On the 18th of September, Al-Rahma hospital in Tripoli, a facility that provides sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services was raided by a group of men who were part of the current hate campaign against the LGBTQ community. This ambush was on the grounds that the facility ‘promotes homosexuality,’ and the video that went viral shows that the raiders attempted to ‘expose’ the center by unveiling the condoms and rainbow color-coded pamphlets available there. In the absence of any form of resistance, these self-proclaimed public moral defenders were free to roam the floors of the hospital in the course of their “investigations.” .
Following the same current, Jnoud El Rab also instigated an attack on the night of August 23 on the Mar Mkhayel bar Madame Om. The attackers targeted those participating in a drag show, loudly shouting their homophobic hate. The Christian extremists chanted “This is a place of Iblis, it’s promoting homosexuality!” The survivors of the attack suffered injuries, bruises, with one was taken to the hospital. The security forces were called to the scene, but were mostly on stand-by. They did not arrest any of the attackers, and did not help the victims escape..
This year witnessed a series of attacks on the queer community, with moral panics spreading like wildfire and the community mostly left to individually protect itself. From the Minister of Interior Bassam Al-Mawlawi’s urgent letter to the directorates of Internal Security and General Security to ban any gatherings that ‘promote homosexuality’ to the petty decision to ban the screening of Barbie, the queer community is incessantly being targeted, intimidated, and threatened.
Harassers and instigators exist outside and within our campus’ borders. On September 21, 2023, cabinet members of the Gender and Sexuality Club (GSC) set up their stand ready for Clubs’ Day, the yearly three-day event where students get to discover clubs and societies on a broad range of topics. The road that starts at West Hall and ends at Nicely sees hundreds of students running back and forth eager to sign up and participate in events with communities consisting of like-minded people. Clubs’ Day is a day of excitement for most clubs, but for the GSC, it’s a day of vigilance. The GSC cabinet members took the heat of harassment on that day by members of other clubs, as they do every year. Students would get to the stand and would make snarky comments about transgenderism or the gender spectrum in an attempt to bully and intimidate those sitting a stand. Cabinet members also mention that they received many registrants who simply signed up for the bit. As if that weren’t enough, throughout the year, the club assigns its cabinet members “door duty,” which is basically acting as a security guard outside club meetings to ensure that non-members do not intrude on the privacy of the space holding the meetings in session.
AUB’s students are not the only ones spewing hateful speech on campus. On the 7th of February, 2023, AUB’s Department of Philosophy hosted a talk with professor Holly Lawford-Smith, who happily took the stage and spread anti-trans rhetoric. Lawford-Smith refers to herself as an ‘LGB’ activist and claims that gender-inclusivity is propaganda, while arguing that conversion therapy for trans people should not be banned. Members of the student body attempted to reach the department and the provost to ban the talk before Lawford’s arrival, but were unsuccessful. The provost claims that AUB allows academic freedom, apparently at the expense of a marginalized sexual minority so long as it’s under the guise of scholarship and academia.
As blatant anti-LGBT rhetorics remain on the rise, members of the queer community in Lebanon keep getting sidelined, and our campus is no exception. The risk of harassment for “looking queer” has always existed. Lebanon didn’t suddenly turn into a homophobic country where being gay is unsafe. However, the national attitude towards queerness has clearly changed, and with that came the hyperawareness of queerness in public life. Before, gay people were an idea, a taboo, a nuisance. Now, they’re a real threat, and they’re coming for you and your kids.
AUB claims to be a progressive campus, where students hold liberal values akin to those in an actual American university. It supports Title IX after all, which is supposed to protect students from all sorts of harassment based on their identity. Is that enough, though? Title IX has limited capabilities, especially if the violation isn’t of criminal nature. If someone said something homophobic or transphobic in class and you reported them for it, there’s not much it can do other than forcing the student to apologize. What’s more, students may feel apprehensive about reporting, since it can lead to further harassment and bullying.
All that said, the queer community is now receiving harassment as a collective. “There’s a difference between individual harassment and collective harassment, which is tied to the national context,” said Dr. Sara Mourad, Assistant Professor of Media Studies and co-director of the Women & Gender Studies Program at AUB. This collective harassment is spurred and encouraged by the national homophobic hate campaign. The Lebanese people have been made aware of the existence of queer people in a sense, the fear mongering is doing its job, and the AUB campus is not immune to it. “Many groups and clubs on campus are connected to entities outside of campus, whether political parties or religious entities,” continued Dr. Mourad.
Incidents of homophobia at the expense of students is not a new happening. In 2018, the AUB Gender and Sexuality Club was once again at the center of a storm when they organized a halloween mixer. When word got out, a former Mufti threatened the club and released a statement condemning it, referring to the club as a “Sex Club.” After much media frenzy, the event was canceled to ensure the safety of the students, and was later quietly moved to AUB premises, where it finally took place. What was supposed to be a safe space for young queer people to meet and socialize turned into homophobic tabloid fodder.
The cancellation of the event, though it was ultimately for the best, brings up an interesting question. What are the limits of AUB’s borders? Dr. Mourad offered insight. “Authorities outside campus put pressure on AUB, and in turn, the event got canceled.” AUB is not immune to bad press or outside pressures. AUB also never issued an official statement about the whole debacle, neither in support of the club nor in agreement with the Mufti. How useful is a testimony from AUB? American institutions are already inherently implicated in the “the West invented gay people to destroy the Arab World” conspiracy, so a statement of support might do more harm than good, whether in 2018 or in 2023.
Lebanon is currently a hostile environment for the visibly queer. Homophobic hate crimes are increasing, sexual health care centers are being put into question and invaded, LGBTQ+ NGOs are constantly being threatened, and everyone has a sudden fear of rainbows. It’s not a good time to be gay in Lebanon. Some would say this is the time to be vocal activists to combat this wave, some would prefer to lay low for a while, ride out this moral panic quietly, knowing that the tide would turn eventually. Activism comes in different shapes, though, argues Dr. Mourad. “What is activism? There’s a history of queer activism in Lebanon since the early 2000s and you can categorize that activism. There’s the NGO activism and you notice that there’s been a big NGO-ization of LGBT activism in Lebanon. Those mainly provide legal and social services, like Helem and Marsa. Then you have the collectives that create underground, non-visible community building through cultural productions such as zines and publications. Then you have drag, which raises the question of culture as a form of activism.”
Visibility while queer is the biggest question mark, and given the Jnoud el Rab raid, lines are being blurred between visible and invisible. A queer bar is supposed to be a safe space, where you can be yourself and no one will judge you for it. You can be visible while remaining invisible. “When it comes to queer activism there’s always the question of visibility. Is it time to become more cautious? Is it time to call for the abolition of Article 534? Will queer people start self-censoring in order to protect themselves?” ends Dr. Mourad.
The issue of self-censoring is one that is likely to happen, at least to a certain degree. At the end of the day, it’s not easy to police your walk and the way you speak. But for the sake of safety, some might try.
If self-censorship is the course of action many AUB students are taking, then this raises many questions. Who do we go to? Office of Student Affairs? Title IX? Provost? These are the same bodies that allow such speech to take up space on our campus. GSC’s president recounts how the club was not allowed to hang a pride flag because then it would be “political.” But queer existence has always been political, and remaining in the shadows to stay safe will eventually have pernicious effects. This constant battle of having to delicately balance safety with visibility and activism takes an exhaustive toll on individuals and the community as a whole.
Co-written by Lea – Contributor
Edited by Bachar Bzeih