SASSY PLANET

Alex Klineberg reviews a new book, which offers up the latest on what’s hot in 40 cities around the world

We do indeed live on a sassy planet, although some places are more sassy than others. Some cities spring to mind right away, such as London, Berlin, New York and San Francisco. You have party islands like Mykonos and party towns like Brighton. Goodness me, we could go on!

Before the internet took over our lives, gay travellers explored the world armed with copies of Patroc, the gay travel guide. The pages of that book no doubt mediated many encounters. Now the internet gives us all the information we need, and also lots of information we don’t need. Patroc no longer has a print edition. It’s refreshing to know that gay travel books are still being written.

Mr Hudson Explores:

The Gay Man’s Travel Companion was published in 2019.

In early September 2021, Sassy Planet: A Queer Guide to 40 Cities will be published.

The book was written by David Dodge, Harish Bhandari, and Nick Schiarizzi. I’ve read an advance copy and can confirm: it would be a great addition to your library. The risk with printed travel books is that they inevitably go out of date. Clearly, Penguin Random House has figured that out. This book is not just a listings guide. It features interviews with LGBTQ+ business owners, Drag Race alumni, brilliant photos and historical information. LGBTQ+ elders give their take on how their cities have changed. You’ll discover the best places to go out in Mexico City and where to go cruising in Hawaii. Find out if it’s true that Nashville’s “gay bars are legally required to employ at least two Dolly Parton drag queens at all times in case one breaks a stiletto”. Is it true that everyone in New York is gay? The authors take a deep dive and find out.

Sassy Planet gives you a fully rounded view of a destination. Bars may open and close, but the essence of a city can remain largely unchanged for decades – even centuries. Travel books no longer work purely as storehouses of information. They have to tell a story as well. This is also a good book for people with very short attention spans. You can flick through it, enjoy the pictures, read an interview with an Athenian drag queen, and then spend the rest of the day on your phone.

Closer to our own shores, the authors note that as a “powerful real estate industry relentlessly attempts to turn East London into one gigantic glass-box luxury condo, a vibrant and creative culture persists here”.

The most interesting chapters in the book come towards the end. We discover the hidden gay scene of Accra in Ghana, a country where it’s been illegal to be gay since the 1860s.

“Chatting with locals in Accra – the country’s capital and largest city – we found one exception to this rule. During the week-long Chale Wote Street Art Festival, the LGBTQ community becomes slightly more visible.”

We learn about “the infamous Cairo 52 incident in 2001, during which 52 men were arrested on-board the floating gay nightclub Queen Boat on the Nile river for ‘obscene behaviour’”.

We also find out about the notorious gig by Lebanese LGBTQ+ band Mashrou’ Leila. While performing in Cairo, someone in the crowd raised a rainbow flag. They band were banned from ever returning to Egypt and the flag waver was tortured.

Moving over to Lagos, Nigeria, we discover that, despite Lagos’ huge fashion, arts and cinema industries, it’s a deeply hostile place for LGBTQ+ people. Homophobic laws are actively enforced in Nigeria, “thus pushing its queer scene deeper underground”. We encounter Harry Itie, a local journalist and activist. He says: “The movement is becoming more active. We are [involved on] all fronts: pop culture, media, politics, lobbying, and litigation. Organisations are springing up in different areas. We need stronger alliances with the global queer community, and [to] realise that we all win together.”

Over in Jordan, we discover that homosexuality was decriminalised in 1951. We had to wait until 1967 for only partial decriminalisation in Britain. However, although it may technically be legal in Jordan, being openly gay comes with serious social stigma.

So, we learn that this planet may well be sassy. In some places it’s very sassy. Elsewhere, people are struggling to live as their true selves even behind closed doors.

Sassy Planet: A Queer Guide to 40 Cities will be available in all good bookshops from September 7, 2021.