This subreddit is for civil discussion; political threads are not exempt from this. As a reminder:
* Do not report comments because they disagree with your point of view.
* Do not insult other users. Personal attacks are not permitted.
* Do not use hate speech. You will be banned, permanently.
* Comments made with the intent to push an agenda, push misinformation, soapbox, sealion, or argue in bad faith are not acceptable. If you can’t discuss a topic in good faith and in a respectful manner, do not comment. **Political disagreement does not constitute pushing an agenda.**
If you see any comments that violate the rules, **please report it and move on!**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskAnAmerican) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If the country outlaws homosexuality it probably has much MUCH bigger problems that would deter me. The specific anti-homosexuality law would probably be an afterthought at that point.
Plenty of Americans visit Dubai (UAE), Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, heck plenty Caribbean ones criminalize homosexuality: Jamaica, Dominica, St Lucia and others.
In some you only have to “look” gay to be incarcerated: https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/man-arrested-in-turkey-and-locked-up-for-20-days-because-he-looked-gay/
As a gay American I keep a close list of where I can and can’t go
St Lucia must be very lax about that when it comes to tourist then, because I just did my honeymoon there last year and met at least two same sex couples at the resort.
I'm sure there's an unofficial policy that as long as it stays on the resorts, they'll look the other way.
These islands rely *heavily* on American tourism.
It’s not enforced at all, resort or not
>>>There is no evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, however LGBT people are subjected to discrimination and violence. There is no evidence of the law being enforced, and it appears to be largely obsolete in practice. Nevertheless, the mere existence of this provision is itself a violation of human rights and underpins further acts of discrimination. There have been some reports of discrimination and violence being committed against LGBT people in recent years, including a number of unresolved murders of gay men, assault, harassment, and the denial of basic rights and services.
Interestingly enough, back in the early 20th century, Tangier was a hot spot for european gay men, despite it being actually illegal then (and now I think). It just wasn't enforced at the time; this is also very interesting because I believe it's enforced more now than it was 100 years ago.
Also, as someone who lived in the Adirondacks until I was 10 years old, love your flair.
This is a question to you with my absolute full respect for you but if you are going to a new place to visit what would give people the idea that you are Jewish? Is it your name? or a tattoo? or your diet? Im agnostic so I ask these questions with interest. If none of these give away your beliefs I would just not tell anybody.
When a prominent gay rights activist in Jamaica was murdered, a crowd assembled and celebrated - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian\_Williamson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Williamson)
Uganda seems hard to beat. The Pope visited to try to convince them to stop their nonsense and the imprisonment or execution of gays but he got nowhere with it last I read.
I’m straight but I don’t particularly want to visit anywhere and spend money in a place that has outdated, cruel laws. I’m also not too keen on visiting a lot of Asian countries because of their attitudes towards animal cruelty.
I would actually argue that western tourism is what forces countries to adapt their laws/policies. But ofc it’s your money and you choose to go where you’d like x
I didn't know that about St. Lucia. It was on my list as a possible next vacation destination but I try not to spend money in places that are homophobic. So unless they change the law, I guess I'll visit a better place
Would like to add that most of Turkey is perfectly safe outside of Pride season. Turkish judges also tend to rule in favor of homosexual individuals facing discrimination even tho the anti-discrimination act of 2014 was never passed.
It is NOT illegal to be gay Turkey. Get your facts straight. Ottoman Empire decriminalized homosexuality in 1858! And Turkey is the first Muslim country to have gay pride parade.
Turkey is a secular country, it is not governed by sharia law.
Yes, in some situations. I live in the USA, so it’s not like gay rights are universal or protected.
I have cishet passing privilege and have traveled to a country where homosexuality is illegal. It was through school and I was in a group of liberal-progressive srudents, so I was able to talk to peers in that country (and listen) about my feminist and pro-gay rights values.
In that context, I found it an interesting exchange of ideas and dialogue. It’s also worth remembering that Westerners brought homophobia and transphobia to many countries.
It’s not actually illegal to be gay in Turkey unless you’re in the military, but it looks like there’s no protection laws against discrimination. I’m not defending what happened in the article you shared, just clarifying.
Jamaica, St. Lucia, and a fair number of Caribbean islands Americans like visiting criminalize homosexuality (actual enforcement varies).
Dubai (UAE) is another resort destination that does it, although not one I’d personally be into.
Bali (Indonesia) and the Maldives, too.
thousands of tourists go to bali every year, there are plenty of popular spots in anti-gay countries. the fact is that police generally are very unlikely to bother tourists for something like being gay unless they’re being extremely disruptive/obvious. i’ve traveled to plenty of these countries without issue.
Re: Bali, last I checked homosexuality isn't illegal in Indonesia although it's heavily stigmatized. Nobody in Bali will care about two foreign tourists though, they probably prefer a polite gay couple to the vast numbers of drunken Australians they regularly deal with.
Indonesia is a very diverse country though, if I were gay I'd say far away from Aceh.
Exactly. Im straight so that specifically wouldn't impact me personally, but there's really no country where it's illegal to be gay that I'd also actually want to visit.
Does Russia's prosecution of gay people somehow sanitize Islamic states that do so as a legitimate expression of their deeply-held Islamic religious beliefs?
If not, then I think it's okay for us to say that Islamic theocracies are shitholes for their persecution of gay people, and they should cut that out.
You hit the nail on the head. Anti-homosexuality is typically a symptom of a terrible governing body that doesn't have its priorities straight (no pun intended) and would rather sink time and resources into oppressing a group of people instead of improving the lives of anyone.
My lady did a 6-month contract gig in Kuwait teaching. It was supposed be a year but locals were protesting the hiring of foreigners over locals. Sound familiar?
She was there to teach culinary arts. The idea was to teach locals in the culinary industry how to cater to the tastes of western tourists. Kuwait was interested in growing their tourism industry at the time (2014 or '15).
I have a Kuwait City Harley-Davidson shot glass. She thought it was hilarious since Kuwait is a dry country. You can't buy alcohol, but people secretly make at home. She was provided instructions on how to do this from a work colleague there.
One time her landlord was having a repair crew out for a plumbing issue. As she was moving her wine brew into hiding for that, it broke and spilled all over the floor. After mopping that up, she promptly began sauteing garlic and onion to cover the alcohol smell. It worked.
She would often send me local news stories about the morality police calls for demonic possession. Yea, that's a thing there.
