Lebanese LGBT Media Monitor

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بعد أن كسر وزير الداخلية بسّام مولوي قرار مجلس شورى الدولة، حيث كان الأخير أوقف العمل بقرار صادر عنه، يطلب فيه من قوى الأمن منع أي لقاء أو تجمع لأفراد مجتمع "الميم عين" في لبنان وكل ما يتصل بالمثلية الجنسية.

"إشتباه لواط"... ما هي آخر قرارات مولوي؟ ليبانون ديبايت بعد أن كسر وزير الداخلية بسّام مولوي قرار مجلس شورى الدولة، حيث كان الأخير أوقف العمل بقرار صادر عنه، يطلب فيه من قوى الأمن منع أي لقاء أو تجمع لأفراد ...

Treat Me like Your Mother is now a photographic exhibition of Trans women from Beirut’s forgotten past.

It displays photographs of te Trans* women taken during the interviews and recordings from these interviews. It also has old photographs of them from childhood and in later years on display as well as part of a slideshow.

This was part of a project to tell the history of Lebanon through the lens of Trans women who recount growing up during the war, transitioning in more conservative times, asserting themselves at later ages and struggling while younger in a society that did not accept them as they were.

The journal can be bought at the exhibition and can also be found online through cold cuts magazine.

Helem Mina Image Centre

“For me, it’s a shout out – we are Arab and q***r. I want people to see the s*xual side of Arab men.”

In an interview on Means Happy, Samer Bo talks about his erotic fiction and the homophobia he has faced in Egypt. Bo hopes to show the s*xual side of gay Arab men in a society that oppresses them. He seeks to increase their visibility through his erotic fiction. This has led his online books to be banned in several Middle Eastern countries.

Link below for full article:

https://meanshappy.com/giving-a-voice-to-gay-arab-men/

Giving a voice to gay Arab men through erotic fiction - Means Happy Giving a voice to gay Arab men through erotic fiction. Samer Bo: "I want people to feel aroused but also represented."

في رثاء "مشروع ليلى": "ليكن ما يكون، بدي كون بعدني واقف عم غنّي" - Daraj يحق للفرقة التي واجهت كل أشكال التهديد والتحريض والقمع والإقصاء والتنكيل الواقعي والافتراضي لسنوات أن تتوقف عن العمل، وأن يبحث أعضاؤها عن السلام بعيدًا عن الجنون ا...

pays tribute to trans women and femme men who have been excluded from Beirut’s history. For its fourth edition, it worked with Helem to put together “Treat Me Like Your Mother”.

They interviewed and photographed ten ladies. These ladies recount their stories as dancers, entertainers, celebrity figures, or survivors of abuse, discrimination, and the civil war.

This took place over the course of two weeks in 2019.

Members of the LGBTQI+ community in Lebanon are still discriminated against and their stories still suppressed.

Fetrah is an anti-gay campaign that began on social media as a reaction to pride month in the Arab world. It claims that q***rness is an “erosion of the border between humans and animals” and is a form of s*xual deviance imported from the West.

Meta blocked the account on Facebook after it reached over half a million likes. But the hashtag continues with much popularity. The Twitter account still exists with over 75000 followers. It also has a link in its bio that allows one to overlay any picture with a frame of the Fetrah flag and the phrase “There are only two genders” through an image generation service. This service was used more than 26000 times.

Its aim is to return to what it sees as human nature: two genders that reproduce. This explains its use of the two colours pink and blue.

Check out the full article source below!

https://restofworld.org/2022/an-arabic-anti-lgbtq-campaign-is-going-viral-on-twitter/

The Legal Agenda المفكرة القانونية and Helem have filed an appeal against Interior minister Bassam Mawlawi’s crackdown on LGBTQ+ gatherings in Lebanon.

This ban was made on the 24th of June to stop any gathering that in their belief promoted homos*xuality. This ban was legally baseless and made to also satisfy the wishes of religious figures. These gatherings were considered to oppose the norms and traditions of Lebanese society, and therefore were also considered a threat.

Now this decision is being contested for its violation of international human rights, the constitution, and the rule of civil law. Tarek Zeidan from Helem stated that this ban was based on a personal decision and could set a worrying precedent for the future rule of law.

