more about the realy of beg gay Dubai and fd out what advice he had for gay travellers thkg about gog.

GAY DUBAI DUBAI CY GUI

You did not see any gay reprentatn at all and was not talked about – you were put to the tegory of beg straight no matter what.

CAN I BE GAY DUBAI?

Is there a huge difference between beg a gay expat Dubai vs a tourist vs a gay lol Dubai (someone whose fay has lived there for many generatns). Homosexualy is unfortunately still not legal across the entire Uned Arab Emirat (UAE) and there are ser nsequenc if ught. Specifilly, Dubai homosexualy is punishable by prison/or a fe and then subsequently you will be ported.

For the majory of the time, lol attus towards gay lol expats livg Dubai and gay tourists are the same. However, lookg at a gay expat vs someone who has lived there for generatns you will see a massive difference. For a lol whose fay has lived Dubai for generatns, beg gay has to be hidn and has to be secret, pecially strict Mlim fai: beg gay is totally forbidn.

Liam: There are plac that are sentially ‘gay bars’ Dubai (and I e the term ‘gay bars’ very loosely), however the are not labelled as such. The maly e about when someone who owns the ‘gay bar’ holds fluence wh the lol thori and so n operate this (discreet) way. The will not e up as legally, officially or outwardly facg as gay bars, clubs or events (bee fundamentally they are not) but they are popular wh the LGBTQ+ crowd.

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN FOUR GAY GUYS FROM TEL AVIV TOOK A VATN TO DUBAI

Sn: Could you talk a b about any posive or negative experienc you have had Dubai as a gay man? Sn: what advice you’d give gay travellers thkg about Dubai – to go or not to go and why.

Liam: I would avoid all public displays of behavur (this is forbidn straight, gay, lbian – UAE IS A MUSLIM COUNTRY) so ’s not a le jt for LGBTQ people.

That said, we would be remiss not to mentn that homosexualy remas illegal throughout the Uned Arab Emirat.

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

As a gay tourist, you are unlikely to enunter any problems, provid that you avoid all public displays of affectn.

Wh that md, disver the bt this rzy Middle Eastern cy has to offer wh our fe gay Dubai gui. Where to stay DubaiBefore bookg your Dubai hotel, ’s important to ll to md our above note that homosexualy is illegal. As a rult, many hotels will require gay travellers to rerve a room wh two sgle beds (as opposed to sharg a kg or queen.

BRISH GAY UPLE ‘TAED DUBAI AIRPORT WHILE STAFF LGHED ABOUT THEIR SEXUALY’

) That said, ternatnal five-star brands tend to be the most acmodatg to gay travellers—and our Dubai gay scene gui purposefully clus the most luxur hotels where you are ls likely to enunter discrimatn. If upon arrival your bed preference is changed, we do not remend argug wh the assigned sleepg arrangements—this is an unfortunate circumstance of visg a lole where homosexualy remas illegal.

DUBAI GAY TRAVEL

Now, whout further ado, here are our favoure upsle, Dubai hotels for a memorable gay Rishab LamichhaneAl Maha is an oasis of luxury tucked away amidst the sweepg sand dun and lh palm grov of the Dubai Dert Conservatn Rerve. One attendant, tongue firmly cheek, suggts this le of thumb: “All Atralians are a ltle gay, ” he lghs mischievoly. As every untry, there are plenty of gay people Dubai, is more a qutn of how openly you n be gay Dubai.

There are no LGBT (Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgenr) rights any of the Uned Arab Emirat. This means that the more ual punishments for beg gay – beatgs, prolonged imprisonment, flogggs, torture, and chemil stratn – would be nsired to be gettg off lightly. Back 2013 they discsed troducg some form of ttg to prevent gay foreigners om enterg any of those untri.

GAY DUBAI

They only dropped the proposal bee they feared a ntroversy that might rail the 2022 FIFA World Cup , no: not a gay-iendly regn. There are no gay bars Dubai, but you n rt assured that there is a high gay-quotient every trendy bar.

Can four openly gay guys om Tel Aviv who never hi their sexual orientatn enjoy a vatn Dubai? As I was relaxg on a direct flight I took wh three of my iends to Dubai Internatnal Airport, I uldn't help but wonr: Would we be able to meet gay men the seasi Emirati cy whout gog unrground?

GAY CAB CREW SECRETS OM THE MIDDLE EAST

Jt Then, Flights From Israel to Dubai Began' A Mlim Woman and a Gay Jewish Man Are the Perfect Couple This Show Visg Dubai Is Like Standg on the Sil of a Gang Rape We found a real drag kgdom at a rooftop bar on top of a central hotel which has a gay lp every Friday night. After the wa, which provid time to observe numero gay men too-tight jeans who do too many squats, we go .

At first I thought this was my first enunter wh explic homophobia, but turns out that the ronavis rtrictns the cy ban dancg.

Another g and tonic, some starg at a gay uple smokg a water pipe on the balny, and we head home.

GAY AND GAY-IENDLY HOTELS DUBAI

Durg the nversatn, enhanced wh genero quanti of alhol, the picture beme clear: Immigrants to Dubai, particularly the gays among them, are often fleeg Arab or Eastern European untri where they had a much harr time. We fd a real drag kgdom at a rooftop bar which has a gay lp every Friday nightSamir, tall and rather shy, told me how he left his parents Moroc and hasn’t seen them for almost two years. People at the Mall of the Emirat Dubai, May 28, Ahmed Jadallah/RtersThere’s another place for gays to meet that’s a lot ls lorful but a lot more hectic: Grdr, the gay datg app.

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. 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. 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.

4 Pl claims clubs are packed wh a sea of sweaty, gay men gettg their groove on to Madonna classicsCred: Pl Ewart. 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.

GAY TRAVELLERS DUBAI - DUBAI FOM

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. 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. 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).

PERIL AND PRIVILEGE: GAY EXPAT NIGHTLIFE DUBAI

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. 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.