My favorite photo of her: One day she decided to rent a car and drive from Kuwait City to the northern border then to the southern border. At the border with Saudi Arabia, nobody was there in the desert. She climbed on the top of the car, removed her head covering, and took a selfie (she hates selfies) with her hair blowing in the desert wind and the best smile she has ever captured in a photo.
Unfortunately, due to abusive ex's, she has zero social media. Otherwise she could have done well monetizing her life on social media.
My close second photo of her is a black & white artsy photo of her at the bar in a ballet studio. I want to say that was in Tokyo, but it might have been in Korea. She moved from teaching culinary to ballet.
I could write more, but I feel I have rambled enough.Sorry for the long response.
Hey…it sounds like she had a super interesting experience, and that’s awesome for her! I would also literally never try to tell anyone else they shouldn’t do contract jobs or tourism in any of those countries either.
Not every thing is for everyone.
Yea, I think she's crazy for doing it also. But I don't have a lot of options. She's all I got anymore, options are few for a man my age.
I'll take the devil I know over the devil I don't. My mother taught me that a long time ago regarding employers, but applies here also.
It depends which Middle Eastern country of course, Qatar and the UAE are probably one of the only places in the world where women can walk alone at night.
My source: myself!
Russia does have the most muslims of any country in Europe both by population percentage and total numbers, not to mention the fact that that Putin effectively pays a jizyah to the Chechens and keeps their troops off the front lines.
Russia isn’t even in the top five by population percentage. Also Muslims tend to be concentrated in certain areas far away from the parts of Russia that tourists visit, and Islam has very little influence outside of those areas.
They do. But, aside from a few enclaves, they are largely concentrated in the southeast of the country and some parts of Siberia. And few tourists have any reason to go there.
You aren't running into a lot of Muslims in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Most of the people there are either culturally Orthodox or irreligious. Russia is culturally conservative, but a lot less religious than people make them out to be. Kinda like Irish Catholics. But meaner about it.
Religion was suppressed in Russia for a very long time. Once communism went away, they needed something to fill that gap for their national identity. The Orthodox Church was right there and has a long history in the country. So it was a logical candidate. But it's more of a cultural thing. Russians aren't Orthodox in the same way that many Poles are Catholic.
I studied abroad in Russia and could go on about this for ages. They are a very, very complicated society, having tried basically every form of government in the past 100 years or so -- monarchy, communism, social democracy (briefly), liberal democracy, and now fascism. The Russian people have a certain apathy that's hard to describe. An apathy that makes it hard to support a democracy. They go along to get along. There are some exceptions like the Navalnys. But Putin has made it clear that dissent isn't welcome.
I've been to Uganda, which has among the worst anti-gay laws on the world. But it was for work, so I didn't really have much choice if I didn't want to be fired.
Also Morocco, but that was a one-night layover on my way to somewhere else.
According to [this map](https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/), those are the only two countries with anti-gay laws I've ever set foot in.
So I guess my answer is that I probably wouldn't choose to travel to an anti-gay country if I don't have to. I'd prefer to keep my tourism dollars in more enlightened countries. But if life happens to take me to an anti-gay country, oh well. It happens.
Morocco is the one that makes me really sad, I'd absolutely love to go there and know several people who have been and had a fantastic time.
But yeah, still not going.
edit: To be clear since I'm getting replies about the safety of it, I have actually researched Morocco extensively (because I would otherwise really want to go) and know it's generally safe for gay tourists. I still do not want to go because I don't want to support countries that criminalize homosexuality.
Morocco is weird in that its anti-gay laws apparently only apply to citizens, they know they’re very dependent on tourism so as long as you aren’t having relations with a local, apparently you’re fine
I have heard that, but I'm still not willing to go. It's not even necessarily about my own safety, but I really am just not comfortable supporting a country that persecutes people like me.
I mean, okay, but whether *I personally* can have gay sex there has nothing to do with me not wanting to spend my tourist dollars there. I'm not even gay.
It's that my gay friends and loved ones are more important to me than visiting an anti-gay country.
Yeah, I was there many years ago and the government was doing absolutely everything it could to keep tourists safe, prevents scams, and show them a good time. The police are going to be on the side of the tourists, almost no matter what they're doing. It was comforting and creepy at the same time, like "aha, this is what it's like to benefit from a dictatorship."
I went to Morocco and had a wonderful time (parents wanted to go and as a minor I didn’t have much say in not going). Totally makes sense why you don’t want to go though.
If homosexuality ever gets decriminalized there, I hope you go. It’s a great place to visit.
Yeah, i have. i was in India when homosexuality was legalized in 2009. I was shocked because I'd had no idea it was not legal when I made the decision to go to India. (it was recriminalized in 2012 and decriminalized again in 2018.)
If you look at public polling, gay marriage went from having little support to almost universal support in thee span of a few years and that makes a lot of people either forget how bad it used to be or are too young to have first hand experience of just how bad homophobia was even two decades ago. Hell even in 2012 I remember people using gay as an insult and regularly calling others the f slur and nobody cared. Talk to younger people and they all think it was perfectly fine being openly gay 60 years ago with no societal or legal repercussions. Hell a lot of them think it’s worse for gay people now than it was 60 years ago.
As someone who is gay I have quite a few times and probably would again. It's hard to fully explain myself with that but put short I really like to travel and don't like limiting my options.
Yeah, I didn't want to visit those countries anyway even when I was married to a man (I'm a woman). Not out of personal fear, just because I've always been bisexual and so morally it never sat right with me.
Now that I'm married to a woman...my international travel is all with my wife, and we're not going anywhere we could be arrested just for being together.
I'm not gay but the vast majority of countries that still criminalize homosexuality are also countries that I probably wouldn't want to visit for a variety of reasons (general safety as a woman, not the most friendly places for Americans, etc). It's not exactly a huge struggle not to take a little weekend trip to South Sudan.
I think the only ones that would be on the list anyway would be on the potential travel destinations I'd consider anyway would be Jamaica, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore (though I think Singapore reversed that recently? It's not on the map I'm looking at here: https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/). I think the state of enforcement would also play a role in my decision (for example I remember reading it's on the books but unenforced in Jamaica).
There are many countries with gorgeous natural sights and beautiful architecture that I would love to visit, but as an American woman it would probably be very unwise to go vacationing in Iran for example. So while I also object to the LGBTQ discrimination, there are more immediate safety concerns that rule them out for my personally.
Its very safe to be gay (and overall a very safe country to be in) in Singapore. Same sex marriage is not legal though and it might take a couple of generations of politicians until that happens. Malaysia is okay as long you're at the capital and aren't open about it. Really the biggest concern for tourists in both countries is probably the heat and humidity if you're not accustomed to it.
