His parents knew about his boyfriend, as did many of his close friends who live in Dubai. While the two of them couldn’t walk hand-in-hand on the street, the situation for straight couples isn’t so much different. He recently got out of a two-year relationship with a Lebanese guy. He explained that the situation here isn’t as bad as we may think. I tried to understand why he moved from one of the greatest LGBT friendly cities in the world to a city that forbids him to be who he really is.
He returned there after 15 years in London. His family, which is from Pakistan, is well known in the city. I got to know Bilal (not his real name, like the rest of the names that appear in the story), a good friend who lives in Dubai, around a decade ago through mutual friends.
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After unpacking we had dinner at a nice fish restaurant that agreed to seat us at 11 P.M., and also gave us some demonstratively queer entertainment: A terrifying dancing fountain show with changing lights set to the kitchiest song in the history of the 21st century, “Let it Go” from the movie “Frozen.” This ballad, on the backdrop of the pink, purple and blue aquatic phalluses towering to great heights, showed us that while Dubai may not yet hold pride parades, at least when it comes to atmosphere, it’s all set. We settled into our spacious villa with a private beach in the Palm Island area (the price was reasonable, $933 a night for the four of us).
Stern, second from left, and his entourage in Dubai. There were other concerns, too: How much is there to enjoy in the “Las Vegas of the Middle East,” a city that, at least from the video guides on YouTube, looked like a cross between Hong Kong and Marfa? And the biggest question of all: How can you relax and enjoy yourself in a place where your sexual identity, which you’ve chosen to air after a long internal struggle, may put you right back in the closet and in the realm of taboo? Let's draw a truce for the next few paragraphs and see what we might learn about one another.Can four openly gay guys from Tel Aviv who never hide their sexual orientation enjoy a vacation in Dubai? As I was relaxing on a direct flight I took with three of my friends to Dubai International Airport, I couldn't help but wonder: Would we be able to meet gay men in the seaside Emirati city without going underground? Would nonverbal flirting with a man wearing a kandura land you in jail? Does the gay hookup and dating app Grindr pose a risk to your personal safety? And which one of us really is Samantha? I'm not here to make you feel small, even though a fair share of you seem to think that's your inalienable right to make gay men feel less than.
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That being said, let's roar full steam ahead (no pun intended) and discover why gay men's "jingle balls" rule! Straight guys don't get offended or feel threatened by this topic. Although there are some fab little gems in it (boy did I just flame or what!) If you take offense to anything I say, just remember this article doesn't have to become your truth.I am pleading the Fifth Amendment and refusing to discuss the rights, wrongs, and in the middles of gay rights or biblical views on homosexuality.