Overview on being gay in Cyprus

Gay Life in Cyprus can be complicated at times, however, on the whole, as a European Union country, living your life as a homosexual isn't that difficult. However, a recent survey (2006) showed that 75% of Cypriots disapprove of homosexuality, and many still think that it can be 'cured'*. What this translates as to you is that you will not be arrested or anything like that for being gay, but being openly gay and flaunting your sexuality is bound to irritate some people. Affection between men is something that most Cypriots have never seen, and even holding hands in public will cause people to stare in amazement, even if you give them the 'what are you looking at?' look. Tight knit family and social structure, the influence of the church and a practically non-existent awareness campaign from the government has led to the people here holding strong stereotypes as to what is gay, and this unfortunately links into us being viewed as 'perverts', 'child molesters' and a 'disgrace' generally speaking.

For this reason, many gay Cypriots are not out, and many still get married so that they are not 'found out'. This typically happened with older generations, most of whom are or were married at some point. Of course attitudes are changing, as the younger generations are much more liberal than their elders, but being out in Cyprus is not easy if you are a Cyprus national. Funnily enough, being gay but not out is surprisingly easy, and with gay venues beginning to pop up around the island, meeting people is much easier as well. Talking to people much older that I am, the social position of homosexuals in society is guessed to be about 20-30 years behind that of the UK, and with no organised and vocal organisations (with the notable exception of AKOK) promoting tolerance for homosexuals and educating people about the issue, it may still be a while before we catch up with the rest of Europe on such issues.

*Study published by Politis Newspaper:

Ταυτότητα της Έρευνας
Ανάθεση: Gremona Advertising Θέμα: Αντιλήψεις του κοινού για θέματα ομοφυλοφιλίας
Εκτέλεση: Κέντρο Ερευνών Cyprus College
Μέθοδος: Τυχαία στρωματοποιημένη δειγματοληψία
Συλλογή πληροφοριών: Προσωπικές συνεντεύξεις
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ΠΟΛΙΤΗΣ - 06/05/2006, Σελίδα: 20