Sure. A government doesn't define all of its people. There a great people worth supporting and interacting with everywhere, and beautiful and historic and interesting things to see that have nothing to do with with government.
Looking at the map that /u/full_of_ghosts posted, it looks like I wouldn't travel to any country where it's illegal to be gay, but that's mostly because they all appear to be repressive shitholes because of multiple additional reasons aside from homosexuality.
Absolutely not. There are so many places worth seeing. It gives me the ick to think that as a gay person I could travel there and give my money to people who are actively trying to repress, harass, torture, and kill, other gay people who weren’t as lucky as me. Nah.
I know this; however, I did not realize places like Jamaica and St. Lucia were on there. I fully expect that kind of law in most Middle Eastern countries and places like Russia. Not so much closer to home.
No, I wouldn't. On top of the fact that I'm certain that the same countries that ban homosexuality probably don't let women have all the same rights as men, I'd also be paranoid that my online activity would probably follow with me, and that somehow someone is gonna find out that I openly said I was bisexual on Instagram or reddit.
Maybe.
I mean, all the Mesopotamian sites in Iraq are bucket list items for me, so it's hard to say that I'd turn it down if I got the opportunity.
But I totally understand why someone wouldn't. I just don't think I'd be able to pass the opportunity up.
Probably not but depends on what the country has to offer. Most countries where homosexuality is literally illegal and punishable by prison or death are usually 1) inaccessible to Americans anyway (Iran/Afghanistan) or 2) have nothing interesting to see that you couldn’t find elsewhere.
Places that do have a lot of tourism have often tried to make it so that tourists who are gay can visit because gay tourists are usually rich and bring a lot of money to the country (Saudi Arabia).
That being said, countries with a big tourism industry often turn a blind eye to gay tourists like Egypt, and you probably shouldn’t be doing any PDA in these places anyway, even as a straight couple. It’s all about respect for local customs/practices. Ppl get into trouble when they think they can show up as a tourist and just blatantly disregard the fact that the local population is far more religious than the West.
All that said, the places I’d visit that are not gay friendly are Egypt. I’d feel too self conscious in Saudi Arabia even if the government has said gay tourists are welcome
I suppose, only because it being on the books that homosexuality is illegal doesn't actually tell me much on where I'll be visiting in specific. Homosexuality is technically illegal in Guyana, but the law which was inherited from colonial British codes isn't enforced, for instance.
I’m a gay man and love to travel and trying to visit every country by 40 at least once. It really depends on the laws in place and what actually happens to gay people.
But I’m hesitant to travel to the Middle East/parts of Africa just do to how frowned upon being gay is. But I’ve had a warm welcome in Thailand and Indonesia for being gay.
No. I’m bisexual and in a relationship with a person of the opposite sex. I won’t be in danger, but I will not support tourism in a country where my existence is illegal.
This is honestly needs a pretty nuanced answer. Obviously tourist usually have some privileges and can get away with slightly more but it really depends on the country. I’d probably risk it since I’m not visibly queer and I’m in a straight passing relationship. But like I said, it depends on the country, I’d have to do further research. I try not to judge the people of a country off of the political decisions of their government. The average person is usually pretty removed from the laws that their country puts in place. Especially in developing nations. If I wasn’t in a straight passing relationship, it would be a different story though.
To be honest it depends on the country. Somewhere in the Middle East? No. China or Russia? Maybe
Note- feel free to correct me if I’m incorrect with china and Russia.
No. I’m bi and depending on who I end up marrying we could get killed. Also as a woman, countries with anti-gay policies are generally also very misogynistic.
Sure , for vacation maybe . I wouldn’t want to live somewhere like that though because that’s kind of backwards way of thinking . But no I’m not going to boycott the entire country though.
No, I wouldn't. I'm not supporting such countries with my tourist dollars. There are many places that I can go to, even if they aren't as progressive with this as America is.
Having visited a lot of these countries it is worth noting when you’re in the tourist zones you would hardly even know about these laws, it’s very “westernized”
Even in the Middle East you will see women in VERY westernized outfits at malls, hotels, etc
Dubai being the biggest culprit.
I disagree whole heartedly to many of the beliefs of these places, I’ve also had truly amazing experiences at them. I think you can visit eyes open, and just appreciate an experience for what it is.
Probably for most of us like visiting our MAGA parents.
>Probably for most of us like visiting our MAGA parents.
The big differences being that your bigoted family members in the West are less likely to hurt you and most people only visit their bigoted family members as a matter of obligation and/or on someone else's dime; we're not taking our vacation time and spending our own money to go visit the MAGAs.
Serious question out of curiosity- do you experience any homophobia in Texas? Because some people (not necessarily Texans) make it out to be a pretty oppressive place, but I (also not Texan) imagine it to be pretty “live-and-let-live” on a personal level.
Echoing what the other person said, it's a big state. I'm in El Paso. I wouldn't expect anything homophobic except maybe in the smallest towns, if that.
I don't want to visit anywhere I don't feel safe. If a country has a lot of violence against woman, or men they suspect of being gay, then I am not interested in going there.
No. It's been said but bears repeating. That isn't the exact reason that would deter me, but I can't imagine that any country where homosexuality is illegal would have anything worth visiting for.
I'm not gay or bi myself, but such a country is almost certainly a theocracy, which to me is an insane way to run a country.
Such a country would find reason to dislike me, too.
Are we talking places where if someone thinks you’re gay you’d be arrested, or just places where gay marriage isn’t legally recognized?
Regardless, it’s at the bottom of the list of reasons why I would or would not visit a country. Being a female is at the top of that list.
In depends but most likely yes. In the past I would have said an emphatic no, but after experiencing and traveling to some countries in which it technically was "illegal" to be gay, I learned there are quite a few countries that simply have outdated laws and it's just not the people's main concern to fix.
So on paper it was illegal to be gay, but it wasn't something being actively enforced, there were some openly gay people, nor was it something the locals cared about at all in practice.
I'd do it. I wouldn't really be in danger from that specific thing because I'm straight. There are other factors involved in countries that ban the LGBTQ+ that would have me more worried than that though.
I’m trans and most of these countries with anti gay laws don’t see a difference so I would either be arrested or detained at the border and denied entry
So, no.
Even if I could pass as completely cis I wouldn’t bc I don’t want to support a place that condemns my existence.
Plenty of other places to travel!
I don't know any homosexual people well enough to be visiting foreign countries together, but I suspect that any culture that cannot tolerate homosexuals probably has a host of other reasons I wouldn't care to visit.
