Meanwhile, the United States Celebrate Gay Rights

It's complicated but put simply, the decision by the Supreme Court today clears the way for same-sex marriage in California, the state with the largest population but also home of the infamous Prop 8 that banned gay marriage a few years ago. With 13 U.S. states that allow  marriage equality today, the U.S. remains perhaps not the most but one of the most progressive and tolerant countries out there... and we so badly need some of that fresh air.

akh... love.
Photo from Getty Images.

It's Part of the Job - The HRW Report on Gay Police Abuse is Out

For those who remember the "happy ending" of the arrest of GiL a couple years back, one tiny victory was the ability to meet with and speak to Human Rights Watch about the unfortunate event - essentially take part in the research they were doing, gathering statistics and testimonials about gay-related arrests in the country over the last 5 years.

The report titled "It's Part of the Job" (download it here) was presented yesterday; it paints a really dark picture of the current practices with gay men in police stations, which we already know but now are well proven and documented. Bottomline for GiBs: don't get into trouble. Oh and learn french.

Droits de l’homme

Quand la torture des détenus aux postes de police « fait partie du métier »...
Par Béchara MAROUN | jeudi, juin 27, 2013

« Le comité des droits de l’homme des FSI manque de personnel et n’a pas de réel pouvoir, tandis que la justice ignore régulièrement des plaintes concernant les violences policières. »
« Ils m’ont interrogé après m’avoir déshabillé. Ils ont versé sur moi de l’eau froide, m’ont attaché à un bureau au moyen d’une chaîne et m’ont suspendu par les pieds comme un poulet », raconte Mohammad à Human Rights Watch, qui vient de publier son rapport sur la torture des détenus vulnérables dans les postes de police libanais.
À l’occasion de la Journée mondiale de la drogue et de la Journée internationale de l’ONU pour soutenir les victimes de la torture, Human Rights Watch s’est cette fois intéressée au traitement par les Forces de sécurité intérieure (FSI) des détenus au sein des postes de police libanais, notamment les individus appartenant à des groupes marginaux, voire vulnérables, tels que les toxicomanes, les personnes qui exercent le sexe comme profession et la communauté LGBT (lesbiennes, gays, bisexuels et transsexuels).
Hier, un rapport de 66 pages a été publié par l’association qui œuvre pour les droits de l’homme. Se basant sur 52 témoignages de personnes arrêtées durant les cinq dernières années, car elles ont été soupçonnées de pratiquer l’homosexualité, le sexe comme profession ou d’usage de drogues, le rapport révèle au grand jour les mauvais traitements, l’abus et la torture subis par ces individus. Sur les 52 délits commis par les FSI, aucun n’a été vraiment puni.

