Istanbul PDA's
Sep 27, 2021, 10:46 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA LT Gold
Posts: 3,646
This is nothing new.
The bonds between straight males in many middle eastern countries or even as far as some countries in Eastern Europe manifest in very different ways than in our "simple minded" western minds.
Google "Djokovic boat party" and you may think Djokovic was holding a White Party for the gay boys. And Djokovic is as straight as it gets.
In countries where males and females don't mix up unless they are married (i.e. Muslim countries), it is not uncommon to see men hanging out very close to each other, touching legs, hugging (just like in your picture).
It is not viewed as gay it does not make them gay.
They are just very effusive with each other.
In my western mind I can think "closeted gays" but most likely I am wrong. It is just a different culture
The bonds between straight males in many middle eastern countries or even as far as some countries in Eastern Europe manifest in very different ways than in our "simple minded" western minds.
Google "Djokovic boat party" and you may think Djokovic was holding a White Party for the gay boys. And Djokovic is as straight as it gets.
In countries where males and females don't mix up unless they are married (i.e. Muslim countries), it is not uncommon to see men hanging out very close to each other, touching legs, hugging (just like in your picture).
It is not viewed as gay it does not make them gay.
They are just very effusive with each other.
In my western mind I can think "closeted gays" but most likely I am wrong. It is just a different culture
Sep 27, 2021, 12:18 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: SJC/SFO/OAK
Programs: DL PM, SW, Hilton, , UAL PM, AA Gold-skeptic
Posts: 1,632
I'll try not to take offense at the "simple minded Westerner" comment. This Westerner in particular saw something unusual (i.e. what seemed to be a gay PDA in Istanbul, not exactly known for pro gay anything...), and had the sense to ask what else it might represent.
Sep 27, 2021, 4:20 pm
#4
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA LT Gold
Posts: 3,646
I answered the question and you choose to be in disbelief?
That's just straight male to male PDA, very common in middle eastern/Muslim countries.
Again, it is only in your mind that this is gay by any means. They see it differently.
Nobody will take you to jail even in Saudi for holding hands to a man.
You will get in trouble for gay things like : showing your penis to another man in the bathroom, making out with another man, oral sex, intercourse. That is a no no in those countries.
Did you see they guys making out? or just friendly hugging.
Here is some further reading (there is plenty online)
Feel free to search for more.
https://arabianmusings.wordpress.com...r-socializing/
Even morepeculiar and unfamiliar, was the sight of Saudi men enthusiasticallygreeting each other with a kiss to each cheek. Some even lightly touched the tips of their noses together. Trying not to stare rudely, I watched two other gentlemen welcome one another; locked in a convivial embrace, they strolled side by side through the terminal. Many pairs walked away, hand in hand, gleefully swinging their arms in the air like schoolyard chums. I found myself stifling my astonishment at such outward and physical signs of affection between men.
Relationships between males in the U.S. are generally not as public in expression or exhibition. In Western culture, men are typically characterized as less openly emotional, preferring to bond over topics and interests such as sports, work, popular news, or finances. Our American male friends were usually caught off guard when my husband, born and raised in Jordan, reverted to his natural customs, greeting his friends with a hearty hug and familial kiss on the cheek. Invariably, our friends might laugh anxiously, slightly confused, politely saying, “Please don’t do that, it’s not really the way we do things.”