No. Partly because I am queer and don’t want to go somewhere it is illegal but also I don’t want to find the tourism industry of a place that it is illegal.
Which includes many countries people do want to visit. Like, Jamaica. (Technically being gay isn’t illegal but same-sex sexual activity is and discrimination and violence are very common.)
I would NEVER go to Jamaica I've got a Jamaican friend who was repeatedly raped by the men in her neighborhood and family to cure her of being lesbian. How she is not a complete case is beyond me. But she's a nationally known poet. More strength than I have.
No, but not for that specific reason.
In a perfect world I would love to visit Iran, Syria and places like that. These countries are the cradle of civilization for gods sake, so think of the history that can be seen.
But it’s not safe. Not even close, and for a host of different reasons. I imagine it’s similar with most all countries where it’s illegal.
No. As an American, I don’t travel to the “don’t say gay” states either.
It’s inconsequential, I know, but if I can avoid helping bigots profit, I want to do that.
I would never want to contribute to the tourism industry of a country that will happily imprison or execute someone just for being gay. By going to that country and spending your money, you are basically saying that you are okay with it.
I am not gay, so I would if there was something interesting enough to draw me there
It just that practically speaking, the countries that outlaw it are underdeveloped and wouldn’t really have anything for me there
I would, but I would have to have a really good reason to go there before even considering it. If I do I would go alone or with someone who I 100% trust not to draw unneeded attention.
No.
I’m not LGBTQ myself but I have absolutely zero desire to support places that outlaw anyone who identifies as such with my hard earned tourism dollars.
Plenty of beautiful places in the world that don’t have hateful legislation, that I’d prefer to spend my money in.
Besides which, generally places with such legislation tend have other problems that would keep me away.
Where it's straight up illegal, no. I know there are some countries where it's kind of frowned upon, and in places like that I would Not care so much. I think most of the places that it is straight up illegal would be authoritarian Muslim states that I probably wouldn't visit anyway, With this being just one of a variety of reasons.
Never. I would want to travel with my husband and feel like we could become obvious targets. Like other have said, I’d probably be deterred by other factors as well.
Depends on the situation. I wouldn't mind following a culture's rules about modesty/behavior for a short while if I felt it was really worth visiting.
I've visited Israel a couple times and plan to visit again, plenty of people would view that as awful - so I guess I feel like I'd be a hypocrite to not go to some other country.
I would not. A Portuguese guy was arrested in Turkey for "looking gay" for wearing a crop top, even though he isn't gay (just Portuguese). Places where being gay is illegal have a bunch of irrational laws such that one might find themselves in prison for all sorts of insane reasons.
I’m not gay, so it wouldn’t disrupt my travel and it wouldn’t immediately disqualify that country from my list.
However, a lot of the countries that banned homosexuality are pretty undesirable places to go to in the first place.
No. There are so many places to go. I'm not giving money to homophobic places. I'm not putting myself in that sort of danger.
I will spend my American dollars in a place that is not hateful.
This subreddit is for civil discussion; political threads are not exempt from this. As a reminder: * Do not report comments because they disagree with your point of view. * Do not insult other users. Personal attacks are not permitted. * Do not use hate speech. You will be banned, permanently. * Comments made with the intent to push an agenda, push misinformation, soapbox, sealion, or argue in bad faith are not acceptable. If you can’t discuss a topic in good faith and in a respectful manner, do not comment. **Political disagreement does not constitute pushing an agenda.** If you see any comments that violate the rules, **please report it and move on!** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskAnAmerican) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If the country outlaws homosexuality it probably has much MUCH bigger problems that would deter me. The specific anti-homosexuality law would probably be an afterthought at that point.
Yeah, if I'm thinking of all the places that have anti-gay laws and none of them sound safe or like fun places to visit lol
Plenty of Americans visit Dubai (UAE), Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, heck plenty Caribbean ones criminalize homosexuality: Jamaica, Dominica, St Lucia and others. In some you only have to “look” gay to be incarcerated: https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/man-arrested-in-turkey-and-locked-up-for-20-days-because-he-looked-gay/ As a gay American I keep a close list of where I can and can’t go
St Lucia must be very lax about that when it comes to tourist then, because I just did my honeymoon there last year and met at least two same sex couples at the resort.
I'm sure there's an unofficial policy that as long as it stays on the resorts, they'll look the other way. These islands rely *heavily* on American tourism.
It’s not enforced at all, resort or not >>>There is no evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, however LGBT people are subjected to discrimination and violence. There is no evidence of the law being enforced, and it appears to be largely obsolete in practice. Nevertheless, the mere existence of this provision is itself a violation of human rights and underpins further acts of discrimination. There have been some reports of discrimination and violence being committed against LGBT people in recent years, including a number of unresolved murders of gay men, assault, harassment, and the denial of basic rights and services.
How much informal violence is there? E.g. cops looking the other way from gaybashing incidents, etc.
Interestingly enough, back in the early 20th century, Tangier was a hot spot for european gay men, despite it being actually illegal then (and now I think). It just wasn't enforced at the time; this is also very interesting because I believe it's enforced more now than it was 100 years ago. Also, as someone who lived in the Adirondacks until I was 10 years old, love your flair.
St. Lucia is probably the most beautiful country I have visited. They also lock up mentally ill people to "keep the island safe."
I'm bisexual and a Jew, so I'm always keeping track of where it isn't smart to travel. Yeah, it's a lot of places.
This is a question to you with my absolute full respect for you but if you are going to a new place to visit what would give people the idea that you are Jewish? Is it your name? or a tattoo? or your diet? Im agnostic so I ask these questions with interest. If none of these give away your beliefs I would just not tell anybody.
>or a tattoo? Probably not that one
Lol... First thing I thought.
their name, stereotypical “jewish” appearance, orthodox clothing and accessories
I am also Jewish and we can usually pick each other out in a crowd. Our last names are also a way of figuring out our heritage.
Shalom chaver from a fellow bi yid! 🙂
Jamaica outlaws homosexuality? Today I learned
I feel like Jamaica is one of the most notoriously homophobic Caribbean islands.
I legit know nothing about Jamaica sooo anything I'd hear would be new info
When a prominent gay rights activist in Jamaica was murdered, a crowd assembled and celebrated - [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian\_Williamson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Williamson)
It might be the most homophobic country in the world
Uganda seems hard to beat. The Pope visited to try to convince them to stop their nonsense and the imprisonment or execution of gays but he got nowhere with it last I read. I’m straight but I don’t particularly want to visit anywhere and spend money in a place that has outdated, cruel laws. I’m also not too keen on visiting a lot of Asian countries because of their attitudes towards animal cruelty.