Souffrances morales et physiques« Ils m’ont interrogé après m’avoir déshabillé. Ils ont versé sur moi de l’eau froide, m’ont attaché à un bureau au moyen d’une chaîne et m’ont suspendu par les pieds comme un poulet », raconte Mohammad, arrêté pour détention de drogues, dans son témoignage. « J’ai été suspendu par les pieds, mes mains liées à une barre de fer qu’ils m’ont fixée sous les genoux. Ils ont cassé toutes mes dents et mon nez, et m’ont frappé au moyen d’une arme à feu jusqu’à ce que l’os de mon épaule se disloque », a-t-il affirmé.
Ce genre de traitement n’est pas exclusif à un seul poste de police au Liban. Selon le rapport, les postes de Hobeiche, de Gemmayzé, de Baabda, de Mousseitbé, de Zahlé, d’Ouzaï, de Saïda, ainsi que le bureau de renseignements de Jdeidé et le local de prédétention de la prison de Baabda pour les femmes ont tous témoigné d’incidents similaires. Les formes de torture rapportées les plus communes sont les coups de poing, les coups de bâton ou des coups au moyen d’outils de fortune. Cannes, règles et bottes peuvent faire l’affaire. Sur les 52 personnes ayant témoigné, 17 affirment que les policiers ont refusé de leur donner à manger ou à boire, ou les ont privées de leurs médicaments. Neuf d’entre elles ont rapporté avoir été menottées aux cuves des toilettes. Onze ont été contraintes d’entendre les cris de souffrance d’autres détenus, et 21 des 25 femmes interviewées ont subi une certaine forme de violence sexuelle, allant du viol au harcèlement. Certaines se sont même vu proposer un rapport de police plus allégé si elles consentaient à coucher avec les policiers.
« L’abus au sein des stations de police est chose courante au Liban, mais il est pire quand il s’agit d’individus appartenant aux catégories vulnérables de la société, explique Nadim Houri, directeur adjoint de Human Rights Watch au Moyen-Orient. Et ce genre d’abus se poursuivra jusqu’à ce que le Liban mette un terme à la culture de l’impunité au sein de la police, qui se croit devoir donner une leçon aux détenus. » M. Houri a affirmé en outre que le rapport révèle que le statut socio-économique des détenus peut jouer en leur faveur. Parmi les témoignages, celui d’un professeur de l’AUB, accusé d’homosexualité et qui a été traité différemment par les policiers quand ils ont su sa profession. M. Houri a cité aussi le test anal comme l’une des pratiques violatrices des droits de l’homme et qui continue d’être utilisé dans certains postes malgré les recommandations de l’ordre des médecins. Il a enfin affirmé que les lois libanaises sont souvent violées, comme celle fixant la durée maximale de détention à 48 heures, ou celle permettant au détenu d’être assisté par un avocat.

L’absence de mécanismes de surveillance Pour sa part, Lama Fakih, chercheuse au sein de l’association, a noté, lors de la conférence organisée hier pour rendre public le rapport, que ce genre de traitement est dû à des législations inadéquates, à l’absence de structures efficaces pour porter plainte et à un système juridique basé sur les aveux. Cela pousse par exemple les policiers à exercer la torture pour obtenir les confessions des détenus. « Un officier de la police de Mousseitbé nous a déclaré que la torture est chose normale et qu’elle fait partie du métier », a affirmé Lama Fakih, qui a souligné que six personnes seulement parmi celles qui ont témoigné à l’association ont porté plainte à cause d’« un manque de confiance ». « C’est là qu’il faut appeler l’ordre des avocats à agir, a indiqué Nadim Houri, car la plupart des avocats ne conseillent pas vraiment aux détenus de porter plainte, d’autant que ces derniers prennent peur pour avoir commis une entrave à la loi, en étant homosexuels par exemple. La vulnérabilité de ces gens-là est donc sociale, mais aussi constitutionnelle. »
Human Rights Watch, déplorant un manque de mécanismes de surveillance et l’inefficacité de ceux déjà en place (comme le comité des droits de l’homme au sein des FSI), a appelé les autorités à créer des mécanismes transparents pour recevoir les plaintes des citoyens et à obliger les policiers à arborer des badges portant leurs noms afin que les détenus sachent avec qui ils traitent. L’association a aussi revendiqué à l’adresse des autorités judiciaires plus de fermeté, des directives claires à ce sujet, et a demandé la création d’un organisme indépendant pour les investigations et la surveillance des crimes de torture. « Les pays donateurs doivent aussi s’assurer que les fonds octroyés sont usés à bon escient et demander des comptes », a souligné Lama Fakih. De son côté, Nadim Houri a enfin estimé que la réponse des institutions concernées au rapport présenté « n’est pas suffisante ». « Elles reconnaissent l’existence du problème, mais il n’y a pas de vraie volonté de réforme, précise-t-il. Il est pourtant plus important aujourd’hui d’améliorer l’attitude des membres des FSI que la qualité de leur équipement. »

Vive la France. Mabrouk!

Months and months of long debates and marches have finally paid off - the French Senate Tuesday approved the first article of "Marriage Equality" which opens up complete marriage rights for same-sex couples.

