lebanese – Page 4 – The Queer Arabs

Mloukhiyyé is a Beirut-based artist working with pixel art, text, video games, drag and more! They discussed their past and future projects, including illustrations of performers in and around the Lebanese drag scene, video games that reflect social and environmental issues, an illustrated book about Lebanese queer slang, and a piece involving Tatreez and Lebanese herbs.

We also talked about their journey into queer identity, why they chose the mloukhiyye leaf as their namesake, pronouns in Arabic, misogyny and homophobia within gaming circles, why queer people like Animal Crossing, and more!

Shoutout to some of the artists and organizations mentioned in this episode:

@havenforartists

@tatreezandtea

@swana.ancestral

@alexa_milano

@dancingqueerofficial

@anamasreyaxo

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Image: “Lovers in the Times of Revolution”

Omar Sfeir is a Beirut-based photographer and filmmaker. His work documents human intimacy as a means of questioning social norms. His photographic journeys tell the stories of non-conformists in the context of their respective societies, inspired by the taboos of sexual expression in the MENA region, especially towards the LGBT community.

We discussed his recent photography projects, which represent the Lebanese Revolution, the Beirut explosion, and the COVID-19 crisis through visual symbolism, and his new documentary “Album,” which follows the relationships between three queer Lebanese individuals (including himself) with their mothers.

We also talked about the different ways that Arab and US cultures regulate emotional expression, and how we’ve been releasing our repressed emotions (whether by making art or by crying/screaming in our apartments).

Tag: lebanese

Episode 152: Mloukhiyyé

Episode 149: Omar Sfeir