Queer for Israel

Most of you know that I took a stongly-voiced position on the Israeli side during the last months of the media war thagt was fought between Gaza and Israel-sympathisers.

Putting that aside, I now want to put a 'pink' spotlight onto Israel and highlight some astonishing facts about a country wedged in between Arab nations.

Most are probably aware that queer boys and girls in Iraq, Syria, Egypt or Iran don't live a very "gay" life. In fact, homosexuality is even forbidden in every Middle Eastern country but Jordan, Turkey and Israel; Flogging, hanging, prison or at least social persecution are what waving the rainbow flag means in the rest.

In Israel, however, gay marriages are recognised, thus putting the Jewish state ahead of even most European countries or US states. (Yet, you can't technically gay marry there since the state doesn't perform civil weddings, it only recognised those declared by religious institutions. It does recognise marriages performed abroad but it would be up to the religions to allow them within Israel.)
Foreign partners of gay Israelis are granted citizen status and joint Adoption is possible since 2009.

Also, Tel Aviv hosts the only annual Gay Pride event in the Middle East and if you watch this video of it, you will witness it is not even a small even hidden in some back allies.

Many other aspects speak for Israel's progressiveness such as equal age of consent and anti-discrimination laws in employment since 1992.

Since 1993 the military allows proud lesbians and gays (like a very dear friend of mine) to serve their country or alternatively volunteer in the national services, such as the Association of GLBTs in Israel (Agudah). This makes Israel mroe advanced than the US who are - even under a black president - still now able to eliminate exclusion and state-operated discrimination.

Many gay-themed films aimed at the mainstream market such as "Yossi & Jagger" (2002), "Walk on Water" (2004), "The Bubble" (2006) and TV series like "Florentin" were produced in Israel.

My personal favourite of Israeli LGBT exports is the trans-singer Dana International, who in fact won the biggest music competition in the world, the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998. A recent music video of hers together with camp singer Idan Yaniv brought me to write this very article. Enjoy.

Sources: Wikipedia's LGBT rights in Israel and LGBT rights by country or territory

Gay culture has to de-sexify

or: An open letter to the ones fighting for marriage equality

The gay movies I saw as a teenager around 5 years ago were all about one topic: sex. If it's about first sexual experiences, sexual relationships or the gay clubbing world with lots of random encounters (think Queer as Folk).
My university (the School of African and Oriental Studies, London) recently hosted a lecture about the rising gay culture in Bangkok and all the gay-themed Thai movies that are becoming so popular are somehow telling a story that just cannot be without the display of sex.
The lecturer was also showing us the variety of gay print publications (he said there are somewhat close to 50 magazines in Thailand alone I believe), 90% with shirtless men on the cover from my judgement.


So gays are becoming more visible. Good isn't it? I say no, because there is something that bother me a lot: All the sex!
To be fair, on the first look, a homoSEXual differs from the rest by definition for that he doesn't have sex with the opposite gender but rather the same. So is it mainly about sex? I dare to believe our same-sex relationships are not just that but like anyone elses including zoo-visits, jealousy dramas, self-cooked dinners together and romantic text-messaging.


What annoys is that through that sex-image we like to display in our (sub-)culture a major part of society associates gays with sex (and thus fun, joy, promiscuity, anti-conservative, family-unfriendly). And this the reason why conservatives fight politically against our right to marry for example. It is because gay relationship seem to be about self-centred, physical and shameless enjoyment that families feel they need to protect marriage and children.

And that is a fatal misconception! Studies show that same-sex couples want to have a family home in stable relationships (in some countries the willingness to marry is higher than among straights) and many want to adopt. But these rights (marrying & adopting) are denied in most of the world's countries (only six out of 195 countries have gender-neutral marriage laws). Opposition in the rest of the world has strong feelings against the rights of same-sex couples as the case of Proposition 8 (a referendum in California weather to allow gay marrriage) showed. It was the most expensively fought civil right issue in the history of the US with millions spend on campaigns on both sides.
However, I begin to think that gays are partly to blame for that strong oppostion. We need to show ourselves as we are, like holding hands with the loved-one on the street, cuddling to a romantic movie in cinema and anywhere and anytime, not just walking around half-naked and snogging at Gay Pride and Mardi Gras. That is the wrong showing-off.