I know we're probably a century away from this here in Lebanon... but can't we just de-criminalize homosexuality for now?

Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.
My admiration for France will never cease to grow!

The Pink Choice

It seems that gay-themed photography is driving huge interest lately. And I’m not just talking of the evergrowing mass of naked guys on tumblr. The phenomenon is actually getting over and beyond the many new works by emerging/alternative artists worldwide, including some from Lebanon I blogged about here, here and here.

Well if it was big last year, this year it’s looking huge for homo photography. And who better than World Press Photo to prove it? Come to think of it, of all the major events that took place during 2012, obviously Syria and Gaza should top the list of winners in the 2013 contest – and they did in fact earn all of the awards under the news photography categories.

But as far as social issues, with all the debate frenzy going on in France and the US right now around same-sex marriage legislation – how could the gay issue not make it as a WPP winner?

Well it sure did.

The 1st prize stories winner under Contemporary Issues for 2013 is… THE PINK CHOICE by Maika Elan, a 27-year old girl photographer from Vietnam. It’s a beautiful series worth checking out – and also interesting to know that in 2013, Vietnam is going to have a debate on same-sex marriage, and if it moves forward it could become the first Asian country to recognize marriage equality.

Gosh now even Vietnam sounds like first-world compared to us...

Three from the Pink Choice series.
from the World Press Photo website

MTV’s Joe Maalouf: A Tribune for Homophobia and Bigotry

This guy must be so happy now that he can handle my spit on his face.

(Photo from Facebook)

It took just one screening of his program ‘Enta Horr’ (“You are free”) on Murr TV to mobilize the whole of Beirut’s dearest morality police around the cause he chose (out of the blue): to put an end to the “prostitution and debauchery” taking place in Beirut’s porn cinemas.

He must feel so damn powerful right now.

Only a few weeks since the airing of the program, one old cinema in Tripoli and another one in Beirut, were raided and shut down by the police. Such a relief for Lebanon’s desperate housewives and macho dads who must be loving Joe-the-morality-savior like their own son!

The guy must feel so damn virtuous.

The 36 guys who were in the Plaza cinema on this busy Saturday afternoon were all arrested. They are still rotting in Hell aka the Hbeich police station. They’re being humiliated, mistreated, outed to their families, and stuck in tiny detention cells with 36 degrees outside and no ventilation.

This self hating gay-in-the-closet must feel so damn straight right now.

Irony has it he’s just been outed by the gay community. Are you happy now, Joe?

Whatever one might think of the places that were raided – shady, filthy, immoral – they exist even in the most conservative Arab cities – Damascus has them, Amman has them. They’re not a sign of “too much freedom” but on the contrary, they are a symptom of a closed and homophobic society. They are a desperate choice for gay guys to have an occasional sexual encounter.

And that’s just what Murr TV has become, too: closed minded and homophobic. What started as a celebration of youth and freedom of speech when the station re-opened a few years ago, has turned into a conservative quest that is insulting a big chunk of the public.

Shame on you, MTV, and your lil’ Joe you must feel so proud of. Shame on you, 36 times.

On Peeing in Hamra -- by Joplin

You see, I know no better than Hamra. I was born in Hamra. I went to school in Hamra. I went to college in Hamra. I lost my ‘virginity’ in Hamra. I got drunk for the first time ever in Hamra. I applied to grad school in Hamra. And I even pee in Hamra.


Yes, I emptied my bladder in a Hamra pub; not in the gentlemen’s restroom, not in the ladies’ restroom, but in a single WC common to both genders. It stood there all by itself. A sink, a toilet, scarce tissue papers, and one wooden door. Common bathrooms seem to become a recurring pattern in Hamra’s growing pubbing scene – and it’s not just a matter of space or lack thereof.

