The Queer Arabs

الحلقه ٢٣ بالعربي: مقابله من اليوتوبر شريفه فداج المعروفة ب شي. تكلمنا عن حياه المثليين العرب، الصحه الجنسيه، الدين، اليوتوب و أمور أخرى. Arabic Episode 23: An interview with Shay, an Algerian-born lesbian YouTuber We talked about life as Queer Arabs, sexual education, YouTube, religion, and many other things. See the YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=shayishere

Photo credit: Tarek Moukaddem Contact: [email protected] @tarekmoukaddem on Instagram It’s hard to know where to begin with this episode description aside from the fact that this is an utter gem.  “Don’t Be Chai, She Brought the Tea” is the title Hilal (@thelebanesemafia on IG) came up with.  He got us together with the amazing Lebanese drag queen Emma Gration, and Omar Fattal was so kind and hosted us.  If you listened to Tarek Zeidan’s episode recently, you may recall him mentioning Emma Gration; Emma went to NYC for World Pride, and it was such a privilege to spend this time…

Ellia visited Houston for the Pride parade, so we talked about our impressions of it: what was good and what has gone bad.  We discussed the corporate focus of the parade and how that affects the essence of what Pride should be about.   Ellia also gave some information about the limits in Arabic that exist when talking about inclusive queer terminology. This episode was done in 2 parts (one on June 23 and the other July 2); during the second half of the episode, Ellia and Alia talked about Tarab NYC and about World Pride in NYC. Ellia can be…

We had a wonderful guest for this episode named Sarah; her musician name is Sharouh.  Sarah grew up in France, and has a Tunisian-Greek Jewish background.  We talked about Sarah’s work as a musician these days in Madrid (where she now lives), as well as musicians who have inspired her.  We also talked about international work Sarah has been able to do, using music as a tool for cultural exchange and bridge-building.  It was so lovely connecting with Sarah and we hope you enjoy! Listen to some tracks here: https://soundcloud.com/sharouh Sharouh’s website: http://sharouh.com/ Follow on Instagram @sharouh

الحلقه ٢٢ بالعربي: مقابله مع طارق زيدان المدير التنفيذي في #جمعيه_حلم في #لبنان. تكلمنا مع طارق عن بداياته في النشاط الاجتماعي والحقوقي. نشاطات الجمعيه الحاليه و اوضاع #مجتمع_الميم في #لبنان. Episode 22 in Arabic: An interview with Tarek Zeidan, the executive director of #Helem (a leading LGBT organization in Lebanon). We walked about Tarek’s experience with activism, Helem’s current activity, and the #LGBTQ community in #Lebanon.

  We learned so much from Tarek Zeidan and are so grateful to have connected with him.  Tarek is the Executive Director of the organization Helem, a non-profit working on improving the legal and social status of LGBT folks.  Helem is in Lebanon, and the name translates to “Dream.”  In this episode, we discussed Stonewall and the vitality of remembering what Pride is about.  We also talked about our upcoming trips to NYC for World Pride.  We discussed the ban of Grindr in Lebanon as well; Tarek also talked about the ways that LGBT advocacy needs to happen in the…

We got to talk to the absolutely incredible comedians Eman El-Husseini and Jess Salomon!  As their website says, it’s most likely hummus that brings them together.  Eman (who’s Palestinian) and Jess (who’s Jewish) joined us to talk about how they met, their comedy both in Canada and the U.S., and their lives in New York City.  They also have gorgeous comics that are illustrated by the talented Jesse Brown; you can get more slice-of-life glimpses into the couple’s daily adventures together.  You will probably find yourself laughing during this episode, not surprisingly!  We were also thrilled to have our guest…

الحلقه ٢١ بالعربي: لقاء مع امير عاشور (مؤسس و المدير التنفيذي لمنظمه عراق كوير). تكلمنا عن اوضاع #مجتمع_الميم في #العراق، نشاطات منظمه #عراق_كوير و تجربه امير من دراسه حقوق الانسان في #جامعه_كولومبيا في نيويورك. Arabic Episode 21: An interview with Amir Ashour (IraQueer’s executive director). We talked about the queer movement in #Iraq, IraQueer’s activities, and Amir’s experience studying human rights at #ColumbiaUniversity https://www.iraqueer.org/ Instagram/Twitter: @amirlemina

It was so good talking with Neda Shaheen, who works for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (https://www.adc.org) in Washington, DC.  We talked about the organization and the role Neda has within it.  We also talked about the asylum process in the United States, the overall justice system, and so much more.  Neda is incredibly brilliant and we are so grateful to her cousin Leila (check out Leila Khoury’s episode, which is episode 57!) got us in touch with Neda.  We learned a lot from talking with her and we hope everyone will support the ADC in any way they can.  Follow…

What’s that? Belly dancers should have long hair and shave their legs and underarms? Well, not this one! A UN award winner and named by the BBC top 100 influential women worldwide, this Egyptian, hairy, bearded, pierced and tattooed Queer Refugee dancer will give you a very authentic performance with a twist! ♥ We will not conform to your gender roles ♥ In this episode, we talked about belly dancing in the UK context vs. the Egypt context, about family separation relating to immigration (content warning: there is talk about detention and, later in the episode, also about torture.  Listen…