It is also up to us gays themselves to change society's negative perception . And once gays understand that, I will look forward to the day when homosexual couples are not only displayed in sex-themed gay films or as comic contribution in main-stream media but also in secondary roles as normal couples just like there are pictures of opposite-sex couples every minute on TV without a funny side to it.

My own favourite quote

Translate this into other languages if you like!

[EN] I’m a language freak!
I think, in the age of globalization, we all in this world should try to get to know each other a bit more. The key to intercultural understanding are languages. Not everyone can learn several languages. But we can try to gather just a bit more knowledge. I consider this to be the duty of a real world citizen. ~LiangHH
[ZH] 我是一个语言迷!
我想，在全球化的今天，人们应该更好的去了解世界人民。语言正好是不同文化间对话的钥匙。 并不是每个人都能学很多语言。但是至少我们能够尽量的获取一些知识。我认为这是世界公民的义务。 （谢谢xyzx124翻译） ~柯俊杰
[ES] Me gustan las idiomas!
Pienso que en el siglo de la globalización tenemos que intentar a conocernos un poco más. La llave a la aproximación intercultural son los idiomas. No podemos aprender todos los lenguajes del mundo pero podemos procurar saber un poco mas sobre ellos. Considero esto como la obligación de un ciudadano del mundo. ~LiangHH
[RU] Привет всем! Я очень люблю иностранные языки!
Мне кажется, в век глобализации, все мы должны попытаться узнать друг друга лучше, а ключом к межкультурному пониманию являются языки.
Не каждый может выучить несколько языков. Но мы можем постараться собрать больше знаний. И я полагаю, что это должно быть обязанностью каждого жителя нашей планеты. (Спасибо, Антон) ~Винс