Mainstreet, the grandest of Hamra’s shy pubs, has two bathrooms, one painted in baby blue and the other in light pink. Yet they both stand unlabelled without a sign for Man or Woman. So thank you Hamra. Thank you for recognizing those who feel unsure about their gender. Thank you for respecting transsexuals. Thank you for recognizing that a male like me feels uncomfortable using the urinal alongside a bunch of other men. Thank you for helping us redefine gender and sexuality.

Post by Joplin; Picture off the Web

Go Censor This, Big Brother

Been missing watching a good gay movie. Don’t get me wrong I don’t mean porn, I’m talking quality gay themed movies from worldwide cinema, a good Spanish drama, a hilarious British comedy, an insightful Canadian documentary, a Holy Wood thriller … or a romantic Israeli flick for that matter.

Granted, a lot of LGBT movies out there are crap – but some of them are gems.

They’re not always erotic, mostly inoffensive, sometimes even rated PG-13, and yet we won’t be able to get them in Lebanon any time soon. At least not at the Virgin megastore next door, the new 16-screen cinema megacomplex around, or the next pirated DVD seller in Da7ye.

Anyone who still watches movies on Lebanese TV stations will have noticed, that the way our censor gurus have been acting lately is just unacceptable. Slicing and dicing movie scenes to the extent they do, on the basis of both visual and verbal content, is way too 20th century to be acceptable to any educated citizen today. Hopefully some minister in the next government will have the courage to topple this censorship bureau once and for all.

But as 21st Century citizens, how can we accept the censorship of a cultural item on the mere basis that it features a gay couple or touches on gay issues?

Well we don’t.

Whether they like it or not, we will get to watch those movies. For Technology Is On Our Side.

We will get them anywhere from international shipping via Amazon to Internet streaming on Netflix… and all the way down to the shady Russian gay torrents online.

With 3G Internet around the corner, with the new maritime Internet cables we’re hooking up to, soon enough our Internet plans will become Unlimited and Uncontrollable. Same thing with online shooping picking up.

Now go censor this Big Brother:

Open up every one of our packages at the customs. We’ll re-order it out.

Strip search our luggage at the airport. We'll hide it out.

Watch each one of our bits and bytes. We’ll figure it out.

Block the torrents and streams. We’ll mirror it out.

Then keep trying to “educate” us. And we sure will kick you out!



My own GiBby Box Office from the last few years!

- by GiB#2 - Photo captions mostly from IMDb

I heart Beirut



Speaking of Beirut nostalgia... do you remember
these old posters?



Beirut I love you (I love you not): a TV/Web series well worth checking out. In the same spirit but perhaps not the same quality of script or filming as Shankaboot, but very good, creative work -- a nice dive into Beirut of the street, modest picturesque Beirut, graffiti Beirut, Beirut of the old meets new slash east meets west, girls boys and jewish moms, should I leave or should I stay, the Beirut of Soap Kills and Mashrou3 Leila… of all of us Tareks and Yasmines.

The 12 episodes are all online on youtube for your viewing pleasure. Still, my personal favorite has to be the short film that initiated this short series idea for OrangeDog Prods. It was the 10-minute cute couple’s love parade on Amelie music by Yann Tiersen. I remember my eyes getting all wet and feeling like “It sounds good to be straight!” and “I wanna fall in love again!”

-- by LeGiBiT

Confessions of a Hairy Arab

“Arabs are Hairy”

Without any doubt, this stereotype serves Lebanon's brand equity very well on the meat markets abroad.

What better place to admire bear chested
Lebanese dudes... than the ski slopes in Faraya?!

…if only these admirers who swoon over our body hair, had any idea about the secret struggle of Lebanese guys with their hair, I bet they would find it less sexy!

A struggle that is becoming more obvious by the day: Just looking around at the beach, you can tell two things about Lebanese guys and their hair: One is the demystifying fact that not all Lebanese are hairy, as there are many naturally smooth guys.

