A desire to bring accurate representation to the Middle East was the motivation behind the September/October cover of the an Arabic gay magazine, My Kali.
Khalid Abdel-Hadi told Gay Star News, “We believe that the trans community is the least heard, the least reflected, and the most needed of attention. We also believe that the courage he showed in sharing his story will bring hope, positivity, and awareness to the issue: We are proud to project Rashed’s voice.”
There have been transgender individuals on the cover of My Kali before, but they have always been transgender females. For the first time, a transgender man is featured. Now that Rashed falls under the binary definition of a male, the magazine can use a picture showing his nipples. Also, since the magazine is just online, the Jordanian government cannot regulate and censor it as it does ALL physically published news, print, magazines, etc.
My.Kali webzine was first published in English in 2007 (with a version in Arabic started in 2016) by the Jordanian model and gay advocate, Khalid ‘Kali’ Abdel-Hadi. Death threats were received from the beginning. Offering a gay magazine can be daunting, especially in MENA (Middle East, North Africa), home of predominantly Islamic nations that are not too favorable of LGBT citizens where some nations even have laws stating the penalty for being homosexual is death (washingtonpost.com).
This news comes days after Marco Marco Delivers Dynamite Fashion Show That Features Only Transgender Models, The east and the west are still very different.
