Nonfiction
Book
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Details
PUBLISHED
©2025
EDITION
DESCRIPTION
299 pages ; 23 cm
ISBN/ISSN
LANGUAGE
NOTES
Here. A rink (Abu Dhabi, UAE: Imran) -- A cruise (Abu Dhabi: Tahsan) -- A landing (Abu Dhabi: Shivani) -- A stage (Abu Dhabi: Sunil and Reggie) -- There. A salon (Dubai: Marie and friends) -- A border (Bahla, Oman; Manama, Bahrain: Amir & Wasim) -- Another cruise (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Hameed & Naji) -- A storm (Abu Dhabi; Sydney, Australia: Gizelle) -- Between. A journey (Door County, Wisconsin; Djibouti City, Djibouti; Abu Dhabi: Ahmed and Noor) -- A haven (Abu Dhabi: Ajay) -- Another ring (London, United Kingdom; Abu Dhabi: Anonymous)
"When journalist Gaar Adams first arrives in the Gulf States--where four out of five residents are non-citizens, and where the penalties for queer acts include deportation, imprisonment, torture, and death--he approaches the LGBTQ+ immigrants who choose to live there with one seemingly simple question: Isn't it harder for you to make a life here? From the UAE to Bahrain and Oman to Saudi Arabia, Adams finds himself drawn to liminal spaces. The Bengali barbershops with men laughing over Bollywood movies. The street acrobats doing parkour along the Corniche promenade, which becomes a cruising ground for solo men after midnight. To his surprise, Adams finds queer communities all across the Gulf States--clandestine, resilient, and forever welcoming. From the uproarious Filipino salon workers throwing secret drag parties, to a courageous Pakistani farmhand helping his compatriots smuggle themselves across borders, a kaleidoscope of unforgettable characters challenges his assumptions on finding a place in the world--for others, and for himself"--