Just last week Dinah Gardner was reporting "a long-term expatriate NGO worker" opinion on UN salaries for Al Jazeera and now she has written a guide to gay life in Rangoon for Fridae. Busy reporter.

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Gay in Rangoon
Dinah Gardner - fridae.com
November 14, 2007

While the world's attention has been focused on Burma's bloody
crackdown of human rights protests, judges in Hong Kong were
considering whether to award the top prize of a new literary
competition to a Burmese gay novel. Dinah Gardner was in Rangoon to
bring you this report.

Nu Nu Yi's Smile as they bow narrowly missed winning – last week as
the inaugural Man Asian Literary Prize went to a Chinese book set
during the Cultural Revolution – but her novel about a gay
transvestite medium is a fascinating insight into Burma's gay
community.

Top: A winner of Myanmar's National Literary Award, Smile as they bow
which was first published in 1994 follows the lives of three young
Myanmar people. It has been translated into English and will be
published at a later date. According to Irrawaddy, an independent
Burmese news magazine, the novel was originally rejected by Burma's
state censors in 1993 but was later given permission to distribute a
heavily redacted version the following year. Attempts to create a film
adaptation were blocked by Burma's Motion Picture Censor Board. The
author Nu Ny Yi was quoted as saying: ''The authorities said the story
was against the customs of Theravada Buddhism and Burmese culture.
They also said being born a man is an honour, and that a person living
as a gay man loses that honour.''

Smile as they bow describes nat-kadaws which literally mean "the
spirit's wives" in Burmese. Nat-kadaws are mediums who allow
themselves to be possessed by spirits, called nats, at special
festivals. For a price, these men and women dance crazily, act drunk
and tell fortunes. One of the nat-kadaws has a female persona, and
many gay men assume this role as it legitimises their status as
homosexuals inside Burma. "[These men], while not envied, are
respected for their roles as shamans and seers," writes Eli Coleman,
Philip Colgan and Louis Gooren in a 1992 paper, "Male cross-gender
behaviour in Burma."

"It's a melodramatic show," says "Bowie," a gay Burmese businessman
who operates his own tour guide company in the country."Some of the
gay guys are in their element when they become a nat-kadaw."

While it's no Thailand, most observers say Burma has a history of
being fairly gay tolerant. Even though the legality of homosexuality
appears to be a grey area – the British government and exile groups
say gay sex is illegal, although locals say they have never heard of
anybody being punished for being gay.

"It's a gay friendly country – gay acts are not targeted," Bowie says.
"But like anything, [the government] can use it against you if they
want."

Gay couples should avoid public displays of affection, he says. "There
is no hostility, there is no confrontation, although some people
ridicule gays and transsexuals." But the main pressure for Burma's
gays is from their family.

"There is a huge inbuilt respect for parents," he says, adding that
although there is not a major push to get married and have children –
as there is in neighbouring China – many gays remain closeted because
they do not want to embarrass their parents by being openly gay.

Gay tourists should find the country welcoming, says Gerry of
gay-friendly Mandalaytravel.com. While his company doesn't take
clients around gay bars - "we want our guests to visit [Burma] for the
culture and the beauty of the countryside and people" – he says the
company employs some gay tour guides who are able to talk about gay
life in Burma.

"I can assure you Myanmar is gay-tolerant," he adds. [Burma was
renamed Myanmar by the military junta in 1989.]

"On the outside the Burmese look very conservative but having been
there for many years I can assure you the opposite is true."

There is also a burgeoning gay scene in Rangoon – the former capital.
The place to go, says Bowie, is Pioneer, inside the Yuzana Garden
Hotel. Pioneer is a scruffy club downtown that plays 90's techno
music. It also caters to Burma's straight middle class – watch out for
businessmen drunk on brandy and young kids on drugs.

"You cannot miss the boys snogging on the dance floor on Fridays and
Saturdays," jokes Bowie. "It's half gay these days."

Rangoon does not have extensive nightlife choices – the poverty
stricken population can barely afford to feed themselves never mind
have money left over to party on the weekend. But there is a thin
layer of middle class and a small group of mainly hotel bars and clubs
offer the best chance outside of Pioneer of meeting other gays.

BME, a fairly seedy option in the City Lake View Hotel, around the
corner from detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house on
University Avenue – is a popular choice. However, since the protests
it has remained closed – the road leading to the hotel is barricaded
and guarded by armed troops– the area around Suu Kyi's house is just
too sensitive for public access.

Meanwhile, DJ Bar, is a funkier and more upmarket venue. It also
usually has a decent DJ and is popular with the expatriate population.
"Any foreign gay men will get a lot of attention in Burma," laughs
Bowie. "They are all looking for someone 'generous'!"

And in a country where the average daily income is less than a US$1,
who can blame them?

http://www.fridae.com/newsfeatures/article.php?articleid=2092&viewarticle=1