Wow that's imprevise, and how is it feel to be gay in Lebanon (btw i'm bi and latino but living in America)
I’ve lived pretty much my entire life in Lebanon, but I currently live in Canada.
Of course, Lebanon isn’t nearly as progressive as Canada when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, but it’s honestly not bad at all. I’m out and proud to almost all of my friends, though not to my family. Still, I’m very lucky to have progressive and somewhat supportive parents (or at least ones who aren’t outright homophobic).
Lebanon, especially Beirut, is FULL TO THE BRIM with gay people (though most of them are closeted or only discreetly out). And I literally mean it when I say, almost everyone I know is either bi (some with a preference for the opposite sex, but most to the same) or gay/lesbian, and that especially holds true for younger people my age (18 to late 20s).
We also have multiple gay clubs and barrooms that host drag shows, LGBTQ+ friendly cafes, restaurants, hotels, libraries, etc. as well as many LGBTQ+ friendly services for mental and sexual health (most of them free of charge), plus the largest LGBTQ+ organization in the entire MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), known as HELEM.
Moreover, in certain areas you might even spot gay couples literally holding hands and showing public affection, such as in Bliss Street (personally my favorite street in Lebanon) and around the American University of Beirut, and no one would bat an eye. That said, I’d still advise being cautious, cause it’s not entirely impossible to bump into some random retrograde, street-dwelling motherfucker who might harass you. The truly threatening homophobes tend to be older people (30+) who unfortunately make up like half of our population, as well as a decent amount of extra-conservative, rather religious younger shitheads.
Also there’s a shit-ton of DL guys on Grindr all over the country, and plenty of publicly gay ones on dating apps like Tinder.
In conclusion, life in Lebanon is generally amazing, even significantly better than in Canada or the U.S. in certain aspects, but definitely not nearly as good when it comes to being gay. You just gotta be careful where you go and how openly you express yourself in certain places, though the most you’d get usually (if anything at all) is a couple stares of hate or disgust from passersby (again, depending on where you are).
All that said, it’s also important to acknowledge that there are still many, many cases of discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in Lebanon. Social acceptance is increasing slowly but surely, yet it’s currently still far from perfect, and not everyone’s experience is as fortunate as mine.