Marrakech has long had something of a sulphurous reputation. The very mention of the Red City may bring tears to the eyes of European gentlemen of a certain generation as they remember dear Mustapha, December 1965. Things have moved along a little since. Mass tourism is arriving – but not the rainbow flag. Despite awareness of ‘gay identity’ among some young Moroccans thanks to satellite TV and the web, plus an influx of gentrifying A-gays, Marrakech remains a provincial sort of place. Apart from emigrating or moving up to Casablanca, the local gay guy has few options: discreet relationships, probably followed by marriage after 30; or, possibly, total flailing queendom. Winter sun notwithstanding, this is not Miami or Mykonos. It follows that there is nowhere that can really be labelled as gay or lesbian in Marrakech – nor would businesses appreciate the label. Still, the city has masses to satisfy the gay sensibility (as specified by the clichés): boutiquey places stuffed with bijou bits and pieces, guest houses like oriental design shrines and a lot of handsome faces. The gay visitor to Marrakech should remember that this is a city with a huge social divide. While you may be able to jet in for a weekend for a few hundred euros, this will be six months’ budget for an entire family in Bab Doukkala. Twenty-year-olds with looks are thus tempted to make some cash on the side with a bit of informal sex-work. If you look as though you have money, you may have some very charming (and commercial) smiles flashed at you as you sip your jus d’orange at the Café des Négociants in Guéliz. The price-tag? For you to negotiate, if this is your thing. In other, one-off encounters, you may find yourself in a situation where you are with someone who has very, very little in material terms. So presents – nice clothes, trainers, a watch, maybe a spot of cash – are appreciated. If you want to meet bona fide Moroccan gays and lesbians quickly, the easiest way is to get onto one of the international chat-sites. Try http://www.cybermen.com first (largely Francophone). At any one time, this will have a good 20 to 30 Moroccans connected. The Paris-based http://www.kelma.org, which functions as a sort of forum for gay people in France’s North African and black immigrant community (and their friends) has lots of small adverts. Marrakech is a very small city, however, and locals may be uncomfortable at meeting in a very obvious public place where members of their family or friends might pass by. One reason for this local reticence regarding chance meetings with foreigners is the watchful eye of the Brigade touristique, originally established to reduce the hassle problem. While hassle has been brought under control, the Brigade can still run in a Marrakchi who might just be bothering a foreigner – and extract some blue 200dh notes for release. Some locals, to avoid this problem, register themselves with the police as friends of Mr X, living at Y in Marrakech and carry an official certificate to prove this. So is sex between men illegal? Yes, although this doesn’t seem to stop anyone and to the author’s knowledge there have been no cases of Moroccans being brought to trial for same-sex activity in recent years. (Compare with Egypt and the full-scale persecution of local gays during the Queen Boat trials.) If you proposition someone in a flirtatious way, they won’t go running off to the police (or their therapist). A ‘no thanks, mate’ approach is taken. So, on the whole, the Marrakchis are a tolerant lot. The reptilian Euro-gay prowling Jemaâ el Fna is a well-attested feature of local life and party-goers teetering along the alleys of the médina, shedding sequins in the dust as they head for some luscious riad or other add a spark of glamour to everyday life. Happily, for the moment, AIDS (le Sida in French) is not the huge problem in Morocco that it is in sub-Saharan Africa. Educated Moroccans are more or less well informed about risks thanks to the Francophone media. The country also has a highly active NGO, the ALCS (Association de lutte contre le sida, http://www.alcsmaroc.org), which has done sterling service to bring the issue to the authorities’ and the public’s attention. (NB While condoms are readily available in pharmacies, water-based gel is not.) Given the huge inequalities that women face in terms of personal status legislation (divorce, inheritance) and the amount of uphill campaigning still to be done to improve things, it is not surprising that lesbian issues are absent from public life. There have been no cases of Moroccan women being brought to trial for lesbian activity. Finally, a few words on slang: branché, the French for ‘trendy’, can mean gay in the Moroccan context. The passive partner is an attay, ‘the giver’.
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Marrakech - £7.99
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