Cruising Ethics in Cairo: Queer Street Socialities Against Fear Regimes

In this deeply personal and politically sharp chapter, Ahmed Awadalla reflects on queer cruising in downtown Cairo as a form of subversive sociality and ethical encounter. Drawing from personal experience, psychosocial practice, and queer theory, the text weaves together stories of fleeting intimacy, state violence, and cross-class alliances forged in the face of fear regimes. Set against the backdrop of Cairo’s securitized public spaces—particularly the now-demolished Maspero Triangle—the chapter explores how queer people have navigated, reshaped, and reclaimed the city’s streets. Awadalla argues for a “cruising ethics”: a mode of relational care and solidarity that resists classism, carceral feminism, and the securitization of desire. By centering embodied encounters, the chapter offers a counter-archive of queer resilience in a city where intimacy and danger are never far apart.

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