Oasis of tolerance or 'Republic of Shame'? Two faces of gay life in Beirut

[joeybee12]

BEIRUT, Lebanon – It is 2 a.m. in an abandoned theater in Hamra, a neighborhood in the Lebanese capital. Men pack the room, their fists pumping the air in time with the thumping music. A bare-chested dancer in tight-fitting shorts glides around the stage, reaching his hand around another man’s neck, pulling him close and stealing a kiss.

These parties are popular with those who can afford the $33 entrance fee. For those looking for an alternative, around a dozen different bars and clubs aimed at gay men dot the city.

Beirut has for decades been a haven for gay men and lesbians, luring people from throughout the region, including deeply conservative countries like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. But while the city’s image as an oasis of open-mindedness attracts foreigners - and sells newspapers - the liberal veneer disguises a conservative underbelly that recent police sweeps and reports of invasive “medical” tests have exposed.

Many gay men in Beirut carry on double lives despite living in what is considered to be the gay capital of the Middle East.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/30/14780797-oasis-of-tolerance-or-republic-of-shame-two-faces-of-gay-life-in-beirut?lite

[Behind the Aegis]

1. Who in the hell considers Beirut the "gay capital of the Middle East"?

That is so absurd as to almost be laughable. While Beirut used to have a fairly good and safe nightlife and gay scene, it really hasn't had one for years and years. Tel-Aviv, however, has a very out and open gay life, nightlife, and scene.

It should be said, there is a difference between the way the government of Lebanon treats gay people and the Lebanese treat gay people. The former is almost as bad as its Arab/Muslim neighbors (though Turkey and Israel (not an Arab/Muslim nation, though there are many are quite open in many cases). The latter seem to be more open and accepting, and less "fundie" than many Arab/Muslim nations.

[Buzz505]

2. What a sad condition to live in.

I hope that in the near future this will cease to be.

[closeupready]

3. Middle Eastern culture traditionally approves of same-gender social warmth

and even non-sexual displays of affection. This is a concept that many in the Christian West have always had problems wrapping their minds around, particularly in the US where fighting, violence and competition are hailed as supreme values.

Anyone who has traveled outside Europe or North America can likely attest to this cultural tradition. It's not even very unique, as even Latin cultures encourage constructive and cooperative same sex relationships. And certainly, there is much less casual physical contact in Anglo-Saxon societies than in other types of societies.

The sexual aspect of such relationships is sometimes present, sometimes not - really depends on a lot of things, but it doesn't seem to be traditionally all that big of a deal, since most men can perform sexually with other men as well as they can with women. That is, a man - particularly young ones - has enough sexual energy to share with many different partners, and women in non-Western societies do not "own" their men as they seem to in the West, where men are owned by their wives 100%, body and soul. (I have to say that this is one reason I am sometimes so very glad I am gay - I'm not some beaten-down slave; I'm my own person.)