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تقدمت الخميس الماضي "المفكرة القانونية" و"حلم" بطعن أمام مجلس شورى الدولة ضد قرار وزير الداخلية بسام المولوي الصادر في 24/6/2022 بمنع أي لقاء أو تجمّع يتعلق بما أسماه "ظاهرة الشذوذ الجنسي" الذي أدّى إلى إلغاء لقاءات تتعلق بالمثلية الجنسية.
وكان الوزير قد استجاب لطلبات المراجع الدينية فمنع هذه اللقاءات لاعتباره أنها تتعارض مع التقاليد الاجتماعية ومبادئ الأديان السماوية. وأدّى قراره إلى إلغاء لقاءات تندد بسياسات التمييز ضد مجتمع "الميم-عين"، كما تبعه موجة من خطاب الكراهية والتحريض على المثليين والمثليات.
تكمن أهمية الطعن في التصدّي لسياسات التضييق على حريات المعتقد والتعبير والتجمّع والتحريض على الفئات المهمشة فيما شكّل محاولة من القوى الحاكمة لتحوير الانتباه إلى قضايا أخرى ذات طابع هويّاتي بهدف حجب الصراعات الاجتماعية والسياسية بينها وبين “المجتمع”.
وقد استند الطعن إلى عدم صلاحية الوزير لإصدار هكذا منع عام وإلى مخالفة القرار للدستور من خلال تقييده للحريات خلافاً لمبدأي الضرورة والتناسب وإلى تهديده السلم الأهلي وتحريضه ضد فئات مهمشة. كما استند إلى ضرورة التزام الدولة بموقف محايد تجاه الأديان إحتراماً لحرية المعتقد.

للمزيد من التفاصيل:
- ملاحظات "المفكرة" حول قرار وزير الداخلية:
https://bit.ly/3QWeijq
- بيان تحالف حرية الرأي والتعبير:
https://bit.ly/3CF2eyW
- الدين والسياسية و"المثلية": أبرز المواقف في جولة ٢٠٢٢
https://bit.ly/3KHNtgR

Helem

The anti-homos*xuality movement’s Instagram page was just reported. The movement’s campaign is "Not Normal” to allude to the LGBTQ+ community. Although it is off Instagram, it is still on many of the billboards in Saida.

“"Homos*xuality: Normal or Perversion?" » This is the title of a conference that will be held next week in Saida in the place of a concert. It is part of the “Not Normal” campaign — a campaign against anything they see as LGBTQ+ related.

This started with a choir concert that was meant to take place in Saida’s Municipal Stadium. Its plan was to hold a parade with Maya Nemah and other Tiktokers.
But religious clerics started the campaign with “Before the City Drowns” as its slogan to oppose this “parade of naked bodies.”

As mosque imams and social media groups and individuals criticised the “diva”clothes of the concert, the municipality changed the venue and withdrew its sponsorship. The municipality is also set to hold this homophobic conference in its halls next week.

This is happening two months after the Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi banned gatherings that “promote homos*xuality”.


Source: Megaphone - ميغافون

LGBTQ+ gatherings in Lebanon continue, in spite of bans, crackdowns, and threats.

Yesterday, the 9th of August 2022, the Ark Conversations collaborated with MOSAIC, an NGO that defends marginalised communities, including the LGBTQ+ community. For its first episode, Sana Awar hosted the series about the LGBT+ community in Lebanon.

The guest speakers were lawyer Danielle Yaacoub, drag queen Zuhal, mental health expert Pascale Kolakez, and feminist activist and author Joumana Haddad.

Topics discussed were sacred family units, the influence of religion, homophobic laws and norms, the lives of LGBTQ+ activists and drag queens in Lebanon, and more.

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حكي نسوي Haki Nasawi reveals the hypocrisy of the Israeli government’s support of the LGBT movement. In the last 20 years people have started to pay more attention to human rights, and more specifically the abuse of these rights by Israel.

This pink washing is used by Israel, according to this video, to distract the international world from its human rights abuses in Palestine. Their actions have also wreaked havoc in Lebanon. Examples are the massacres in Qana, Sabra, and Chatila.

🏳️‍🌈

https://youtu.be/GMve4kncRZU

الغسيل الوردي، المثلية والاحتلال 🌈 Pinkwashing شكرا لمشاهدة الفيديو. للدعم، لايك، شير وسبسكرايب ♡---Platforms منصات ودعمPatreon https://www.patreon.com/hakinasawiFacebook https://www.facebook.com/hakinasa...

A feminist march took place yesterday, the 31st of July, to oppose the governmental rule, and to defend women’s rights as well as the rights of the marginalised.

They marched from the ring bridge to Ein Mreisseh and titled this march “we refuse, we unite we move.”

One large poster asserted in Arabic that “we are all priorities: women, refugees, q***r workers, migrant workers.”

#ثورة

“Now, I’m a fully transitioned woman except for my p***s; I still have it and probably will not get rid of it.” Lulua believes that manhood and womanhood are different from our biological s*x or genitalia.