And Two, that the concept of shaving and trimming body hair has become commonplace in Lebanon, much as it has abroad, both among gay and straight guys. At last, it is no longer just another superfluous bodily care to label as “gay”, merely as “metro”.

Though one thing that gay guys still love to do much more than others, is to delineate their beard with millimetric precision (tezyi7): This one hair must stay, this one must go, this one I take off with the “string” or the “mousse”, that other one I try to get rid of permanently with laser – There, the perfect beard to go with the perfect eyebrows.

My own experience with body hair reached new heights recently, when I came across an old photo of mine taken at the beach when I was around 22. Taking a closer look at the photo, I could not believe my eyes how little hair I had on my chest at the time: only a few soft little hairs in the center. Little did I know back then what the twenties had in store for me in the hair department: Today, a few years later, I carry a chestful of hair!

Digging more into the issue, I went back to my childhood’s “secret drawer” where I found, along many other weird things from my past, a little plastic jewelry box. Inside it, not your average baby name bracelet: far from it. It contains…

My first pubic hairs!

I must have been in my early teens when I got them, carefully pulled out a few of them, and decided to keep them as a relic, a souvenir. This screams “What the F***?!” and I hear you, but I guess it tells a lot about the fascination of young men with their changing hairiness.

Apparently the teen years and early twenties go by with more of this kind of good surprises, enforced by compliments from hairy men’s lovers.

It’s only later on that things start to take a bad turn. One day around the mid-twenties, the horror happens: You notice you’re starting to grow hair “in the wrong places”. In places where hair simply doesn’t belong. Is it the 21st century way of life, the electromagnetic waves of our cellular world, is it the pesticides, I have no idea what it is…

All I know is I’m not liking these little hairs growing undercover as “duvet” on my shoulders and on my back. And what is it with this incredibly long transparent hair that I busted coming out of my ear?

This brought on my all-out battle against unwanted hair. I was still naïve enough to think I was in power with my little metrosexual arsenal on hand: Costly laser hair removal sessions, torture-like waxing appointments, even these nasty depilatory creams and their most nauseating smell in the world. It’s only a matter of time before one has to capitulate: the time it takes to realize that the enemy hairs are only growing darker, thicker, unsexier.

And because bad news seldom come alone, on another horror day, you notice you haven’t just started to grow hair in the wrong places, but also to lose it “in the right places”. That’s when you look in despair at your dad’s hair – or your uncle’s on your mother’s side if you trust the saying, – trying to get a glimpse at your future baldness.

The Light from Above, the one you get in the elevator or from the bathroom mirror glass, becomes your biggest foe. Suddenly you find yourself paying more attention to the disgusting billboards from hair transplant centers, watching what shampoo you use and buying expensive Minoxidil hair preservation products.

And then one day, Life strikes again, ruthless… with the first white hair. The rebel white hair you dreaded comes out of the lot, you pull out in all self-confidence, telling yourself it must be due to the last horror movie you watched... yeah, right.

-post, pic by GiB#2

K Gets Some Support

DrFaDi says:

First, i would like to congratulate you for choosing a psychologist who believes he cannot change you. Actually, being gay is no longer considered to be a mental illness. On the contrary, shrinks should not try to change sexuality of a person, but make him feel comfortable with it.



Banky: policemen (London)



I believe your problem is being afraid of your homosexuality. Have you thought of WHY you are afraid of being gay? Are you afraid of being different? I think you already know that homosexuality is normal, i would even say it's natural. What is more convincing is knowing that there are gay animals!! In animal kingdom, religion and society don't play any role, so they can behave as they please. (btw, statistics show there are 10% of a population that is gay, just so you don't feel lonely).

It's too bad that society has put limits for this natural preference. It was common in Greek and Roman societies to have gay sex, it was even common between the teacher and his student. Athletes used to do it too, many ancient drawings show this. But when monotheist religions came and ruled, they banned all these practices and considered them as sins. It is even banned for married couples to have sex if not planning to conceive. They just want to protect The Family.

