Not all LGBTQ individuals in Lebanon experience the same forms of targeting. Violence against them is neither fixed nor neutral. It is shaped by visibility and the nature of public expression. In recent years, a noticeable pattern has emerged: LGBTQ comedians are targeted more intensely and publicly than gender or sexual minorities who remain outside the public sphere. The issue is not identity alone, but laughter when it comes from a body deemed unacceptable.
When comedy emerges from a socially marginalized position, it is not read as art or social critique. It is perceived as direct provocation to structures of power. Laughter in this context does not seek sympathy. It asserts presence and redistributes power through satire. For this reason, the queer comedian becomes a double target, because of identity and because of the tool being used, which is satire.
This pattern is evident in what Lebanese comedian Shaden experienced. According to data released by local rights organizations including The Legal Agenda and Human Rights Watch, Shaden faced organized incitement campaigns during 2023 and 2024 following comedy performances addressing gender, patriarchy, and stereotypes.
Media reports published between November 2023 and February 2024 indicate that several of her performances were canceled in multiple cultural venues after direct threats and pressure. Legal complaints were filed against her under charges related to undermining values and violating public morals.
These reports indicate that what happened to Shaden was not linked to speech inciting violence or hatred. It was linked to satirical content exposing everyday social contradictions. Violence itself is not punished. Exposing it through laughter is.
Dr. Farah Salhab, a researcher specializing in gender and social inclusion, explains that comedy becomes dangerous when it comes from excluded groups because these groups, through comedy, do not ask for permission to exist. Society may tolerate a queer individual as long as they remain a silent victim. It feels threatened when they laugh and make others laugh, because this destabilizes the symbolic hierarchy of power.
Dr. Nader Hanna, professor of political sociology, adds that the targeting is less about content and more about symbolism. A queer comedian strips social and religious authority of its aura and turns satire into a tool of accountability. This is why such comedians face legal, media, and symbolic violence, while similar speech from a heteronormative person may pass without consequence.
These differences are reflected in personal experiences. Adam, a pseudonym for a transgender man from the South who moved to Beirut, explains that targeting began only when he turned to comedy on social media. He says, “Before the satirical videos, I was invisible. Once I began making people laugh about social contradictions, I became a threat. The comments were no longer only about my identity, but about crossing red lines.”
By contrast, Layla, a pseudonym for a lesbian woman from the Bekaa who does not work in the public sphere, describes a different experience. “I face silent discrimination. It takes the form of social exclusion, looks, and unspoken restrictions. No one launches campaigns against me because I do not appear publicly. The difference is that I do not embarrass society in front of itself.”
Karim, a gay man from Beirut and a regular attendee of Shaden’s performances, believes that the problem is not what is said but who says it. “When Shaden laughs on stage, she is not mocking people. She is mocking a system that claims morality while practicing exclusion.”
Observers note that such targeting is often justified through rhetoric about protecting values or public taste, while explicit hate speech is publicly tolerated.
According to media monitoring reports issued by Lebanese rights organizations, the law is applied selectively, not to protect individuals, but to regulate the public sphere and determine who is permitted to speak within it.
Ultimately, this is not merely about comedy. It is about who has the right to speak and to laugh. Defending the right of LGBTQ comedians to express themselves is a defense of a more just and inclusive public space that recognizes laughter as a political act rather than a moral offense. The real question is not why LGBTQ comedians are targeted, but why laughter unsettles us when it comes from an unfamiliar place.
