What would Saudi Arabia think of gay best friends?

In Saudi Arabia, interaction between the sexes is frowned upon, and even prohibited. What would the Saudi government though make of women who have gay best friends with whom they go for coffee and choose dresses etc? This is obviously a purely platonic relationship, but would it still be something of which the Saudi government disapprove? There is no sex involved in these relationships, and therefore I cannot see why women should be prevented from seeing their gay BFF just because the two sexes as a whole are not allowed to interact.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1

Esiuol

I'm pretty sure being gay is illegal there, right?

Edit: I looked it up and I was right; they're not exactly a gay-friendly country. From wikipedia: "Gay rights are not recognised. Homosexual acts are punishable by flogging or death." So I don't know. A gay man might be able to get out of trouble for hanging out with a woman by saying that he's gay, but there wouldn't be much point because then he'd be punished for homosexuality instead.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 2

harmony_01

Original post by Otkem

In Saudi Arabia, interaction between the sexes is frowned upon, and even prohibited. What would the Saudi government though make of women who have gay best friends with whom they go for coffee and choose dresses etc? This is obviously a purely platonic relationship, but would it still be something of which the Saudi government disapprove? There is no sex involved in these relationships, and therefore I cannot see why women should be prevented from seeing their gay BF just because the two sexes as a whole are not allowed to interact.

If they keep it to themselves, nothing. If they scream they're lesbian, snog the face of each other and they decide to unveil themselves, grab a dildo and penetrate one another with it in front of a public crowd (minimum 4 people), then you'll face the consequences. Though, that's a very rare thing in Saudi Arabia.

Reply 3

Happydude

I don't think you'd last very long as a homosexual in Saudi.

Reply 4

Gridiron-Gangster

I don't think one would want to be "out ad proud" in Saudi Arabia of all places. It's like a lamb walking into the lion's den.

Reply 5

Danen

Original post by Happydude

I don't think you'd last very long as a homosexual in Saudi.

of course you do, as long as its done in secret and islampolice doesnt see it.

Reply 6

cl_steele

well if the gay one was found out itd be off with his/her head.

Reply 7

laughylolly

Original post by Otkem

When I lived in Saudi I used to get away with going shopping with a male friend of mine (just a best friend, and he wasn't gay) but that's only because he looked quite a lot like me. If I was seen shopping with a guy of a different race or different coloured hair etc. I would be stopped and we would have to prove that we were relatives otherwise the guy could be taken away. Basically, even as a westerner, shopping with boys in public is kinda a big no no.

So from that I would say that the MUTAWA wouldn't approve of it. The government and the religious police (Mutawa) are two different bodies of people and often have a clash of opinion so. To them I don't think there would be a difference between 'a non-relative male' and a 'gay non-relative male'.

Original post by Happydude

I don't think you'd last very long as a homosexual in Saudi.

I had gay friends/ knew people that were gay when I lived in Saudi. Some were even arab (although not Saudi and as far as I remember not Muslim either). I guess it makes a difference if you are living in the more western areas in Saudi (e.g. compounds/schools/etc.)

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 8

Perseveranze

This is one of the things I like about Saudi's, even if they sometimes are hypocritical. Though I don't agree with their requirements of executing homosexuals.

Original post by harmony_01

I don't know if that's true. Saudi doesn't follow Shariah to the letter like that, I think like adultery, they'll accept circumstancial/dna etc. evidences to give hadd punishments.

They're alot stricter on adulterers than on Homo's. Like, for homo's I've heard they sometimes let them off with a warning. But then again, it may depend on which family/tribe you belong to, as they do have alot of favouritism in some cases.

Reply 9

frenchfries

mate , Saudi is a gay heaven.

My Filipino gay friends love going there especially Riyadh you wont believe the stories i get told.

plus most of the royals are gay/bisexual anyway

You should read this:
Vibrant communities of men who enjoy sex with other men can be found in cosmopolitan cities like Jeddah and Riyadh. They meet in schools, in cafés, in the streets, and on the Internet. “You can be cruised anywhere in Saudi Arabia, any time of the day,” said Radwan, a 42-year-old gay Saudi American who grew up in various Western cities and now lives in Jeddah. “They’re quite shameless about it.” Talal, a Syrian who moved to Riyadh in 2000, calls the Saudi capital a “gay heaven.”

In Saudi Arabia, “It’s easier to be a lesbian [than a heterosexual]. There’s an overwhelming number of people who turn to lesbianism,” Yasmin said, adding that the number of men in the kingdom who turn to gay sex is even greater. “They’re not really homosexual,” she said. “They’re like cell mates in prison.”

John Bradley, the author of Saudi Arabia Exposed: Inside a Kingdom in Crisis (2005), says that most male Western expatriates here, gay or not, have been propositioned by Saudi men driving by “at any time of the day or night, quite openly and usually very, very persistently.”

The gay men I interviewed in Jeddah and Riyadh laughed when I asked them if they worried about being executed. Although they do fear the mutawwa'in to some degree, they believe the House of Saud isn’t interested in a widespread hunt of homosexuals. For one thing, such an effort might expose members of the royal family to awkward scrutiny. “If they wanted to arrest all the gay people in Saudi Arabia,” Misfir, my chat-room guide, told me—repeating what he says was a police officer’s comment—“they’d have to put a fence around the whole country.”

A magazine editor in Jeddah told me that many boys in Mecca, where he grew up, have sexual relations with men, but they don’t see themselves as gay. Abubaker Bagader, a human-rights activist based in Jeddah, explained that homosexuality can be viewed as a phase. “Homosexuality is considered something one might pass by,” he said. “It’s to be understood as a stage of life, particularly at youth.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/print/2007/05/the-kingdom-in-the-closet/5774/

This happens a lot! very rarely do gays(especially arabs) get executed

Apparently the Saudis are in quite a few ways much more accommodating of homosexuality than most other nations. However it's not something that is publicly discussed or stated.

This is not a true secret either since homosexuals from all over the Middle East or even as far as South Africa flock to Saudi Arabia to live out their sexuality in a more liberal fashion.

So long as you're not blatantly obvious about it, you can get along just fine.