Nowadays, since the liberation of minds and declaration of Human Rights, homosexuality is being liberated from religion. Societies are looking at gay people in a human point of view. They are after all as human as straight people. So my advice for you is accept yourself, be happy with yourself, and don't worry! There are many openly gay people who succeeded, there are even more who are in the closet but still help their brothers. We should be united to change society's view. Be proud to be gay!

Majd says:

Yo, K, I just came out to my Palestinian/Syrian dad living in Canada a couple of months ago. It was difficult, full of contradictions. And i'm still living the shock resulting from it. I haven't had a conversation with him that's more than "hi, how are you." since i told him. Like you, i'm not OK with the way casual sex is, in a way, shoved down our throats (no pun intended), although i have a many friends who enjoy it. It's ok to have those different contradictions. The most important thing is that we're aware of them and try to resolve them.


Anon says:

Great post ! To this anonymous writer from another anonymous writer... If there is a reason why gays would ever want to change, its not because of us being gay- its because society is still learning to understand and accept us. We are living in a historical and changing time period. But if society accepted us just like they do heterosexuals, i highly doubt anyone would ever think of changing. The love and intimacy that two guys share is beyond words, but if i have to think of a word to describe it, it would be "phenomenal".

That alone would never make me want to change to please others- that fact that it feels so right and natural. I'm a 100 % Lebanese, happily married(to a guy) . We have a child together and my Lebanese parents and cousins all know and love me unconditionally. My Husband, son and I attend church regularly and the pastor loves and respects us as we are. We live our lives very normally and rarely ever encounter prejudiced or discrimination. We enjoy being an pioneers in our community and braking barriers for the younger LGBT generation who needs good role models. I pray that you can find some inner peace and love and acceptance.

In Pride we Trust

Anon says:

If I may, there are a couple assumptions here that aren't shared by the entire gay community. For example, I didn't start understanding I was gay until much later in my life, thinking that my attraction to men was simply because of the lack of women in my life (I lived in Syria, where gender segregation was more popular). Once I moved to Lebanon, and a short trip to England later, I realized I could have access to all the women in the world, and it wasn't going to change what I wanted.

Never did it cross my mind, though, that there was something wrong with me. I understood quickly that there was prejudice against who I was, but I didn't think that who I was was particularly wrong or vile - I thought other people were prejudiced. Reconciling my faith and my identity were harder, but somehow being biologically who I am just didn't seem so wrong to me.

Which brings us to the pill question: No. Even after thought, even after realizing that I'd have to work harder and live in the periphery, I don't want a pill that would change me. I'd be far more frightened of anything that would so fundamentally change me than anything anyone can throw at me. Literally - I fear not being myself more than losing my life. This isn't to say that your experience isn't legitimate or that others don't experience what you experience.

It's just too kind of offset the assumption that we ALL feel that way. As for telling parents and stuff, that is more along the lines of not hurting them rather than not being comfortable with who we are. I also hide that I drink and eat pork, and have occasionally smoked stuff that wasn't tobacco. That's not about being ashamed of that as much as I know my parents would really, really not like it.

Life Without Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Americans have been actively debating lately on an old policy referred to as “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”, a policy that allows the military to investigate its applicants’ sexual orientation and to prevent openly gay guys and girls from joining and serving in the military. The Democrats put back this question on the table last year in yet another effort to repeal this old policy, and due to the newly acquired power of the Republicans, to no
avail…

...that's until yesterday, when the happy news came out: “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” has been repealed. Big win for LGBT rights activists and for a number of personalities who are highly sensitive and personally implicated in this issue from Barak Obama to… Lady Gaga. The reaction in America is nothing less than a jubilation - take a look at this excellent mashup on the subject from the Huffington Post.

