Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Homosexuality a great taboo in the Arab World

A talk show episode on the Lebanese satellite TV channel LBC has caused a stir with Lebanon’s LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer) community for what activists call a “furthering of misconceptions” about gays in the Arab world. On Wednesday, January 28, four “gay guests” from different Arab countries took their seats on the set of “The Bold Red Line - A7mar bil Khat I 3areed” with talk show host Malek Maktabi (picture) to discuss the issues of homosexuality in the Arab world.

“Everything made me angry about that show. They victimized every single guest. The whole thing actually made me scared,” 28-year old Dalia, a member of Lebanon’s lesbian community told MENASSAT.

A flurry of comments have popped up on websites and blogs alternatively praising the show for tackling a taboo subject in the Arab press and vilifying it for the show’s choice of guests.

There was 30-year old Hanan from an unspecified Arab Gulf country. Covered in a niqab, a black veil covering her entire face except for the eyes, she told the audience in effect that she wasn’t gay.

In her own words, she said she was having sexual relations with women out of convenience and that she actually preferred men to women despite what she called “their betrayal nature.”

More on Menassat.

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