As part of our Queer in SWANA: Voices Heard series, LevantX spoke to members of SWANA Kings, a group founded for drag kings in Lebanon with members from different places. Check out their stories below, what they do and how they started

In the covid lockdown in Morroco, gay men faced the new threat of forced outings after Instagram influencer Sofia Talouni called on legions of cyberbullies to take to apps like Grindr, Planet Romeo and Hornet and expose them to their families. Victims of these outings faced a wave of anti-LGBT violence, resulting in suicides, homelesness and mental health crises. Vincent Sterel explores this topic, writing on the motivations for Talouni and the reaction of social media giants

[Queer characters in video games] are a reminder that queer people exist, deserve representation, and deserve equity, especially when it comes down to games that are based in historical fiction. As Rick Riordan once tweeted:
”If the reader is wondering why I put gender fluidity in a Norse Mythology story...that reader does not know much about Norse Mythology”.  

هناك تحدٍ يكمن في التأكيد على إتاحة الفرصة لمتحدثي اللغة العربية عن فهم الأشخاص المنتمين لمجتمع الميم، ويوضح إيّان "في العالم العربي، إن لم تكن متقناً للغة الإنجليزيّة، قد تظن أنك شخص مريض للأبد

“In the Arabic world, if you don’t speak English, you think you’re a sick person forever. You won’t have access to information on LGBT issues. So many people still don’t understand what being ‘gay’ or ‘lesbian’ means.”

At that stage, I felt like I was a real criminal, and that it is time for me now to tell my story of how I killed someone or stole a huge amount of money. My only crime was going to a Turkish bathhouse.

A minority within a minority... but it gets better. Growing up female, black, an Arab immigrant, an apostate, and queer, is as difficult as you can imagine.