I think that you ' re being a bit too paranoid about this . Firstly , you cannot distill entire cultures down to one stance . Cultures are made of people and people are not ideologies they are people . Secondly , you have to understand the power imbalance that you would have as a westernized outsider in these countries . In many countries you may be better protected or ignored by authorities because of your citizenships . You will not be considered part of the culture at first , and therefore you will be relatively neglected . Thirdly , you can visit these countries and be just fine . Visiting a country does not mean that you have to do everything you would do in your home country . If you stay away from doing illegal things in the country you ' re visiting , you will be fine . Fourthly , the western construction of sexuality is quite different from how these cultures may construct their ideas of sexuality . You have to understand that the idea of someone being gay might not even make sense in these cultures afterall , the modern western idea that someone can be gay sprung during the colonialism and exploitation of the countries in question . Perhaps in exploring these cultures you may find new ideas and ways to express sexuality and identity . Fifthly , do not let people or issues dissuade you from your interests . If you have an interest in these cultures but are afraid of how you will be treated , perhaps actually experience these cultures before making broad judgements . Also , your sexuality doesn ' t need to be open and public indeed in many places sexuality is considered a matter of the private sphere which should not indecorously leak into your public interactions . Sixthly , do these people really have time to worry about a foreigner ? These countries are ravaged by other issues many of which were created by Western countries and in many cases people are too poor for politics . If anyone has beef with a foreigner , it will be because they perceive you to be from a country which hashad a hand in negatively influencing their own country . Nobody will have time to care about a foreign boy ' s sexuallity .