Gay UAE: Thoughts on Visg as a Gay Man - OUT AND OUT

Contents:

• DUBAI: GAY TRAVEL ADVICE (OM A LOL)
• DUBAI GAY TRAVEL
• CAN I BE GAY DUBAI?
• GAY DUBAI DUBAI CY GUI
• TRAVEL SAFETY REPORT: 20 WORST PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2021
• DUBAI FOR GAY UPLE - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM
• LAWS AGAST GAY TRAVELERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST?
• GAY TRAVEL DUBAI - DUBAI FOM
• GAY DUBAI
• BEG GAY DUBAI AND ABU DHABI
• 5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)
• GAY TRAVELLERS DUBAI - DUBAI FOM
• DUBAI GAY-FRIENDLY BARS
• DUBAI GAY MAP
• GAY DUBAI - DUBAI FOM

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.

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). 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 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.

DUBAI GAY TRAVEL

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. In this gui, I’ll help you navigate all the nfg rmatn about gay travel to Dubai, ver sential safety tips, and mentn some of the bt hotels and lol thgs to do.

Police are not patrollg the streets lookg for pairs of gay men, but bears to mentn that the law remas archaic disallowg any gay rights. While you won’t fd any specifilly gay hotels Dubai, choosg one of the larger ternatnal hotel chas will have a big impact on your sense of safety as an LGBT traveler. While you should be credibly skeptil when browsg misleadg lists of Dubai gay bars, you n still have a fantastic time enjoyg the cy’s nightlife.

CAN I BE GAY DUBAI?

Dubai’s thori will certaly not tolerate gay public displays of affectn, so remember that would be dangero to hold your partner’s hand while walkg down the street. But if you’ve ever met a male flight attendant that works for Emirat, they’ll tell you about all the Dubai gay lols livg this glzy metropolis.

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.

Many LGBT dividuals may chose to vis Dubai or the UAE but is extremely important to be rmed of the nsequenc of beg openly gay this regn. There are no official gay clubs, but lotns of unofficial gay clubs circulate on the Inter and men gather wh ltle fear of the nsequenc. Some claim that the police will simply disperse crowds if a gay club is bted, but other people are fearful that the suatn might be worse.

GAY DUBAI DUBAI CY GUI

Eleven of the men nfsed to practicg homosexualy and were sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for homosexualy, and an addnal year for obsceny. Kafkaque claims he was disuraged by the police om prsg charg and even faced the possibily of beg charged wh crimal homosexual activy himself.

What is apparent though, is that there have been var s over the last 5 or so years that monstrate harsher treatment for foreigners and crimalizatn of homosexualy.

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

While is clearly a vlatn of human rights to crimalize homosexualy and promote discrimatn, there is a fe le between the right to be yourself and the importance of rpectg other people’s cultur. While is imperative that homosexualy be accepted the UAE, is also important for foreigners to be rpectful of the culture which they impose themselv – even if they disagree wh the ctoms. The charg arose January and another man, MN was also charged wh prostutn, nsensual homosexual sex, pornographic material, cross-drsg and sultg relign.

DUBAI FOR GAY UPLE - LGBTQIA+ TRAVEL FOM

There were only few reports of prosecutns and punishments but many people on the Inter censor their nversatns and inty gay chat rooms. ) 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.

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 RerveSpecial SelectnExclive Mr Hudson offersExplore more. Sce the Fergsons’ study on the most dangero plac for gay travelers 2019, several laws have changed—some for the better (Sudan), and some for the worse (Hungary, Poland).

LAWS AGAST GAY TRAVELERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

“It was ranked so poorly largely due to the extreme penalti for simply beg gay, which clu up to 14 years prison and the ath penalty stat unr Sharia law. This Middle Eastern kgdom is another on our list which n implement the ath penalty for nsensual homosexualy unr their terpretatn of Sharia law, ” says Fergson. Unfortunately, imposed punishment for homosexualy is severe and the existence of gay people Malaysia was nied by their tourism mister as recently as March 2019, ” says Fergson.

GAY TRAVEL DUBAI - DUBAI FOM

“The punishments for homosexualy Malawi have earned this Ain untry as the number four worst untry for LGBTQ+ travelers, ” says Fergson. In fact, Jamai was lled the most homophobic place on Earth by Time magaze 2006 and LGBTQ+ people are sadly still the victims of homophobic vlence today. “This oil-rich Middle Eastern untry enforc up to three years prison, floggg, and the ath penalty unr Sharia law for any acts of homosexualy.

“In Yemen, the punishment for beg gay for both men and women is prison time and 100 lash, wh ath by stong for married men, ” says Fergson. That said, the LGBTQ+ muny is margalized this untry and there are heavy nsequenc for beg gay, which clu seven years to life prison for any same-sex act, ” says Fergson. “One possible sign of posive chang the untry is that the print recently pardoned a gay uple who were sentenced to a 15-year prison term.

