Cambodia, Asia

Intro: A daunting look into the dark life of displaced homosexuals in Phnom Penh, a world the tourists never see. It’s a world of poverty, rejection and hardship that usuallly leads to prostitution and petty crime. For an unknowing westerner, the ‘pretty boy’ on the corner in the evening has a sad tale to tell about his life–if anyone cares to ask.. Terry McCoy takes a look at this underprivileged population. . From: GlobalPost http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/asia/101110/cambodia-homosexual-gay-rights November 12, 2010  By Terry McCoy Phnom Penh, Cambodia Along the train tracks in one of Phnom Penh’s ubiquitous slums, the noise never stops and everything is changing. Longtime residents are fearful that they’ll soon have to move. This place isn’t safe anymore, they say. It isn’t moral anymore. (Photo right: Sok Somnorb stands in the doorway of his room in Beoung Kak 2 community, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  Image by Vinh Dao/GlobalPost.  More photos can be

Intro: Cambodia continues to evolve out of a dark and bloody past into a more organized and civilized society. By fits and starts an elected government is making efforts at control and organization but not all is peaceful and trustworthy. The government wobbles between dictatorship, monarchy and democracy. Meanwhile the hidden gay society quietly continues privately among natives as well as among natives and foreigners in a mix of cultures, ethics, religions, political forces and NGO’s (non-governmental organizations). Caught in this matrix of conflict one western man learned his lesson the hard way. More recently, since 2008, a modest gay scene has developed in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap with bars and guesthouses. By Richard Ammon GlobalGayz.com Update June 2010 There are more SUVs and new buildings in Phnom Penh than four years ago, when I lasted visited; there’s peace on the streets and provinces, for now, allowing Cambodians to

 Intro: Two weeks in Cambodia was enough time to see the wondrous ancient ruins at Angkor Wat and to encounter the different faces of gay life here. I listened to a gay British doctor in Phnom Penh who was jailed, visited a gay dentist volunteering his services, watched the handsome but poor money boys and unexpectedly found western gay books for sale. Back home in California, a Cambodian expatriate described the gender-variant drag scene in Cambodia. A more recent  visit revealed the budding gay scene and venues. Also see: Gay Cambodia Stories Gay Cambodia News & Reports 2004 to present Gay Cambodia Photo Galleries   By Richard Ammon Original story 1997 Updated April 2003 The Search for a Scene For generations there has been no obvious ‘scene’ on view in Phnom Penh but during the past five years gay venues have quietly opened and the once furtive gay whisper is

Intro: Near Cambodia’s Angkor Wat an unexpected surprise from our hotel waitress offers a poignant reminder of the spoils of war and poverty. Also see: Gay Cambodia Stories Gay Cambodia News & Reports 2004 to present Gay Cambodia Photo Galleries Richard Ammon (837 words) She first appeared from behind the old beverage cooler whose glass doors were often left indifferently open cooling off our corner of the restaurant and warming up the beer and colas. Short as most Khmer women, she was not quite as shy and obsequious as most of the other waitresses. She looked older and much more efficient, moving with purpose and poise. When she approached our table to take our order for dinner, her English was better than we expected. Making a selection with her from the menu was more like being seated with mother and being told what was good for us, not necessarily what

Intro: After his release from four months in jail for alleged pedophilia–a charge that was found later to be fraudulent–Dr. Gavin Scott wrote this commentary about age-of-consent and it manipulation by foreign NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in the fractured legal system in Cambodia. Also see: Gay Cambodia Stories Gay Cambodia News & Reports 2004 to present Gay Cambodia Photo Galleries Sex is something we are all interested in, whether it be performing or talking. Media stories about sex sell, and stories about underage sex sell even more but what exactly are the motives of the people putting out such stories, and how accurate are they? By manipulating words and figures minor problems can be presented as issues of far greater magnitude. A review then of the building blocks that make up such stories is essential before conclusions can be made. What is a Child, and what is a Minor? A child

Angkor Wat Gallery

Cambodia – Phnom Penh, Seam Riep