The blogger known as “The Egypt Guy” reports that a ground-breaking new book has gone on sale in Cairo – apparently with the approval of “state security”.

Written by journalist Mostafa Fathi, Fi Balad el-Walaad (In the Country of the Boys) “tells the story of one young Egyptian gay man's everyday life with all its ups and its many downs … This is the first ever book that tells of the misery of being gay in Egypt and that speaks for respecting and accepting the oppressed Egyptian gay community on a human level.”

There’s more about it here, on the Lebanese website, Menassat.

Still on the theme of sexuality, I’ve been meaning to mention 
The Crisis of Arab Masculinities – a fascinating article on the Long Slumber blog. It identifies three types of Arab masculinity: the “fighting masculinity”, the “politicised masculinity” and the “honorable masculinity”. The discussion thread below the article is well worth reading too.