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Paper Short Abstract:

This paper examines the exclusionary responses of queer people online in the Global North when ‘local’ artists venture down to a country in the Arab region for a performance.

Paper Abstract:

In early 2023, pop star Beyonce Knowles-Carter accepted an invitation (that came with a 24 million USD fee) to perform at the unveiling of Atlantis The Royal resort in Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah.

Subsequently, queer pop music fans across social media parsed out the ethical conundrum this decision presented; asking questions such as:

- Why would a pop star, promoting an album indebted to the sounds of queer and Black pioneers of dance music, accept an offer to perform in a country where that queer identity is deemed illegal?

- What responsibility does an artist and public figure have to revolutionary messages in their art when they also operate as a product to be consumed by a global music market?

- What of the queer and Emarati fan who is erased from the outraged narratives of queer people in the Global North?

This paper focuses in on the online responses of queer people in the Global North when ‘local’ artists venture down for a performance. Particularly, I explore the development of new exclusionary processes amongst queer online communities in the Global North through implied narratives of ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ queers- ultimately questioning their relation to narratives of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ muslims and the perceived threat they pose to the rights of women and queer people.