I spend so much time with them.Īnother one was living a similar life to me, but in Syria. They’ll talk about their hook ups, their relationships, everything. A man looks out to the Red Sea and Saudi Arabia in the distance | Photo: GSN Some in the US, Sweden, Finland, all over Europe. RuPaul’s Drag Race, the latest LGBT movies… I have friends from all over the world. I have my Facebook and Instagram where I share everything, talk about everything. I have a few close, trusted friends who know about me, but other than that, I have no one.īut what I do have is the online life I have built. I currently live in a flat share, which I pay for with savings I made in my last job, with a bunch of straight guys who don’t know about my sexuality.
Whether Christian or Muslim, the people think if they keep it a secret and make it only about sex, it’s less of a sin that God will forgive them. One person I met and liked told me it didn’t matter, because one day soon he would get married, have kids and lead a ‘normal’ life. I’m honest with people, and it’s not great for my sex life. I don’t have a job, so I can’t offer that. That’s the only way you can have a relationship here: in secret, in private. People only want to be with you if you have a money, a car, your own flat. I lost my virginity at 16, but I’ve never had a boyfriend. Or they’ll ask the same famous question: ‘Have you ever been with a guy?’ ‘Do you want to hang out, come to my place, watch a movie?’ Then they always make a move. They will just say ‘he’s very well-behaved – his parents raised him well.’ But guys always know there’s more to it than that. All over the North African Arabic region, when you’re a soft and delicate guy who walks, talks or behaves a little effeminate – well, women will not suspect you.
It wasn’t hard to find guys to hook up with, even without the apps. Once, I was fought by four boys and was left with bruises all over my body. I used to get hit all the time, had things stolen. I was a very soft kid, very delicate, and had no friends. Other people could tell too.Īt school, kids would call me names equivalent to ‘faggot’. Growing up in a small and conservative city outside of Cairo, I always knew I was different. If you are LGBT, you cannot talk or express yourself in Egypt. I ran to the metro and got on: my legs were shaking so much I missed my stop. So I said ‘I’m not going to do it again.’ Another policeman came and asked what was going on. It’s summer.’ He said the way I was dressed was offensive because I was showing my knees. He said ‘Why do you dress like a faggot?’ I said ‘I’m not. He took me to a search room with him and made me strip down to my underwear. Humiliatingly, he then made fun of my voice. He said ‘are you a foreigner or a faggot?’ I said ‘neither.’ You can’t start anything with these people. Recently I was stopped in the street by a policeman for wearing shorts and a tank top. While you’re probably not going to get killed like in Iran or Saudi Arabia – although it could happen – you can go to prison for years. When it comes to the LGBT community, both agree that we have no rights. I’ll never forget that moment.Įgypt is a religious country: the vast majority are Muslims and around 20% are Christians. I was like, wow – another RuPaul’s Drag Race fan! It was really funny. He looked at me carefully and then said: ‘Shante, I’ll stay.’ I told him: ‘You know what? Sashay away.’ It’s like an algorithm.įor example, this year I had an argument about the World Cup with a random guy around my age in a cafe. There are other people like me in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, which is why I choose to live here.