GAY DUBAI

In Tanzania, any homosexual acts rult 30 years to life prison, and there has been a recent ernment crackdown on LGBT activy wh the untry.

“Publicly, homosexualy is a taboo topic, so LGBTQ+ travelers choosg to vis Sudan should proceed wh utn and rema discreet wh regards to their sexualy. “In the Paltian terrori of Gaza and the Wt Bank, the anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment is taken very serly, wh homosexual acts rultg up to ten years prison, ” says Fergson. “Groups advotg for LGBTQ+ rights are threatened by the erng thori Palte, who nsir homosexualy to be ‘a blow to, and vlatn of, the ials and valu of Paltian society.

BEG GAY DUBAI AND ABU DHABI

“Iran ma number 15 on the x, due part to s extreme punishments for homosexualy, which clu 100 lash for terurse or the ath penalty, and 31 lash for same-sex acts other than terurse, ” says Fergson. Unfortunately, thgs may soon be gettg even worse for the LGBTQ+ muny, as the Ugandan print has recently been rampg up the anti-gay rhetoric to help w vot an upg electn.

The Netherlands also ranked number one the latt Gallup Poll wh 92% of rponnts sayg that the cy or area where they live is a good place for gay and lbian people.

5 SAFT PLAC FOR GAY TRAVELERS IN 2019 (AND THE MOST DANGERO)

“Ci like Lisbon and Porto have the bt gay scen the untry and Portugal me send place s bid to host the 2022 Europri which is the biggt event celebratg gay pri Europe. We also have iends who are a gay uple and live out there and firstly they love but also say 's nothg to worry about, there is a growg gay muny out there but they jt don't flnt .

GAY TRAVELLERS DUBAI - DUBAI FOM

Furthermore, I’m not makg a moral judgment ll here as to the ethics of travelg to untri wh laws agast homosexualy, and I tend to wre a separate post about that.

My gus is that lots of people already know this, but ’s a qutn I get all the time (both om gay and straight rears), which is why I’m addrsg here. I have always been wonrg sce your June trip on the cheep emirat first class fare how you and Ford n travel to bad plac that ban beg gay and you don’t get thrown jail I don’t mean to be but fascat me and i would love to know? When you arrive at immigratn, they don’t ask you if you intify if you’re gay or not, and there’s no “gaydar” you have to go through to enter the untry (rather I’m the one wh the gaydar).

DUBAI GAY-FRIENDLY BARS

Any sort of extra-maral sexual activy, whether gay or straightFree speech, so there may be laws agast what they uld view as “propaganda” (anythg not le wh their agenda).

There was a gay uple next to at the pool at Le Royal Meridien hotel and they were stayg there so that may be a good ll for you if you haven't booked yet. It has sodomy laws punishable wh imprisonment, but wh such a diverse populatn everyone knows there's plenty of gay lols and visors. It's also slightly more liberal than other Arab stat, wh no ter ntrol, although many Wtern s are blocked and foreigners have been jailed and ported for simply attendg private "gay parti.

There are obvly no gay hotels Dubai, but orr to feel safer and be surround by like-md people, you may want to stay at Wtern chas close to Jumeirah beach. However, 's not all perfect - s notorly strict laws on homosexualy and relatnships between unmarried upl make a subject of ntroversy. UK expat lawyer Matthew has experienced first-hand life as a gay man the Uned Arab Emirat for two years, spendg six months Dubai and 18 months Abu Dhabi.

DUBAI GAY MAP

"Havg been out the UK for years both at home and work, I never actually thought about life as a gay man too much before I moved out to the UAE. "In Dubai, there are a few nights the week known to have a lot of gay guts: I saw DWV (a drag queen pop group) recently and there was a 20ft rabow flag on the wall. " Of urse, not all ventur are succsful avoidg closure:"In Abu Dhabi, there ed to be a well-known gay venue that was very popular wh lols, as there are lots of lols on the gay scene who jt aren't openly out.

"Some tips to stay safe n easily be found onle for those a gay or unwed uple lookg to travel to untri that hold such strong laws as the Uned Arab Emirat, wh most volvg advice on how to avoid spicn, such as bookg rooms wh separate beds at hotels.

GAY DUBAI - DUBAI FOM

The Emirat are very private, and rpect of that privacy is paramount - therefore, people will not pry to your personal space/bs, but PDA (public displays of affectn) is fely off-lims whether you are straight or gay. "As many ways as there are to cultivate a thrivg life as a gay person the Emirat, is always worth rememberg that the nsequenc n be real and harsh.

Personally, I don't worry about this or thk would be enforced, but you do need to be aware jt to rpect the culture, " Matthew More: Gay Cab Crew Secrets om the Middle East, Gay Travel In Dubai.

In an attempt to help terme the worst plac for gay travelers, the duo created the 2019 LGBTQ+ Danger Inx, rankg the world’s most dangero—and saft—untri for gay travelers.