Admittedly the story's in the Daily Mail, but apparently Gulf Cooperation Countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) are to use a medical test developed by Kuwait to supposedly 'detect' homosexuals and prevent them from entering their respective country.
According to Yousouf Mindkar, the Director of Public Health at Kuwait's Health Ministry, "Health centres conduct the routine medical check to assess the health of the expatriates when they come into the GCC countries. However, we will take stricter measures that will help us detect gays who will be then barred from entering Kuwait or any of the GCC member states."
(Source: Daily Mail)
Presumably the test will be about as effective as the 'bomb detectors' frequently used in Iraq...
Interestingly, at the end of the article they claim that it's illegal to be gay in 78 countries, while lesbianism is banned in 49. If those statistics are accurate, does that mean that legislators in 29 countries think lesbianism's OK, or couldn't they contemplate the possibility of two women falling in love?
Comments
Gay men
They all have anal sex, all the time. That gives them all AIDS and when they are injecting gayness into kids in schools they pass on the virus.
All lesbians, on the other hand, look like film stars (no, NOT Bruce Willis) and have girlsex all the time, and of course as soon as they see a penis they can't help getting back on solids and diving straight in for a threesome. Win-win, for a Real Man.
The above is a little facetious, but in essence it is the thinking behind the miserable patriarchal actions of the predominantly male bigots who run these places. Add in their Sky Pixie's Magic Book of Rules and how could anyone argue against them?
String the buggers up in public, that's the way to sort them. Unless they accept a sex-change, of course...
Are you MAD?
Since when did they deserve the honor of the latter solution?
...
Oh, and you are suggesting hanging/sexchanging the BIGOTS, right? Your saying "String the buggers up in public" makes it a little confusing.
Bugger
That's a term that has been used to describe gay men for years, mostly used in the U.K. It can be used as a noun: "That bugger spends all day prancing 'round the shops." or a verb: "Buggered him right there in front of the window."
I thought it was good play on words, Cyclist!
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
I'm aware of that.
That's why I suggested that it should be the Bigots being strung up, rather than the Buggers. It would be considerably cheaper than giving them treatment that, although they would certainly hate it, would be far too good for them.
My point was simpler
The last line was pure sarcasm, based on what happens in Iran where they perform the second highest number of sex-change operations in the world. I have used that phrase quite deliberately, as it has nothing to do with gender.
The root of all this, in my opinion, is the misogyny built into so many of the world's superstitions. Women are dirty, unclean, inferior and the root of all sin. Just ask Adam. Add to that the obsessive belief that all gay men are predatory sodomisers, indulging in buggery all day and every day, and you also manage to get a whole range of "Eeewww!" behaviours attached to the idea of being gay. These people are dirty, predatory, unclean in what they do, and acting too much like women, who are....etc.
The people behind this sort of thing are beyond the reach of rational argument. They are the sort of people who think an allegedly all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving and supremely wise deity can be offended by a bad haircut, and then, in their omnipotence, require human beings to 'correct' matters for them.
Gwen, when are you due to be killed? It's what the magic book requires...
And it's me now...
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/11/gulf-countries-...
Medical checks to keep transgender folk out.
I wonder . . .
I wonder(Just as a side issue), How many others may find they have "non standard" genetics and did not know it. The population at large does not usually have such things checked unless they suspect something is wrong.
I just sort of wonder how many people out there don't fit so called "normal" but do not know it. Has there ever been a random study on gender genetics of those who don't identify as variant. ((Did I word that right?))
Indeed
No surprises, but I have done a lot of reading on this. Goes with the territory. One truly odd condition is called, among other terms, mosaic genetics, or somatic mosaicism. In simple terms, different parts of the body have different genetics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaicism
Now, THAT would confuse the mullahs! One leg could be allowed in, but the other would have to be sent home.
No killing political
No killing political opponents. It's usually going to come back and bite you in the ass. Or in this case your head off.
