In many non-western countries, especially places in the so-called “Muslim World” you see men holding hands, expressing affection for each other and even going as far as giving each other flowers. What’s up with that? Are all guys in Afghanistan gay or do they think about same-sex relationships in a different way than we do?
Gay travel writer Michael Luongo joins us to expand on some of the ideas from his last appearance on our show about the gay experience in the Muslim world. Just what lies beneath the surface of all that same-sex affection? Is there sex involved?
Just to entice your appetite, here is an awesome Flickr group “Male Beauty of the Middle East”- it’s very hot.
I highly recommend Michael’s book “Gay Travels in the Muslim World” which is a collection of short non-fiction stories about a variety of men’s perspectives on places like Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan on what it means to be sexually attracted to other men.
The tell-all stories make a great bedtime or summer beach vacation read. They are an enticing hybrid of the romantic “Lawrence of Arabia” and the gritty intensity of a 1960s pulp fiction novel.
Honestly, these day’s I just don’t know what’s real anymore. We’ve been busy helping to tape a special reality TV show project which we aren’t ready to talk about, but it’s a whole lot of fun and joyful to be a part of the process.
But the show edits make Marc out to be the “good” guy and me out to be the “bad” guy. Just because I look like Jeffrey Sebela on Project Runway doesn’t mean I’m a jerk!
For crying out loud, Marc is the one who keeps a twitter blog on INSULTS. Subscribe via text message and you can get it on your phone!
Speaking of gritty celebrities, did you hear? Lin Lo said OK-go to being a lesbo.
I’m not sure just what I wrote out. OK, this means Lindsay Lohan just officially came out and used the word LESBIAN to describe herself, as in “lesbian relationship.” You go Lin-Lo! FYI, it may be a Hollywood first, as most famous entertainer Daughters of Bilitis prefer to use the word “gay” or “omnisexual” to describe their passion for ladies.
I’ve heard of bats in your belfry, but a young women found a bat in her padded bra. She thought it was her mobile phone vibrating when she took it out and it was tinny little bat. She let it go and go and felt terrible that she may have frightened the poor thing.
Kuwait a minute, yes, it’s the podcast that is rarely Syrian but will always Afghanistan by your man- Feast of Fools.
Featured Book:
Gay Travels in the Muslim World
by Michael T. Luongo
Amazon | Site
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5 Comments
Comments
Our Internet got cut off. We’ll have links and pics up tomorrow. Follow any of our Amazon links to buy the book.
Great conversation and interesting topic. I have a few friends from the Middle East and its true that their actions/relations towards men are much different than here in the US.
If you want to see some other hot pics of Turkish men, you should out this guy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/istanbulmike/
He just posted a set of photos from the annual Oil Wrestling events in Turkey, hot hot hot.
One of the things I just loved about my recent trip to India and Nepal was seeing how affectionate men were with one another. So many many walking arm in arm, holding hands – really delish, hetero, homo, whatever…. The strict, box-like notions of “hetero” and “homo” are not exactly applicable in these countries….
Here is one of my fav’s – taken at the Taj Mahal
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim_pickett/2341211175/in/set-72157604104776185/
You know Jim, you can post the images right here like this:
Whoof!
What a great listen, i loved it a lot! I found it so interesting and intriguing and will def look for the book. Makes me want to take a trip to those places…..and if men are like Pickett describes, how lovely, guys should be like that in Mexico too >:oX haha.
Awesome job as usual guys.
Whoof!
OK – old man Pickett needs a lesson on how to stick pics in the posts – cuz I don’t know how. Can ya teach?
I would love men in western countries could be so affectionate with one another in the public without fearing any negative response.
Jim, with Flickr, click the all sizes button above the pic. Then choose medium size. There sgould be code you can copy and paste bebeath the pic.
Here we go – a cupla sweet boys in Kathmandu
What a cool pic Jim…..but ok, did u as a westerner were all ‘omg everyone is gay’ or did u immediately think “uhmm culture differences are awesome!!!” lol
The latter!
And I thought to myself – I wish men in my country – whatever the sexuality – were just more comfortable being affectionate with each other.
isn’t it hot in over there for most of the year— I don’t understand why you always see them in long sleeves and pants , I’d be sweating buckets!— for the record I love a hot middle eastern /asserian man — mmmmmmmmmmmm heheheeh
Same as here Tracylicious, these days the temp goes as high as 115F and we are always wearing short sleeves but i believe the reason they wear long sleeves is because that way the sweat keeps their body cool, u know, trapping the moist haha.
Oh Jim, totally, i would love if the men around here were the same.
as an fyi – i was in india and nepal in february – before it got crazy hot.
kathmandu was in the 60′s and 70′s during the day, India was low 80′s day, much cooler at night… but yeah, it is my sense they they don’t go running around in banana hammocks and tube tops!
So they weren’t suffering from the heat then.
NO TUBE TOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is cruel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what would life be like without tube tops and denim minis — that’s all I practically own!!!! — don’t tell me they don’t wear flip flops either??? ……
I think the “no tube tops” law is probably the reason why we’ve gone to war in the middle east, don’t you think? And all this time I thought it was oil and greed.
Michael sure loves to have sex with terrorists.
Michael is absolutely captivating. Thank you for having him on again. Really enjoyed hearing about the muslim world in particular.
I was a little distressed about the serious distinction Michael and the two of you kept making between gay identity and gay behavior. That is exactly the distinction fundamentalists use on us, discounting the idea that being gay is anything but “the homosex”. Are there no emotional connections between these men similar to the one between Mark and Fausto? It is all well and good to discuss, debate and joke about the sex we have and the things we do, but two men falling in love is not the same thing as having sex where no one can see.
“gay behavior” is why public health authorities came up with the MSM acronym – to denote men who have sex with men, but do not claim “gay” as their identity. in many parts of the world – including the US – there are men have sex with other men that do not identify as gay, don’t see themselves that way, don’t connect emotions/love to sex with another man. “gay” is really a pretty western construct – that is indeed taking hold in non-western countries – but the fact remains that few of us are true Kinsey 6s (100% homo) or Kinsey 1s (pure hetero) – most of our behaviors fall into the Kinsey 2 – 5 range. i, however, feel i am a solid 6
great show guys
Bill-
The fundamentalist argument is that we choose to live a gay lifestyle and that we act on impulses that should be denied. These guys act on the impulses and lead a gay lifestyle as much as their culture allows.
I’m sure that some of these men are indeed madly deeply in love with each other and would love to live a Western style life. But that thinking is also imperialist- maybe their way is the best way for them. I know I wouldn’t want to live like that but maybe it’s good for them.
Loved this show – very interesting topic: homophobia being caused by a culture which is actually more accepting of intimacy between men than our Western one. (Not officially, but secretly and generally.) If it were officially accepted, all that easygoing hugging and kissing would become suspect. Such as shame as there are so many hot men in these countries.