Gay man from Qatar sounds alarm about coverage of the World Cup and LGBT oppression

[Behind the Aegis]

I was born and raised in Qatar, and I am now a physician living in San Francisco.

This year of the FIFA World Cup, I am speaking up against homophobia and I think we all should too.

I grew up in a very conservative Muslim society and family. I did not have access to the internet. I did not have access to the Western media and did not have any LGBT visibility around me.

When I was a young teen, I realized that I am different from most people. I did not know how to describe my difference from those around me, and there was no channel to simply discuss what I was experiencing. I thought this would be something that I would address when I am older and prepared to get married.

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[lambchopp59]

1. Escaped the same ignorant environment RW wants to create here

What a handsome man, BTW.
MF'n "don't say gay" laws only serve isolate, confuse and increase bullying of LGBTQ youth getting a grip on their place in the world. Bothers me deeply because the closest I came to suicide was from such an environment. Funny part was, it was the same epiphany that spurred me to run away at 16, soon after to discover there were many, many queers like me.
Screw these "Xtian nationalists" and their Nazi agenda.