LGBT Issues and Life in Jordan

Some say that it's okay to be who you are wherever you are.  You shouldn't have to change your identity for the sake of societal pressures.  This expression is a product of Western culture, but the world is changing, and there more circumstances of "tolerance" in places outside Western culture.  What I would like to discuss in this topic is the acceptance of and non-discrimination against people that identify with the term LGBT or lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender in Jordan, particularly Amman. 

While some believe that homosexuality does not exist in the Islamic world, it does, and many people are living their lives in an “in-between” life here in Jordan.  They are no instances of "gay bashings" or "violence against gays" because the subject is not talked about in Jordanian society.  Yet, many of those who are gay can continue to live and work without discrimination in Amman as long as they do not openly flaunt or speak on their sexuality in public.

Many people in the West (being the states that have adopted western culture) would not consider these types of lives in Amman as living a life full of freedom.  Many of the gay Jordanians live dual lives because they have not told their parents, and sometimes they risk the possibility of dishonoring their families, leading to honor killings in small towns outside of Amman.  I do believe that an honor killing for the sake of one's sexuality and identity is not freedom but a form of persecution. 

Where can people go when they do not have a refuge?  Well, there is a community building in Amman for those that consider themselves LGBT, educational materials on safe sex, and even free testing for HIV/AIDS as subsidized by the Jordanian government.  Even though many gays in Amman cannot necessarily talk about their sexuality in public or display public displays of affection (PDA), many live normal lives and are not discriminated against.  In a way, they can still remain in their own country without having to flee from everything they know for the sake of refuge.  That is different for gays per se in other states. 

This is not a blog post to accentuate the gay community or to call them out.  It's more of an observation of how gays in Amman live in a way that is free from some of the regular violence and hate speech that many gays face in the U.S.  Even though some gays do face blackmail from each other, they do not face violence, group profiling or persecution by the police because of their sexuality.  There is a cultural taboo for and a law against all Jordanians (heterosexual and homosexual) for PDA, so the issue is not being able to display one’s sexuality in public. 

After the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in the U.S., many servicemen and women who identified as LGBT could be reinstated and/or protected from losing their current job in the military because of their sexuality.  In this circumstance, when one is discriminated against because of one's sexuality, not only is that person's talents and abilities lost to the society, but they are identified only by their sexuality.  In Amman, even though gays in Jordan cannot live the Western stereotype of a gay life (and many do not actually want to live that way either), they can form their own lifestyle because sexuality, in general, is a discussion taboo in Islamic culture.  I only hope one day that the entire world can see the value in people who are gay besides their sexuality and that the persecution of LGBT people ceases.