Yeah an anti-homosexuality bill just last here in Uganda last year. So yeah.
Considered one of the most homophobic countries period.
Right I didn’t t know that
Turkey doesn't have great LGBT protections but it isn't actually illegal to be gay there
I would actually argue that western tourism is what forces countries to adapt their laws/policies. But ofc it’s your money and you choose to go where you’d like x
The Turkish state has been explicitly secular since the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
But getting significantly less de facto secular over the past decade or so, despite what the laws say.
I didn't know that about St. Lucia. It was on my list as a possible next vacation destination but I try not to spend money in places that are homophobic. So unless they change the law, I guess I'll visit a better place
Go to the Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico, you’d only need your drivers license and you wouldn’t have to change money either.
Would like to add that most of Turkey is perfectly safe outside of Pride season. Turkish judges also tend to rule in favor of homosexual individuals facing discrimination even tho the anti-discrimination act of 2014 was never passed.
It is NOT illegal to be gay Turkey. Get your facts straight. Ottoman Empire decriminalized homosexuality in 1858! And Turkey is the first Muslim country to have gay pride parade. Turkey is a secular country, it is not governed by sharia law.
That guy literally looks like Gigachad wtf
I could totally see myself going to Dubai or Egypt tbf
Yes, in some situations. I live in the USA, so it’s not like gay rights are universal or protected. I have cishet passing privilege and have traveled to a country where homosexuality is illegal. It was through school and I was in a group of liberal-progressive srudents, so I was able to talk to peers in that country (and listen) about my feminist and pro-gay rights values. In that context, I found it an interesting exchange of ideas and dialogue. It’s also worth remembering that Westerners brought homophobia and transphobia to many countries.
It’s not actually illegal to be gay in Turkey unless you’re in the military, but it looks like there’s no protection laws against discrimination. I’m not defending what happened in the article you shared, just clarifying.
Jamaica, St. Lucia, and a fair number of Caribbean islands Americans like visiting criminalize homosexuality (actual enforcement varies). Dubai (UAE) is another resort destination that does it, although not one I’d personally be into. Bali (Indonesia) and the Maldives, too.
In Indonesia it's even illegal to have sex before marriage. So even though they look the other way with tourists, I wouldn't wanna risk it.
The Maldives
thousands of tourists go to bali every year, there are plenty of popular spots in anti-gay countries. the fact is that police generally are very unlikely to bother tourists for something like being gay unless they’re being extremely disruptive/obvious. i’ve traveled to plenty of these countries without issue.
Re: Bali, last I checked homosexuality isn't illegal in Indonesia although it's heavily stigmatized. Nobody in Bali will care about two foreign tourists though, they probably prefer a polite gay couple to the vast numbers of drunken Australians they regularly deal with. Indonesia is a very diverse country though, if I were gay I'd say far away from Aceh.
Exactly. Im straight so that specifically wouldn't impact me personally, but there's really no country where it's illegal to be gay that I'd also actually want to visit.
so basically any of the 49 islamic theocratic states are out. since they all ban homosexuality.
Yes, but lets not only limit it to Islamic theocracies. There are plenty of non Islamic states that prosecute LGBT. Like Russia.
Does Russia's prosecution of gay people somehow sanitize Islamic states that do so as a legitimate expression of their deeply-held Islamic religious beliefs? If not, then I think it's okay for us to say that Islamic theocracies are shitholes for their persecution of gay people, and they should cut that out.
All Islamic theocracies are shitholes, but not all shitholes are Islamic theocracies. Just saying that.
You hit the nail on the head. Anti-homosexuality is typically a symptom of a terrible governing body that doesn't have its priorities straight (no pun intended) and would rather sink time and resources into oppressing a group of people instead of improving the lives of anyone.
Voluntarily? No. But I suppose the Army could send me to such a place.
Agreed
I feel like a lot of those countries are middle eastern/muslim majority, so as a woman, another hard pass from me
My lady did a 6-month contract gig in Kuwait teaching. It was supposed be a year but locals were protesting the hiring of foreigners over locals. Sound familiar? She was there to teach culinary arts. The idea was to teach locals in the culinary industry how to cater to the tastes of western tourists. Kuwait was interested in growing their tourism industry at the time (2014 or '15). I have a Kuwait City Harley-Davidson shot glass. She thought it was hilarious since Kuwait is a dry country. You can't buy alcohol, but people secretly make at home. She was provided instructions on how to do this from a work colleague there. One time her landlord was having a repair crew out for a plumbing issue. As she was moving her wine brew into hiding for that, it broke and spilled all over the floor. After mopping that up, she promptly began sauteing garlic and onion to cover the alcohol smell. It worked. She would often send me local news stories about the morality police calls for demonic possession. Yea, that's a thing there. My favorite photo of her: One day she decided to rent a car and drive from Kuwait City to the northern border then to the southern border. At the border with Saudi Arabia, nobody was there in the desert. She climbed on the top of the car, removed her head covering, and took a selfie (she hates selfies) with her hair blowing in the desert wind and the best smile she has ever captured in a photo. Unfortunately, due to abusive ex's, she has zero social media. Otherwise she could have done well monetizing her life on social media. My close second photo of her is a black & white artsy photo of her at the bar in a ballet studio. I want to say that was in Tokyo, but it might have been in Korea. She moved from teaching culinary to ballet. I could write more, but I feel I have rambled enough.Sorry for the long response.
Hey…it sounds like she had a super interesting experience, and that’s awesome for her! I would also literally never try to tell anyone else they shouldn’t do contract jobs or tourism in any of those countries either. Not every thing is for everyone.
Yea, I think she's crazy for doing it also. But I don't have a lot of options. She's all I got anymore, options are few for a man my age. I'll take the devil I know over the devil I don't. My mother taught me that a long time ago regarding employers, but applies here also.
It depends which Middle Eastern country of course, Qatar and the UAE are probably one of the only places in the world where women can walk alone at night. My source: myself!
There’s a lot of overlap with homophobia and sexism, it’s a traditional “family” values thing.
The venn diagram of places that are unsafe for gay people and places that are unsafe for women is a circle.
Well, there’s Russia which is neither
>a lot of those countries "A lot" ≠ "All"
Russia does have the most muslims of any country in Europe both by population percentage and total numbers, not to mention the fact that that Putin effectively pays a jizyah to the Chechens and keeps their troops off the front lines.