I fear one has to simply live with some assholes. Otherwise they go in the underground and become a real problem.
Not sure why the religious fanatics of the abrahamic religions are so anti gay. IIRC it was less a problem in other cultures. Maybe it comes from the idea that sex is dirty. Sex for fun is obviously extra dirty then. Or something stupid like that.
Dirty sex
I think it derives from the early part of the Adam 'n' Eve myth - namely that unlike all other higher animals, humans were created as a single asexual entity until it complained it was lonely / bored because didn't have a companion. God then gave the entity an anaesthetic and formed a companion from its side, thus creating male and female. Various narratives mention that during the act of sex, the two become one again. Somehow from this sprung the mistaken believe that sexual intercourse was provided for the sole purpose of procreation, and to gain pleasure from the relevant parts of the body for any other purpose is sinful (as well as prohibiting the creation of new life - after all, we were allegedly directed to "go forth and multiply").
Some scholars think a large part of the Leviticus directive to not "sleep with a man as you would sleep with a woman" is indicative of the patriarchal society in that women were little more than servants and baby machines - so for two men to sleep together, one would be lowering himself to the status of a mere woman, and it's that lowering of status which was so abhorrent to them. It's also possible that homoerotic rituals were used in some neighbouring Canaanite tribes, so barring the practice of such rituals was one or many means of distinguishing the Hebrew tribe from the rest.
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
It's the porn.
29 countries like lesbian porn.
Lesbianism
When I was Muslim, I got the distinct impression that being Lesbian was tacitly accepted, though never spoken of.
Gwendolyn
I suspect it comes out of
I suspect it comes out of polygamy. One man can only 'entertain' so many women at one time.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
It's my understanding that
It's my understanding that the laws of Islam are hard on the subject of homosexual men, ignores lesbianism, and actively encourages transgender women to get a sex change. "Hate the men who love men, but if they feel they are women in men's bodies, make their bodies match and encourage those poor people to do that, then treat them like the women they say they are...." kind of thing.
IDK. I think it's one reason I actually LIKE Muslims.
Qatar disappoints me most of all.
They run Al Jazeera and I'm sure they have Gay male journalists in their U.S. bureau. If they want real, hard hitting journalism how can they seek to exclude an entire minority group from their headquarters? The King Of Qatar should be ashamed of himself.
I suspect Qatar will crack from the enormous pressure they will receive from this and acquiesce to letting Gay men into their country.
Perhaps it is political shell game?
Of course Iran has hung gays for years, but also offer sex change to gay men to save their lives. It is little known that young Saudi Men use gay sex until they marry. There seems to be a disconnect between prohibition and relief.
G
The world cup.
Qatar is in for one hell of a shock when publicly avowed gay footballers arrive to play in the world cup that Qatar is hosting. Now if say, a couple of English and a couple of German and a couple of Brazilian players publicly declare their sexuality what will the Qatari authorities do then, not to mention the thousands of fans with tickets for the games. I foresee a riot!
Oh! and of course, once the Kuwaities perfect this magical gay test, then naturally Britain and the US and France and all the other more advanced nations will have to use it to check for gay Arabs trying to enter their countries. WHAT!!! An anal inspection to check for 'rectal virginity'. (Now where is that pack of rubber gloves?)
Excuse me sir, why are you wearing that long dress and hair band?
It's gonna be a hoot!
LOLOL.
Another view perhaps?
I am doing research some on indigenous cultures most which have traditions where males dress and are treated as female. In many of these cultures this additional gender is held in high regard.
The reason for suspicion from some and respected from others might be coming from traditional roles that men and women held. In the beginning...
Men hunted, protected a territory and pursued activities that encouraged those skills. Women tended to the home/village, fields and each other. Feminine and masculine energies have their own unique signatures. Feminine is inclusive or expanding while masculine is directed or focused. Now imagine you take a deep breath, purse your lips and blow. Unless you have awful big lungs the only result you are likely to have is dizziness. Same scenario now blow into a balloon. From my viewpoint the feminine desire to include needs to be tempered with the masculine need to direct.
