Here in the West, religious fundamentalists like to try to “pray the gay away.” But apparently in the United Arab Emirates they think you can exfoliate the gay away.
In the above tutorial, ironically titled “Be Yourself,” some righteous young Muslim boys try to de-gay their friend by scrubbing him down, trimming his nails and giving him a haircut.
Hey, in New York you have to pay upwards of $300 for that kind of service!
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Once in the villa’s living room, the effeminate man is told that he needs to change his personality. One of the traditional-dressed men asks: ‘will you change it or not?’ He replies ‘yes but how?’ And is told ‘leave it to us’.
They proceed to show the effeminate guy how to mimic masculine gestures. Later he is given a ‘make-over’ where his hands and face are almost violently scrubbed with scouring cloths, and then his nails and hair are cut. After the make-over the still effeminate guy gets a slap when he is about leave for saying ‘bye guys
’ in his high pitch voice, and given a tip: ‘Thicken your voice!’
So these guys take someone who looks and dresses like half the straight boys in America, clean his nails, cut his shaggy hair and stick him in a long flowing robe—and they think that’s de-gaying him? Cultural relativism sure is a bitch.
Pink News writer Daniel Littauer spoke with several gays and lesbians from the UAE about their reaction to the clip.
Ali, 25 year old law student from Dubai was outraged by the video. [He said,] “I was gutted at the confidence in the faces of the actors on the fact that they can treat homosexuality just like that.”
I want to address this “to all of those who think they can treat homosexuality by grooming, abusing and hurting: “Are you proud to be homophobic people? Leading people into an illusion that being gay is all about flapping your hands and having a girly voice?”
Penalties for homosexuality in the UAE vary but are uniformly severe: In Abu Dhabi—you know, that glamorous oasis Carrie and company visit in Sex and the City 2—you can land in jail for 14 years, or face flogging, deportation or worse. (Dubai’s practically permissive, with just a ten-year sentence.) Meanwhile the UAE penal code’s Article 354 allows for the death sentence to be meted out for consensual sodomy.
We hope President Obama and Secretary’s Clinton gay-rights agenda isn’t just relegated to sub-Saharan Africa.
Seamus
Will Obama criticize the United Arab Emirates? Not likely! To be honest, with Obama’s record of human rights violations that include torture and now indefinite detention, his administration is in no position to criticize the actions of other nations. Most people will disagree with me on this one, so I’m aware I have the minority opinion, which saddens me a great deal. I hate to see our Constitution eroded by a so-called Democratic President. This video is a sham if you ask me, but it’s interesting to notice the differences between our two cultures. Scrubbing up and grooming would be considered a feminine trait in this culture, whereas looking rugged is considered effeminate among Arabs- allegedly.
JDSwell
So the guys in dresses are teaching the guy in jeans in a tee shirt how to be more masculine … yeah right …
Wesley Horace
obviously that guy was wearing a cheap synthetic wig.
13Zeroither
Fuck religion. It needs to die. But it would take a miracle if someone had a huge army to overthrow the governments of the world to create a global culture suicide to start all over (in order to murder religion. Fuck it into the depths of time). In its place would be the new world with each country having its own unique food, clothes, language, culture, etc. BUT ALL of the countries in the new world will be not racist, sexist, and homophobic.
A person can dream… 🙂
Sceth
The music, like the acting, is reminiscent of cheap pornography. Actually, those fellows wouldn’t fare too badly 😉
jim
wow he’s pretty hot without that wig. guess it didn’t work guys! you made him hotter and gayer!
Matt
@Sceth: I was thinking the same thing when they sat down on the couch. Perhaps the two from the beginning?
KyleW
Judging by some recent news pieces, we can expect to see this as education department policy in the US and UK soon. Far easier than say, passing laws to outlaw homophobic bullying.
ousslander
Thought it was a Cadinot at first.
All this from a culture that subjugates it’s women and hides them away so they can be in all male company.
Adrian
So the moral of the video is to pretend to be straight so that you don’t end up in jail or killed? And all it takes to save your life is a straight makeover?
Kinda like a priest denying his natural human sexual urges?
Ok, got it.
Ian
I don’t even know how to react to that! I’m watching it with hopes it’s some form of satire…. but it’s not. And the music and cheap-80s-porn look is so funny. Methinks the filmmakers have secrets…….
Storm
What a joke! “Be yourself.” from the culture that puts you to death for daring to step out of the box and think on your own.
Dionte
@Sceth: it reminded me of a porno too, if only they knew
Cora
I would not use the word “bitch” to describe cultural relativism. While it can be difficult to not judge another culture when it comes to actions you perceive as a violation of human rights, using such a term is offensive. When you use it to describe something you think is bad, it is a direct insult to women. When you say something “is a bitch” because it is annoying, frustrating, and a pain in the ass, you are saying that women are annoying, frustrating, and a pain in the ass. This is unacceptable and there are so many other, less offensive words you can use to describe something you find frustrating. Please consider your altering your choice of words.
shawneeboy
I have nothing to judge that by, culturally. I thought all the guys were hot, good looking, and I enjoyed the tender care they took with each other, nice! The hard scrubbing, etc., was stupid. I have no idea if they meant it in some ultra-serious way, or like another said, some kind of subtle joke? All I know is that it was nice to see nice hot guys grooming another, as long as the context and… EVERYTHING else was ignored!
tariq
i second cora’s comment on the use of the word bitch. also i must point out that a lot of the discourse here is focusing on the guys in dresses, or as the rest of the world calls them- robes, somehow making them seem gayer and in doing so they sound kinda racist in not awknowledging cultural differences and mocking them. also straight guys dont ever wear dresses right? never been known to happen? also i thought the original article was racist in making it seem that because those people were arab and muslim they were imediately more homophobic than the rest of the world. yeah those countries have huge issues with homophobia but so do other countries like lebanon which is about evenly divided between christians and muslims or the usa which has a christian majority. also it is worth noting that in the arab states many of the laws that outlaw sodomy were introduced under western colonial rule.
Chuck
People need to be aware that the Middle East, Caribbean, and Africa are not gay friendly. Please stick to Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia. The latter places are MUCH prettier and more civilized anyway.
kendoll
This is not very different from Mormons and Christians, except Mormons and Christians charge large sums of money and made it into a busines.