Khalid Abdel-Hadi Explained

Birth Place:Amman, Jordan

Khalid Abdel-Hadi (born 1989) is a Jordanian LGBT rights activist and model, best known for founding My.Kali, the first LGBT magazine in the Middle East. Abdel-Hadi was listed as one of The Guardian's "LGBT change heroes of 2017".[1]

Early life and education

Abdel-Hadi was born and raised in Amman, Jordan. His family has Palestinian and Kurdish-Turkish roots. Abdel-Hadi was bullied at school for acting feminine.[2] He came out to his mother at age 14, telling her he liked men; she told him he was "just yearning for a father figure".[3]

He graduated from the University of Petra in 2014.[4]

My.Kali

Abdel-Hadi was interested in magazines since childhood. He had attempted to intern at local publications, but was turned down for being "too out there".[5] In 2007, at age 17, he decided to found My Kali with some of his friends, with the aim of providing LGBT-related content. On 30 October 2007, a local Jordanian publication, Ammon News, reported on its launch, reprinting My Kali's cover image of a shirtless Abdel-Hadi, though it identified him only as a "gay Jordanian teen".[6] This article was referenced by numerous publications, outing Abdel-Hadi. At the time, Abdel-Hadi feared for his life.[7] Abdel-Hadi recounted this event for the 2022 anthology, This Arab Is Queer.

Art

In 2022, Abdel-Hadi co-curated Habibi, Les Révolutions de l’Amour, an exhibition of LGBT artists from the Arab world and diaspora, at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris.[8]

Modeling

Abdel-Hadi often collaborates with photographers and artists. In November 2017, for example, he was a subject for French photographer Scarlett Coten's series of portraits entitled "Mectoub" of young men from Middle Eastern countries. Coten photographed Abdel-Hadi wearing a black high-waist swimsuit and heels.[9]

In 2011, Abdel-Hadi angered many conservative LGBTQ Muslims by posing for a photoshoot in a speedo on Rainbow Street, Amman, with a mosque in the background. He later published a public apology for the shoot in Gay Star News.[10]

Personal life

Abdel-Hadi is gay and queer.[11] He is also Muslim.

He rarely makes media appearances outside his own publication and those of people who are close to him,[12] and has said he dislikes being the center of attention and speaking in front of crowds.

References

  1. News: Leach . Anna . Banning-Lover . Rachel . 27 February 2017 . LGBT change heroes 2017: breaking through from oppression . The Guardian . 5 March 2017 . 11 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201111210357/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/feb/27/lgbt-change-heroes-2017-breaking-through-from-oppression . live .
  2. News: Tschinderle . Franziska . Secker . Bradley . 2019-09-20 . Arabic LGBT Magazine: Breaking Taboos in the Middle East . en . Der Spiegel . 2023-10-02 . 2195-1349.
  3. Web site: Ways . Curious . The founder of Jordan's first LGBTQ magazine on finding power in the queer Arab experience . 2023-10-02 . HUNGER TV . en-GB . 2024-01-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240115061315/https://www.hungertv.com/editorial/pride-2022-the-founder-of-jordans-first-lgbtq-magazine-on-finding-power-in-the-queer-arab-experience/ . live .
  4. Web site: Khalid Abdel-Hadi . 2023-10-02 . Framer Framed . en-EN . 2024-01-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240115061315/https://framerframed.nl/mensen/khalid-abdel-hadi/ . live .
  5. Web site: Sawalha . Jawanna . 2018-11-02 . How Jordan’s First LGBTQ Online Magazine Began . 2023-10-02 . Vice . en . 2024-01-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240115061317/https://www.vice.com/en/article/wj974n/how-jordans-first-lgbtq-online-magazine-began-v25n3 . live .
  6. News: 30 October 2007 . افشال محاولة لإشهار اول مؤتمر أردني للشذوذ الجنسي "المثيلين الجنسي" في يوم الإقتراع للانتخابات النيابية . Ammon News . 3 May 2018 . 27 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201027161606/https://www.ammonnews.net/article/12344 . live .
  7. News: Edward . Siddons . 25 May 2016 . the magazine queering the middle east . i-D magazine . 2 October 2023 . 5 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190405113614/https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/mbezep/the-magazine-queering-the-middle-east . live .
  8. Web site: L'Institut du Monde Arabe presents Habibi, Les Révolutions de l’Amour . 2023-10-02 . Say Who . en-US . 2024-01-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240115061218/https://saywho.co.uk/events/linstitut-du-monde-arabe-presente-habibi-les-revolutions-de-lamour/ . live .
  9. News: Moroz . Sarah . 10 November 2017 . Tattoos, satin heels and pet snakes: the men redefining masculinity in the Middle East . The Guardian . 14 November 2017 . 9 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201109025427/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/nov/10/scarlett-coten-mectoub-photography-arab-men-redefining-masculinity . live .
  10. News: Abdel-Hadi . Khalid . 23 January 2013 . Why I admit my Speedo shoot was wrong . Gay Star News (GSN) . 23 January 2013 . 20 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201020203009/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/why-i-admit-my-speedo-shoot-was-wrong230113/#gs.Iip8i_E . dead .
  11. Web site: 2021-08-17 . My.Kali magazine: changing the perspective . 2023-10-02 . Yalla! Let's Talk. . en-US . 2024-01-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240115061314/https://yallaletstalk.com/my-kali-magazine-changing-the-perspective/ . live .
  12. News: Sagui Bizawe . Eyal . 20 June 2016 . The Jordanian Magazine Defying Stereotypes About Gays in the Muslim World . Haaretz . 13 November 2017 . 14 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171114092920/https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/.premium-1.725930?v=7CB2CAFBF85722D5DCD917A196C3EDF8 . live .

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