[DE] Ich bin ein Sprachen-Fan!
Ich denke, man sollte im Zeitalter der Globalisierung die Völker der Welt besser verstehen lernen. Der Schlüssel zum interkulturellen Dialog sind die Sprachen. Nicht jeder kann mehrere Sprachen lernen. Wir können uns aber bemühen, zumindest ein bisschen mehr Ahnung zu haben. Das sehe ich als Pflicht eines Weltenbürgers an. ~LiangHH
[PT] Gosto dos idiomas!
Penso que o sentido da globalisação consiste em tentar nos conhecermos um pouco mais. A aproximação intercultural são idiomas. Não podemos aprender todas as linguas (idiomas) do mundo mas podemos procurar saber um pouco mais. Isto considero como a obrigação de um cidadão do mundo. (translated by Pedro Henriques) ~LiangHH
[FR] J´aime les langues
Je pense que de nos jours, on devrait apprendre à mieux comprendre les peuples de ce monde. Les langues sont les clefs du dialogue interculturel. Aucun de nous ne peut parler beaucoup de langues. On pourrait faire des efforts, du moins en avoir la volonté. En cela je vois notre devoir envers les citoyens du monde. (Merci beaucoup, Marcel) ~LiangHH
[JP] 私は、言語狂です！
グローバリゼーションの時代に、この世のみんなが もう少し、互いを知ろうとしなければならないと思います。 異文化間の理解に重要なのは、言語です。 誰でも皆が、複数の言語を学ぶことができるというわけでありません。 しかし、我々はもう少し知識を得ようとすることができます。 私は、これが本当の世界市民の義務であると考えます。 (by Maa) ~ヴィンチ[IT] Sono uno straappassionato di lingue
Penso, in quest'era di globalizzazione, che tutti in questo mondo dobbiamo provare a conoscerci a vicenda un pò di più. La chiave delle comprensione tra culture diverse è nelle lingue. Non tutti sono in grado di imparare diverse lingue. Tuttavia possiamo provare a raccogliere un pò più di conoscenza. Considero questo il dovere di un di un vero cittadino del mondo. (Grazie, Allan) ~LiangHH
[TR] Ben bir yabancı-dil manyagıyım!
Günümüzün globalizleşen dünyasında, herkes birbirini daha iyi tanımaya çalışmalıdır bence. Entellektüel dünyanın en önemli anahtarı dillerdir. Elbette hiç kimse bir sürü dil bilemez. Fakat azacık da olsa, daha fazla bilgi edinmek için çabalayabiliriz. Ben bunu her dünya insanının görevi olarak görüyorum. (Tesekkurler, Kaan) ~LiangHH
[PL] Jestem fanem języków!
Myślę, że w dobie globalizacji wszyscy powinniśmy poznać się nieco bliżej. Kluczem do międzykulturalnego zrozumienia są języki. Nie każdy może nauczyć się kilku języków, ale może przynajmniej poświęcić im trochę uwagi. Uważam to za obowiązek prawdziwego "obywatela świata" (Dziekuje, Michal) ~LiangHH
[HE] אני מטורף על שפות!
לדעתי בעידן כזה של גלובליזציה אנחנו צריכים לנסות להכיר האחד את השני בצורה טובה יותר. המפתח להבנה רב תרבותית היא שפות שונות וידיעתן. לא כולם יכולים ללמוד שפות רבות אבל אנחנו יכולים לנסות לאסוף יותר מידע אל האחר, זוהי חובתו של אזרח אמיתי של העולם. (תודה לרון)
[NL] Ik ben een talenfreak!
Ik ben een talenfreak! In tijden van globalisatie denk ik dat we moeten proberen om elkaar wat beter te leren kennen. Talen zijn de sleutel naar intercultureel begrip. Niet iedereen kan verschillende talen leren. Maar we kunnen proberen wat meer kennis te vergaren. Ik beschouw dit als de plicht van een echte wereldburger. (Dankje Roel) ~LiangHH
[SR] Ја сам луд за језицима!
Мислим да у доба глобализације сви на свијету можемо покушати да упознамо једни друге мало боље. Кључ мултикултуралног разумевања су језици. Не може баш свако да научи више језика, али сви можемо да пробамо да сакупимо бар мало више знања о њима. По мени је то обавеза правог, светског човека. (translated by unknown) ~LiangHH
[BS] Ja sam lud za jezicima!
Mislim da, u doba globalizacije svi u ovom svijetu trebamo pokušati upoznati jedni druge malo bolje. Ključ multikulturalnog razumijevanja su jezici. Ne može svako naučiti više jezika, ali svi možemo pokušati skupiti bar malo više znanja. Po meni je to obaveza pravog svjetskog građanina. (translated by unknown) ~LiangHH
[SL] Sem oboževalec jezikov
Mislim, da bi se vsi mi v dobi globalizacije morali bolje spoznati. Ključ do medkuLturnega spoznavanja so jeziki. Vsi se ne morejo učiti večih jezikov. Vendar se lahko potrudimo zbrati vsaj malo več vedenja o njih. To vidim kot dolžnost vsakega državljana sveta. (translated by Matic) ~LiangHH

犯人

[ZH]
在每个国家里有犯人. 在中国他们是你们的政府
在每個國家裡有犯人. 在中國他們是你們的政府
zài měi gè guójiā lǐ yǒu fànrén . zài zhōngguó tāmen shì nǐmen de zhèngfǔ
In every country there are criminals. In China they are your government

一无所知

[ZH] 我的天那! 我的宗教老师和我们谈论华人的信念. 我念一篇文章: "华人在新加坡". 我的老师告诉我们这城市在中国．什么？？？？？？？　"新加坡不是一个中国的城市"我说！！！！！！！！ 我的老师吃惊了: "真的吗?". 我回答: "是的！是一个在马来西亚半岛的国家. 离中国非常远！
哎呀．．．　以前我认为他很聪明，　
但是西方人对亚洲一无所知

我真想中国

[ZH] 我想我的中国朋友
塞塞，他的大哥和他的男朋友 Xiao Sung。
他们很好客。
我想起跟他们一起去吃很好的中早饭.
也想黎明和伟豪. 中国人都这么可爱
德国人不友好。 闷闷不乐。

在汉堡的酒吧,大家要操一个人
在西安他们只想跳舞... 哈哈

我想中餐
四川菜，回民菜 (拌拉面。。。怎么好吃！)
我天天吃微波菜。。。
因为餐厅太贵了
在中国很便宜，也很好的。

我想上海.
我的最喜欢的城市.
这么大的, 没有无聊
这么现代, 很有意思

哎。。。 我要回去。