This article dares to open a very taboo subject in the Arab world: ma********on. It goes further to dissect this subject through a q***r lens: ma********on for gender non-conforming individuals.

Three friends open up about their experience with ma********on, whether it’s shame and guilt, self-pleasure as opposed to pleasure with someone else, the exploration of one’s s*xuality, and at times the experience of all three at the same time.

Check out to find out more about the self-pleasuring experience of a gay Jordanian man, a transgender woman, and a bis*xual wife.

السر المعلن: العادة السرية ومناقشة دور المتعة الذاتية في حياتنا الجنسية English بقلم محمد نصراللهتصوير: هادي موصللي العادة السرية أو الاستمناء بالفصحى، اللي مش عنجد سرية لكن نمارسها بالسر بأغلب الأحيان. بهاد المقال رح نتطرق لموضوع العادة ا....

“They have started a campaign essentially to demand an end to the LGBT community.”

During and after Pride month, there was a strong backlash against the LGBT community in the Arab world. This can be seen clearly in the hashtag that became very popular on social media. The page reached 2 million followers before it was shut down.

The homophobic hashtag still continues with great popularity. There has been a slow social media response to shutting it down, which in turn risks more hate crimes in the short and the longer term.

https://twitter.com/i24news_en/status/1549471788563824645?s=21&t=5IYopQxF0jpSBugxbAerig


#فطره

i24NEWS English on Twitter “With rising awareness of the LGBT community, a backlash is rising in the Arab world Human rights activist tells that social media platforms have been slow to act against homophobic hashtags that are going viral such as (natural)”

“It really felt like they wanted to just distract the masses from everything going on and focus on this hot topic,” Nour, who asked to use a pseudonym because he has not come out to family, told The Associated Press.

He now opts to stay at home, fearing for his safety more than ever after a wave of anti-LGBTQ hate speech that followed last month’s decision by the Lebanese Interior Ministry to shut down any events aimed at promoting “s*xual perversion.”

Since the clampdowns during pride month, human rights groups have spoken up. They have criticised the government for targeting marginalised groups and ignoring the worsening economic crisis. They have also brought up the slow investigation of the August 4 blast and the rise in crime.

https://www.voanews.com/amp/lebanon-lgbtq-community-suffers-setback-amid-wider-clampdown-/6663098.html

Lebanon LGBTQ community suffers setback amid wider clampdown BEIRUT (AP) — Nour never felt entirely safe as a q***r person in Lebanon. But in the past few years, the 25-year-old pharmacist had begun letting his guard down, meeting with friends in LGBTQ-friendly spaces in Beirut and even performing in drag shows.

« We can’t afford to lose Beirut. I don’t say this because I’m Lebanese. I say this because I run an organisation that receives anywhere between 5 to 10 requests a week of people from Egypt, from Jordan, from Iraq, from all over the gulf, from Yemen, saying can you help me get to Beirut. If we lose this place, it’s done. » ~ Tarek Zeidan, Helem

This 30 minute film is about the q***r revolution in the Middle East. Watch to learn more about the rise of Mashrou’ Leila, the death of Sarah Hegazi, the August 4 blast. The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2022/jun/22/one-good-song-can-do-more-than-5000-protests-the-q***r-revolution-in-the-middle-east

'One good song can do more than 5,000 protests': the q***r revolution in the Middle East Mashrou’ Leila were one of the biggest bands in the Middle East, with a lead singer, Hamed, who is the firstly openly gay rock star in the Arab world. Known globally, their gigs were regular sell-out successes until an event at their 2017 Cairo concert changed everything. Playing to 35,000 people,...

Queer-friendly gatherings may be banned in Lebanon, but in New York and Canada, they are thriving.

Laylit — “the night of” — is a party based in these two cities that places music from the MENA region. It has become so popular that it’s last event in Brooklyn was moved to a far larger hall with over 800 people, a huge disco ball, an extravagant light show.

Above all, the Lebanese drag queen and pioneer Anya Kneez gave a dazzling performance. Not so long ago, regular Middle Eastern events in the West were far from common. Now, they are thriving and challenging traditional, heteros*xual norms in the Middle East as they do so.

Check out the New York Times for the full article!

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/nyregion/brooklyn-laylit-middle-east-north-africa.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/16/nyregion/brooklyn-laylit-middle-east-north-africa.html?referringSource=articleShare

A Middle Eastern Party Scene Is Thriving on Brooklyn’s Dance Floors Several New York City parties offer spaces where anyone and everyone can let loose, come together and find comfort in Middle Eastern and North African music.