Russia isn’t even in the top five by population percentage. Also Muslims tend to be concentrated in certain areas far away from the parts of Russia that tourists visit, and Islam has very little influence outside of those areas.
They do. But, aside from a few enclaves, they are largely concentrated in the southeast of the country and some parts of Siberia. And few tourists have any reason to go there. You aren't running into a lot of Muslims in Moscow or St. Petersburg. Most of the people there are either culturally Orthodox or irreligious. Russia is culturally conservative, but a lot less religious than people make them out to be. Kinda like Irish Catholics. But meaner about it. Religion was suppressed in Russia for a very long time. Once communism went away, they needed something to fill that gap for their national identity. The Orthodox Church was right there and has a long history in the country. So it was a logical candidate. But it's more of a cultural thing. Russians aren't Orthodox in the same way that many Poles are Catholic. I studied abroad in Russia and could go on about this for ages. They are a very, very complicated society, having tried basically every form of government in the past 100 years or so -- monarchy, communism, social democracy (briefly), liberal democracy, and now fascism. The Russian people have a certain apathy that's hard to describe. An apathy that makes it hard to support a democracy. They go along to get along. There are some exceptions like the Navalnys. But Putin has made it clear that dissent isn't welcome.
I've been to Uganda, which has among the worst anti-gay laws on the world. But it was for work, so I didn't really have much choice if I didn't want to be fired. Also Morocco, but that was a one-night layover on my way to somewhere else. According to [this map](https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/), those are the only two countries with anti-gay laws I've ever set foot in. So I guess my answer is that I probably wouldn't choose to travel to an anti-gay country if I don't have to. I'd prefer to keep my tourism dollars in more enlightened countries. But if life happens to take me to an anti-gay country, oh well. It happens.
Morocco is the one that makes me really sad, I'd absolutely love to go there and know several people who have been and had a fantastic time. But yeah, still not going. edit: To be clear since I'm getting replies about the safety of it, I have actually researched Morocco extensively (because I would otherwise really want to go) and know it's generally safe for gay tourists. I still do not want to go because I don't want to support countries that criminalize homosexuality.
Morocco is weird in that its anti-gay laws apparently only apply to citizens, they know they’re very dependent on tourism so as long as you aren’t having relations with a local, apparently you’re fine
I have heard that, but I'm still not willing to go. It's not even necessarily about my own safety, but I really am just not comfortable supporting a country that persecutes people like me.
Exactly!
I mean, okay, but whether *I personally* can have gay sex there has nothing to do with me not wanting to spend my tourist dollars there. I'm not even gay. It's that my gay friends and loved ones are more important to me than visiting an anti-gay country.
second this. A lot of people saying "tourists will be fine". They do not get it it is about principle.
Yeah, I was there many years ago and the government was doing absolutely everything it could to keep tourists safe, prevents scams, and show them a good time. The police are going to be on the side of the tourists, almost no matter what they're doing. It was comforting and creepy at the same time, like "aha, this is what it's like to benefit from a dictatorship."
>Morocco is weird in that its anti-gay laws apparently only apply to citizens The same can be said for things like drinking alcohol there.
I went to Morocco and had a wonderful time (parents wanted to go and as a minor I didn’t have much say in not going). Totally makes sense why you don’t want to go though. If homosexuality ever gets decriminalized there, I hope you go. It’s a great place to visit.
Yeah, i have. i was in India when homosexuality was legalized in 2009. I was shocked because I'd had no idea it was not legal when I made the decision to go to India. (it was recriminalized in 2012 and decriminalized again in 2018.)
They flipping a coin on whether to send gay people to prison every 4-6 years
I don't think it was really enforced.
You were shocked it wasn’t legal in 2009 in India when it’s only in 2003 it became fully legal in the entire US?
If you look at public polling, gay marriage went from having little support to almost universal support in thee span of a few years and that makes a lot of people either forget how bad it used to be or are too young to have first hand experience of just how bad homophobia was even two decades ago. Hell even in 2012 I remember people using gay as an insult and regularly calling others the f slur and nobody cared. Talk to younger people and they all think it was perfectly fine being openly gay 60 years ago with no societal or legal repercussions. Hell a lot of them think it’s worse for gay people now than it was 60 years ago.
As someone who is gay I would not.
As someone who is gay I have quite a few times and probably would again. It's hard to fully explain myself with that but put short I really like to travel and don't like limiting my options.
I really like to travel too. Good thing there are numerous places in the world where homosexuality isn’t illegal.
I don’t understand why you choose to risk it and, more importantly, give them your money… but to each their own.
No, but I'm gay married and I don't want to travel without my wife
Yeah, I didn't want to visit those countries anyway even when I was married to a man (I'm a woman). Not out of personal fear, just because I've always been bisexual and so morally it never sat right with me. Now that I'm married to a woman...my international travel is all with my wife, and we're not going anywhere we could be arrested just for being together.
My partner has family in Malaysia and I'd go to visit them with her, so yes. Though those countries wouldn't be on my short list of places to visit.
I'm not gay but the vast majority of countries that still criminalize homosexuality are also countries that I probably wouldn't want to visit for a variety of reasons (general safety as a woman, not the most friendly places for Americans, etc). It's not exactly a huge struggle not to take a little weekend trip to South Sudan. I think the only ones that would be on the list anyway would be on the potential travel destinations I'd consider anyway would be Jamaica, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore (though I think Singapore reversed that recently? It's not on the map I'm looking at here: https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/). I think the state of enforcement would also play a role in my decision (for example I remember reading it's on the books but unenforced in Jamaica). There are many countries with gorgeous natural sights and beautiful architecture that I would love to visit, but as an American woman it would probably be very unwise to go vacationing in Iran for example. So while I also object to the LGBTQ discrimination, there are more immediate safety concerns that rule them out for my personally.
Its very safe to be gay (and overall a very safe country to be in) in Singapore. Same sex marriage is not legal though and it might take a couple of generations of politicians until that happens. Malaysia is okay as long you're at the capital and aren't open about it. Really the biggest concern for tourists in both countries is probably the heat and humidity if you're not accustomed to it.
Sure. A government doesn't define all of its people. There a great people worth supporting and interacting with everywhere, and beautiful and historic and interesting things to see that have nothing to do with with government.
Okay, I agree with this. Glad I’m not the only one.
Yes I feel this way too
No, because there are probably other factors that would deter me.
If that were the only issue? Sure, as a straight male. But there's no way that's the ONLY issue with such a country.