Now imagine a primitive/ancient tribe where a male doesn't like boy games and identifies with the women instead.He brings to that group an unique perspective. Women on the other hand that likes the hunt and defending will bring with them a different thought. Maybe she would look at force multipliers? Both freed from traditional roles and thinking might establish hybrid occupations.
Anyway my point is that these early adopters will certainly be viewed as uncommon and possibly invent stuff that might be looked at as magical/devilish or any deviations that cause suspicion or awe. Male shamans that dress and act as women are viewed in high regards.
Could it be ancient rituals sifted through modern life results in fear?
Just a thought and I'm fascinated by ancient cultures.
couldn't they contemplate the possibility of two women falling i
I doesn't matter if two women fall in love, as long as their masters... I mean their husbands don't allow them to do anything about it. Since they're supposed to be properly married to the man of their father's choosing at the age of 12, they shouldn't have a chance to do anything that can be considered illegal. And since they have no choice in the matter, either before or after the wedding, it's about as necessary as a law making it illegal to pull your own head off in public.
Since in many of the countries in question women are considered property, a law about them having sex together would make about as much sense as a law preventing two cars from having sex, which is stupid, I mean everybody knows how randy Volkswagens are, remember 'The Love Bug'.
The Speculation I've Read...
...about the reason that the (pre)historic demonization of gay men didn't extend to lesbians is that the men are wasting the Precious Bodily Fluids that they ought to be using to further populate the community. Women aren't.
Eric
That's the Mormon view
That's the Mormon view certainly. We were guilted out to hell when we mastrubated while I was Mormon, and the priests and Elders equated it to a Holocaust every ejaculation. (cuz, you just killed MILLIONS of babies right there...)
There was one Ward (church building and local membership) that wouldn't listen to the boys confessing to having jacked off because it was so common, and so useless. The Bishop forbid the boys from telling him about it.
Doesn't it make you want to toss
your hands up in the air? = )
Holocaust my ass. It's not like the sperm are going to live as long as you do if they stay inside you, and an ejaculation delivered to the "right place" usually makes only one baby even from millions of sperm. ...But then we shouldn't expect a rational argument from those types anyway.
Also!
That is also the reasoning against any sort of contraceptive "you are killing all those baby's". Just what the world needs "more unwanted pregnancies". And yes, abstaining does Not save the sperm, duh!
PS. What the hell does the medical test actually test for?
Hmm...
Maybe they show you a variety of sexual nude images on a big screen that tracks your eye movement? = )
It wouldn't catch transgender gays though.
I searched some.
And after reading few other new articles on it one conjectured that they would inspect to see if there was evidence that.... ummm..... you had ... errr.... taken it up the back entry way so to speak.
Eek! & Eewww!
Hmm...
Well this certainly puts the "anal" into "analysis"...
So, if you have
So, if you have diverticulitis or diverticulosis, you're automatically gay?
What about hemorrhoids?
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Very Likely.
And I wonder if the "inspection" will also provide it's own evidence to test positive on subsequent inspections.
To which I have to respond with this...
Every sperm is sacred / Every sperm is great
If a sperm gets wasted / God gets quite irate
Let the heathens spill theirs / On the dusty ground
God will make them pay for / Each sperm that can't be found
Every sperm is wanted / Every sperm is good
Every sperm is needed / In your neighbourhood
(That sequence must have been interesting to film - especially the house scenes...)
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
You mean to tell me that
You mean to tell me that you've never seen Monty Python's THE MEANING OF LIFE??? That's akin to not seeing the Holy Grail...
Meaning of Life
Watched several times - although I'm not so keen on the obese diner scene. Still, it gave us "The machine that goes ping!", The Accountancy Shanty and of course The Galaxy Song ("So remember when you're feeling very small and insecure / How amazingly unlikely is your birth / And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space / Because there's bugger all down here on earth!")
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!