But just like the U.S. is geographically, this debate is thousands of miles away from the level of our own debate here in Lebanon. Here, it is hard to even imagine putting the words “gay” and “military” in the same sentence. As a matter of fact, we’re not even able to put on the national debate agenda an archaic law that criminalizes homosexuality, let alone actually repealing it… but this post is not just another bashing of our infamous Article 534 – it’s about our very own version of don’t-ask-don’t-tell.

When I first heard there was a movement in the States to repeal don’t-ask-don’t-tell before I knew what it meant, I thought: Who the hell would want to revoke a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy? can you imagine what life here would be like for us gay guys in particular, if it weren’t for the don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy that the Lebanese people sort of abide to nowadays: "If I don’t ask or tell you my religion / political affiliation / what turns me on, then please, don’t ask or tell me in return."

Knowing how indiscreet and judgmental Lebanese people can be, sometimes we can almost hear through their thoughts as they scrutinize us wondering to themselves ,“does he have a girlfriend?”, “is he married?”, “is he gay?” – what would it be like if they did not keep at least some of their questions internally to themselves? I mean it’s one thing to be “out” and comfortable with oneself as a gay guy, and another thing to have to deal with this kind of people’s questions and opinions on a daily basis…

Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, not a ring: just please, never ever repeal don’t-ask-don’t-tell in Lebanon!

- By Gib#2. Photo credit: The Huffington Post

Nudity and the Family Jewels

“The management” of the gym I go to put up a “notice” recently, reminding everyone that they can’t be walking in the nude in the Lockers area “for ethical reasons”. Chance for us to talk a bit about the Lebanese and their family jewels.

It is no secret that we are quite a conservative society, and as such, we tend to be quite inhibited when it comes to nudity. That Lebanese guys hate to be naked around each others is easy to notice through many little things of everyday life, especially for us GiBs who tend to notice them due to our interest in men.

Our society seems to close the loop against public displays of nudity on both sides of the equation. On one hand, guys don’t like to show up naked, even in men-only environments, and never had to do it growing up for reasons like not having Pool Day at school. And on the other hand, every public place is designed to encourage this kind of privacy, from individual changing cabins to individual shower rooms, such that guys never have to get used to it anyway.

This is very different from the West, where I discovered as a kid that it was normal, for example, to shower in an open shower room along with classmates. It happened without carrying any sexual connotation whatsoever. Being raised not to associate nudity with shame and taboo as we are here, I believe the kids abroad stand a bigger chance to grow through puberty more comfortable with their body and with themselves in general.

Also in the West, it is generally accepted for guys to hang around naked in front of each others, say in a gym’s or a pool’s locker room. How many movies have that locker room scene where you get to take a peak at the lead actor? There, nudity among men seems to come much more naturally and more often than not, there are simply no ‘privacy options’ even for the shy to play prude.

As far as I can tell from my own experience, this inhibition is also true of Lebanese family men within the privacy of their own home. They are uncomfortable being naked in the presence of their wife and kids. I was almost shocked the first time I went to Europe as a kid and saw that in my cousin’s family, it was normal for daddy to shower all together with mommy and the three kids – not something I would ever see back home. And no, they were not naturists.

I don’t consider myself to be neither a voyeur, nor an exhibitionist, just a guy who doesn’t mind seeing a naked guy around. Within the limits of moral behavior, I consider that every person is free to be as uninhibited as they want – on the basis that others can just look away if they’re bothered. It’s a personal choice and a cultural matter. And as much as I respect other people’s feelings and ethics, I hate being told what to do and not do as far as personal and cultural matters…

… so to “the Management” of the gym, I just want to say that this notice sounds kind of backwards to me - and I hope it doesn’t have anything to do with homophobia…

-- by GiB#2

Leb BloGosphere’s Brand New Two

Two great additions to Lebanon’s gay blogosphere came to life last month -- two new blogs that will cover exciting and still unrevealed facets of our gay life in Beirut.