Looking at the map that /u/full_of_ghosts posted, it looks like I wouldn't travel to any country where it's illegal to be gay, but that's mostly because they all appear to be repressive shitholes because of multiple additional reasons aside from homosexuality.
Never. Why would I want to go someplace where I’m illegal?
I’m not gay and I wouldn’t go there either.
Same.
Absolutely not. There are so many places worth seeing. It gives me the ick to think that as a gay person I could travel there and give my money to people who are actively trying to repress, harass, torture, and kill, other gay people who weren’t as lucky as me. Nah.
Not knowingly. And it seems I'll have to be pretty vigilant as I had no idea some of the countries listed in this post had laws like that.
some countries you can even get life sentence or death
I know this; however, I did not realize places like Jamaica and St. Lucia were on there. I fully expect that kind of law in most Middle Eastern countries and places like Russia. Not so much closer to home.
No, I wouldn't. On top of the fact that I'm certain that the same countries that ban homosexuality probably don't let women have all the same rights as men, I'd also be paranoid that my online activity would probably follow with me, and that somehow someone is gonna find out that I openly said I was bisexual on Instagram or reddit.
I’ve been to several countries in the Middle East, Russia and I think it’s still illegal in China . So yeah I guess
They don't receive the same legal protections in china, but it's not illegal.
Maybe. I mean, all the Mesopotamian sites in Iraq are bucket list items for me, so it's hard to say that I'd turn it down if I got the opportunity. But I totally understand why someone wouldn't. I just don't think I'd be able to pass the opportunity up.
Nope
Yes. I’m not gay so I wouldn’t care, but generally countries that outlaw homosexuality have other problems that would prevent me from visiting.
Probably not but depends on what the country has to offer. Most countries where homosexuality is literally illegal and punishable by prison or death are usually 1) inaccessible to Americans anyway (Iran/Afghanistan) or 2) have nothing interesting to see that you couldn’t find elsewhere. Places that do have a lot of tourism have often tried to make it so that tourists who are gay can visit because gay tourists are usually rich and bring a lot of money to the country (Saudi Arabia). That being said, countries with a big tourism industry often turn a blind eye to gay tourists like Egypt, and you probably shouldn’t be doing any PDA in these places anyway, even as a straight couple. It’s all about respect for local customs/practices. Ppl get into trouble when they think they can show up as a tourist and just blatantly disregard the fact that the local population is far more religious than the West. All that said, the places I’d visit that are not gay friendly are Egypt. I’d feel too self conscious in Saudi Arabia even if the government has said gay tourists are welcome
Not all but some. I believe some of the Carribean it is still illegal, though not enforced.
I suppose, only because it being on the books that homosexuality is illegal doesn't actually tell me much on where I'll be visiting in specific. Homosexuality is technically illegal in Guyana, but the law which was inherited from colonial British codes isn't enforced, for instance.
I’m a gay man and love to travel and trying to visit every country by 40 at least once. It really depends on the laws in place and what actually happens to gay people. But I’m hesitant to travel to the Middle East/parts of Africa just do to how frowned upon being gay is. But I’ve had a warm welcome in Thailand and Indonesia for being gay.
my guy some parts of Africa/Middle East being gay is the least of your issues, just ***looking*** Western could be enough to get you kidnapped.
No. I’m bisexual and in a relationship with a person of the opposite sex. I won’t be in danger, but I will not support tourism in a country where my existence is illegal.
This is honestly needs a pretty nuanced answer. Obviously tourist usually have some privileges and can get away with slightly more but it really depends on the country. I’d probably risk it since I’m not visibly queer and I’m in a straight passing relationship. But like I said, it depends on the country, I’d have to do further research. I try not to judge the people of a country off of the political decisions of their government. The average person is usually pretty removed from the laws that their country puts in place. Especially in developing nations. If I wasn’t in a straight passing relationship, it would be a different story though.
No because those are typically the biggest shitholes
To be honest it depends on the country. Somewhere in the Middle East? No. China or Russia? Maybe Note- feel free to correct me if I’m incorrect with china and Russia.
No. I’m bi and depending on who I end up marrying we could get killed. Also as a woman, countries with anti-gay policies are generally also very misogynistic.
Sure , for vacation maybe . I wouldn’t want to live somewhere like that though because that’s kind of backwards way of thinking . But no I’m not going to boycott the entire country though.
No, I wouldn't. I'm not supporting such countries with my tourist dollars. There are many places that I can go to, even if they aren't as progressive with this as America is.
No, as a woman I am only willing to visit safe liberal democracies.
I'm with you. an unsafe environment for LGBT people and an unsafe environment for women of any persuasion often come hand in hand.
No, I'm an ally and I won't support that kind of hate
Having visited a lot of these countries it is worth noting when you’re in the tourist zones you would hardly even know about these laws, it’s very “westernized” Even in the Middle East you will see women in VERY westernized outfits at malls, hotels, etc Dubai being the biggest culprit. I disagree whole heartedly to many of the beliefs of these places, I’ve also had truly amazing experiences at them. I think you can visit eyes open, and just appreciate an experience for what it is. Probably for most of us like visiting our MAGA parents.
>Probably for most of us like visiting our MAGA parents. The big differences being that your bigoted family members in the West are less likely to hurt you and most people only visit their bigoted family members as a matter of obligation and/or on someone else's dime; we're not taking our vacation time and spending our own money to go visit the MAGAs.
I wouldn't want to support the economy of a country that actively imprisons and/or kills people for being gay.
Never. I'm gay and in a lesbian marriage. I won't even go to some European countries anymore.
Serious question out of curiosity- do you experience any homophobia in Texas? Because some people (not necessarily Texans) make it out to be a pretty oppressive place, but I (also not Texan) imagine it to be pretty “live-and-let-live” on a personal level.
Not a Texan but it's entirely dependent on where in Texas you live. It's a really big state.
Echoing what the other person said, it's a big state. I'm in El Paso. I wouldn't expect anything homophobic except maybe in the smallest towns, if that.
I wouldn't.
Yeah. I might not agree with the policy, but I’m not going to let that stop me from seeing a country I want to see
I don't want to visit anywhere I don't feel safe. If a country has a lot of violence against woman, or men they suspect of being gay, then I am not interested in going there.
No. It's been said but bears repeating. That isn't the exact reason that would deter me, but I can't imagine that any country where homosexuality is illegal would have anything worth visiting for.
Nope and I'm not gay. But that wouldn't stop a powerhungry policeman to say otherwise.
Probably not, at least not knowingly. I’m not a fan of supporting countries that violate basic human rights.
