«IT'S CALLED GOSSIP AND OF COURSE IT'S AN OBSESSION OF MINE»

Western visitors to southern or Middle-Eastern countries are often perplexed, not only by open homosocial affection but also by the presence of a thriving homosexual "underworld". For if two men holding hands in public does not necessarily mean that they are romantically tied, it certainly opens the doors of possibility. In Pakistan, a popular drag queen hosts a TV show tackling serious current issues. Asked by a stunned French reporter whether she was advocating LGBTQ rights, she replied: "Darling, these categories do not apply in my culture." As much as it is hard to imagine a cross-dresser hosting a political show in France, it is easy to notice that for the reporter, visibility equals political statement. Categories are indeed different.

-The Guardian
May 13 2009