One is Karim’s Rainbow Experience, the blog of a teenager living in Beirut who sounds extremely motivated and courageous, and who’s got a lot to say about how it is to grow up gay in Lebanon nowadays, to come out of the closet in our society and affirm oneself so early on in life. Keep it up Karim, we at GiB (for one) are really eager to find out if, and how, gay Lebanon has changed for the upcoming generation.

Skim through drugs, swinging and other Beirut
excesses... to gay confessions on Page 14.

The other blog is that of a pioneer of gay activism in Lebanon, human rights militant and founder of Helem, Georges Azzi. For GiB, the new blog holds a high promise, that of shedding some light into the knots and bolts of LGBT advocacy, community and NGO work in Lebanon... which might also carry with it a powerful message for those of us who’ve been stuck for too long in the 'silent majority'.

With these two new up-and-comers, it may seem that 2010 is ushering a new trend in the Lebanese bloGosphere. Together we’re boosting the online presence of the Lebanese gay community, which can only make us stronger, make our voice louder and serve our case better…

…And it seems we’re getting the general public's interest and getting free publicity, too! Gosh, some of us just made it onto Beirut TimeOut’s “baddest” issue!


-- by Gib#2
(Photo courtesy of Beirut Boy)

Pink Dollars

Beware people of the world! GiBs are waging a war: beating Tel Aviv as the gay capital of the Middle East.


According to an article posted in the business section of L'Orient-le-Jour, our local French daily, Beirut is gaining notoriety as a touristic destination for gays from around the world. Can you imagine the potential impact on Lebanon’s economy? And do you realize how efficient this war can be? Drop the guns already. It’s time we compete economically and socially.

This other post provides interesting statistics as well as an overview of the rivalry for the Pink title.


While Tel Aviv offers a somewhat tolerant environment towards gays, GiB lifestyle is mostly underground. This secretive aspect makes everything sexier, sassier and spices things up a notch.


The Tel Aviv Tourism Association recently launched a campaign to market the city to gay communities around the world in a campaign called “Tel Aviv Gay Vibe.” How soon should we expect the Beirut version?

History in the Making | by Art Hake

Once upon a time, on a beautiful shore of the Mediterranean, a group of men and women installed their little brick houses and called it home. They soon got bored thus thought of a way to better communicate. They invented the alphabet and developed the first sea port. Since they didn’t always agree on what to say and ended up fighting a bit, some went off to faraway places, creating little colonies around the Mother sea: Nice, Ibiza, Larnaca, Malta, Carthage, Palermo, etc. fetching gold, turquoise and slaves in exchange of cedar wood and Tyrian purple while identifying good vacation spots for future generations. Those who stayed opened fish restaurants and got screwed by most tourists and visiting neighbors.

The women were so gorgeous; they drew attention from kings and princes around, dragging the cities into endless wars.

Their relatives across the globe kept on sending aid and visiting from time to time, but like you’d get overwhelmed by a creepy old aunt in your family that wouldn’t die, visit intervals got longer and longer, until centuries passed by. Guilt feeling left few open channels but nonetheless, Phoenicians of Lebanon had to count on nobody but themselves.

Nowadays, you’d find Phoenicians somewhat happier with their lives, despite the fact that not much has changed. Their commerce is growing, they have no more wood to sell but their mastering of the languages makes them amazing negotiators of whatever-it-is-you-need, women manage to grow even bigger boobs, they still import slaves and continuously get screwed by their neighbors (although to be honest, I think they’re starting to enjoy this).

The fish restaurants are quite good, which tempts tourists and descendants of their diaspora to come back.

But some things did change. Our natural resources are now limited to sun, sea, liquor, parties, sex & drugs. With the extinction of the murex, origin of the purple color, the disappearance of the green forests, the pollution of the blue sea, the melting of the white snows, the place is threatened of grimness. We need to bring back the glee. Happy people from around the world unite, come in and spread the rainbow, which is also a perspective of the peace flag, the only flag we believe in. Berytus is your next destination!