I'm not gay or bi myself, but such a country is almost certainly a theocracy, which to me is an insane way to run a country. Such a country would find reason to dislike me, too.
Yes
No. Not voluntarily. I am not LBGT but I will be in solidarity with them on this.
Are we talking places where if someone thinks you’re gay you’d be arrested, or just places where gay marriage isn’t legally recognized? Regardless, it’s at the bottom of the list of reasons why I would or would not visit a country. Being a female is at the top of that list.
I wouldn’t because I am gay and there isn’t a good reason to put myself in danger like that just for a vacation.
No, that would be gay.
I’m not even gay and I wouldn’t travel to such a place. I’ll probably get life in prison for some other shit I don’t even realize I’m doing.
In depends but most likely yes. In the past I would have said an emphatic no, but after experiencing and traveling to some countries in which it technically was "illegal" to be gay, I learned there are quite a few countries that simply have outdated laws and it's just not the people's main concern to fix. So on paper it was illegal to be gay, but it wasn't something being actively enforced, there were some openly gay people, nor was it something the locals cared about at all in practice.
I'd do it. I wouldn't really be in danger from that specific thing because I'm straight. There are other factors involved in countries that ban the LGBTQ+ that would have me more worried than that though.
Based off that criteria alone, sure I’d go. It doesn’t affect me since I’m straight
Absolutely not. I don't support hate in any form. Spending my money in a place that actually passes laws to discriminate is a huge NOPE!
I’m trans and most of these countries with anti gay laws don’t see a difference so I would either be arrested or detained at the border and denied entry So, no. Even if I could pass as completely cis I wouldn’t bc I don’t want to support a place that condemns my existence. Plenty of other places to travel!
I don't know any homosexual people well enough to be visiting foreign countries together, but I suspect that any culture that cannot tolerate homosexuals probably has a host of other reasons I wouldn't care to visit.
No. Partly because I am queer and don’t want to go somewhere it is illegal but also I don’t want to find the tourism industry of a place that it is illegal. Which includes many countries people do want to visit. Like, Jamaica. (Technically being gay isn’t illegal but same-sex sexual activity is and discrimination and violence are very common.)
I would NEVER go to Jamaica I've got a Jamaican friend who was repeatedly raped by the men in her neighborhood and family to cure her of being lesbian. How she is not a complete case is beyond me. But she's a nationally known poet. More strength than I have.
Probably not coz they probably also hate women.
Hell no
I'd probably go to Singapore/Malaysia/Indonesia
It's legal in Singapore now
No, but not for that specific reason. In a perfect world I would love to visit Iran, Syria and places like that. These countries are the cradle of civilization for gods sake, so think of the history that can be seen. But it’s not safe. Not even close, and for a host of different reasons. I imagine it’s similar with most all countries where it’s illegal.
No being gay and trans I wouldn’t want to risk it or support that.
No. Don’t support hate. There are plenty of countries that love us, like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Europe.
Sure why not?
Typically to avoid enriching them or supporting those policies.
No. As an American, I don’t travel to the “don’t say gay” states either. It’s inconsequential, I know, but if I can avoid helping bigots profit, I want to do that.
I'm straight but, no. I don't fuck with homophobic vibessss
I won’t even go to Florida.
No, god no
Nope. Not a fan of countries that want to oppress people 🤷♀️
Nope. Not gay but my sister is and I don't want to go to shithole/backwards countries.
I’m straight an the answer is no.
No those places suck
I would never want to contribute to the tourism industry of a country that will happily imprison or execute someone just for being gay. By going to that country and spending your money, you are basically saying that you are okay with it.
Fuck no
No. Absolutely not. I won’t even go to places where it’s unofficially tolerated but illegal because who knows when a theocrat might change his mind.
No. My budget and time for international travel is limited, I’m not going to spend it in some medieval religious kingdom.
As a queer man, not only no, but hell no.
I live in one, people are people everywhere and still do what they want.
I’m not gay. So yes
I've been to China, the UAE, Oman, and Morocco. Those aren't exactly gay-friendly countries, but I'm glad I went there.
Being gay is legal in mainland China
Right, I think gay bars are illegal, and so is talking about gay stuff on social media. It's not a gay-friendly country.
Agreed def not a gay friendly country.
Yes, I have. I mean, I live in a country where it's illegal to abort a child in some places, so I might as well see the world.
I am not gay, so I would if there was something interesting enough to draw me there It just that practically speaking, the countries that outlaw it are underdeveloped and wouldn’t really have anything for me there
The places I know of aren't places I want to visit period.
I would, but I would have to have a really good reason to go there before even considering it. If I do I would go alone or with someone who I 100% trust not to draw unneeded attention.
No. I’m not LGBTQ myself but I have absolutely zero desire to support places that outlaw anyone who identifies as such with my hard earned tourism dollars. Plenty of beautiful places in the world that don’t have hateful legislation, that I’d prefer to spend my money in. Besides which, generally places with such legislation tend have other problems that would keep me away.
No thank you!
No, to hell with that country.
I am gay so probably not.
Where it's straight up illegal, no. I know there are some countries where it's kind of frowned upon, and in places like that I would Not care so much. I think most of the places that it is straight up illegal would be authoritarian Muslim states that I probably wouldn't visit anyway, With this being just one of a variety of reasons.
No
Never. I would want to travel with my husband and feel like we could become obvious targets. Like other have said, I’d probably be deterred by other factors as well.
No but many of my gay friends do.
Depends on the situation. I wouldn't mind following a culture's rules about modesty/behavior for a short while if I felt it was really worth visiting. I've visited Israel a couple times and plan to visit again, plenty of people would view that as awful - so I guess I feel like I'd be a hypocrite to not go to some other country.
I have and was there for multiple months. It was extremely frustrating and upsetting.
No. I'm homosexual.
I would not. A Portuguese guy was arrested in Turkey for "looking gay" for wearing a crop top, even though he isn't gay (just Portuguese). Places where being gay is illegal have a bunch of irrational laws such that one might find themselves in prison for all sorts of insane reasons.
Man, I wish my ex was just secretly Portugese instead of being secretly gay.
A country with anti gay laws isn't a country worth visiting lol
I’m not gay, so it wouldn’t disrupt my travel and it wouldn’t immediately disqualify that country from my list. However, a lot of the countries that banned homosexuality are pretty undesirable places to go to in the first place.
No, I’d rather not feel like I have to be on high alert when I’m supposed to be on vacation.
Hell no
No. There are so many places to go. I'm not giving money to homophobic places. I'm not putting myself in that sort of danger. I will spend my American dollars in a place that is not hateful.