Gay Flag 2016

Gay sex may be illegal in Dubai, but that hasn’t prevented a sizeable gay scene flourishing. It’s not even that secret once you know where to look. Expats and locals meet in certain hotel bars, or cruise Deira Public Park looking to see who’s around. Invite-only parties take place in the luxury private apartments that line the Palm Islands and most get around the ban on gay mobile apps by downloading a VPN (virtual private network).

Like the UK, where the rise of chemsex has been well documented, Dubai is also gripped by an underground drug culture. Only the gay men aren’t looking for GHB, crystal meth or any of the other drugs associated with the UK subculture. They’re looking for poppers. Poppers is big business in Dubai. And like paracetamol, codeine and heroin, it is totally illegal. But that doesn’t stop gay men wanting to get their hands on it.

Read more at dazeddigital.com

Photo by Benson Kua [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

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