Growg up gay Bahra, I was thrilled by the mp potential of Arab mic – but terrified of the reactn if I gave and danced the way I wanted to. Years later, a field London, I let myself go
Contents:
- LEBANON BE FIRST ARAB UNTRY TO CELEBRATE GAY PRI
- LEBANON IS KNOWN AS GAY FRIENDLY. BUT PRI WEEK WAS SHUT DOWN.
- GAY, STRAIGHT, OR JT LEBANE?
- LEBANON LNCH ARAB WORLD'S FIRST GAY PRI WEEK
- GAY BEIT
LEBANON BE FIRST ARAB UNTRY TO CELEBRATE GAY PRI
* lebanese gay pride *
Last year, at least 76 LGBTQ+ people were arrted after Mashrou’ Leila, a Lebane band wh an openly gay lead sger, played a ncert Cairo where some atten waved rabow flags. The past uple years have seen ISIS throw dozens of gay men om buildgs areas of Syria and Iraq that are unr their ntrol.
10 untri around the world still punish homosexualy by ath, and many members of the Arab League are among them.
Neverthels, wh the help of activists and artists, people the Arab world are fdg creative ways to speak out agast homo- and transphobia, offerg an Arab narrative that enurag people to love whomever they of the biggt creative movements fightg for LGBTQ+ rights the regn is based Beit. In a place where sexualy is already taboo, beg gay was not easy for everyone to unrstand and accept.
LEBANON IS KNOWN AS GAY FRIENDLY. BUT PRI WEEK WAS SHUT DOWN.
Lebanon this week beme the first Arab untry to celebrate gay pri, but the openg event a n of ftivi was ncelled after Islamists threatened vlence. * lebanese gay pride *
I hope we n break the clichés and stereotyp around the Arab queer muny, and I’m optimistic about how my generatn will make thgs better for queer people the Arab * (21)Archecture stuntWhen I was younger, I never knew what meant to be a lbian, simply bee I didn’t know that homosexualy existed.
Social media wasn’t really a thg back then, and LGBTQ+ culture was only a myth for a young gay boy livg a untry where homosexualy is technilly felt like I was the only queer person out there, and that’s why I doubted myself a lot. Lebanon was the latt natn to jo the crackdown, wh Interr Mister Bassam Mawlawi issug a letter a week ago to Lebane secury forc orrg them to break up any events that "promote" letter, labelled "very urgent, " said that "after the spread of lls on social media to anize parti and events promotg homosexualy Lebanon… and nsirg the negative nsequenc brought by this phenomenon on dividuals and society" police and secury forc should "take the necsary measur to ban any celebratns, meetgs or gathergs aimg to promote this phenomenon and to report the rults back. The Mistry of Commerce posted a vio (below) on social media showg officials seizg rabow-lored products, cludg toys, handbags and accsori, which they said rried "symbols and nnotatns that enurage homosexualy and ntradict nature.
"The Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn's 2020 report on "State Sponsored Homophobia" around the world noted that Kuwa, Sdi Arabia and Lebanon were among 69 natns that have laws banng homosexual Arabia, the report noted, was among six Uned Natns member stat where "the ath penalty is the legally prcribed punishment for nsensual same-sex sexual acts. To learn more about some of the anizatns supportg gay, lbian, bisexual, trans and queer people the Middle East, vis our Instagram to view a recent seri highlightg their val work. One year later, the first Tel Aviv Pri march occurred, and the event has evolved to a month-long celebratn that clus TLVft, an ternatnal gay film ftival; tribut to Israeli LGBTQ+ historil figur; and a host of other LGBTQ+ events.
GAY, STRAIGHT, OR JT LEBANE?
Openly gay, lbian and transgenr people face persecutn across the Arab world. The exceptn may be Lebanon, which has slowly grown more tolerant thanks to the work of activists. * lebanese gay pride *
Bon fact: The word for pri Hebrew is “ge’eh, ” which was absorbed to the Hebrew vernacular bee sounds close to the English “gay” and is th ed LGBTQ+ related terms.
Instead, the goals of the anizers and participants are polil: march aim at crimalizatn of homosexualy and makg visible the challeng that LGBTQ+ Lebane experience every day.
Acrdg to the anizers of Beit Pri, members of the LGBTQ+ muny are subjected to social margalizatn and the fear of beg “arbrarily taed for a simple spicn of homosexual behavr.
LEBANON LNCH ARAB WORLD'S FIRST GAY PRI WEEK
Explore our 2023 Global Gay Pri Calendar for the LGBTQ+ muny featurg a listg of 200+ gay pri paras and celebratns around the world. * lebanese gay pride *
People still face police harassment and arrt for beg – or simply beg perceived as – gay, but there is creasg support for a repeal of Article 534 of the Lebane Penal Co, which punish “any sexual terurse ntrary to the orr of nature” wh up to one year prison. Turkish police on June 30, 2019, fired tear gas at gay rights groups and activists who fied thori to march for the Istanbul pri para, banned for the fifth year a row. The movie tells the story of an Algerian-French heterosexual young man begng a soclogy study of gay islamic homosexuali and disverg gay love wh a young French steward.
But when Waleed sudnly dumps him to marry a woman, Rami mt face the realy of life as a gay man Egypt. The batn of beg back his hometown, this prsure om his mother and his homosexualy him to have equent panic attacks.
Out Loud is the first film om Lebanon wh a gay theme that sets a new standard for cema om the Middle East the midst of the Arab Sprg.
GAY BEIT
Abllah, a young gay man, is tryg to fd his way through the difficult sexual, polil and racial climate of Moroc.
A documentary by Peter Barbosa and Garrett Lenoir, I Exist giv a voice to gay and lbian Amerins om the Middle East, who often rema silent out of shame and fear. Filmed 12 untri and 9 languag, this documentary, directed by gay Mlim filmmaker Parvez Sharma, tells the lorful and varied stori of gay and lbian Mlims om all over the world.