The Memoirs of Randa the Trans

[sunairco]

Interesting read about gender reassignment in the Islamic world. I was surprised to hear that Iran follows Thailand in SRS.

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0627/transsexuals-memoir-breaks-ground-arab-world/

[saifan]

That's because, as crazy as this sounds, changing genders is the only way for gays to be accepted there.

[sunairco]

I'd rather doubt it. I hardly think that any gay guy would consent to full SRS to be accepted. This is as ludicrous as a lesbian going through FTM SRS to be accepted. Anyone would a rational mind would choose to go on the down low rather then have his or her body mutilated just to be accepted if there wasn't any gender dysphoria involved.

[saifan]

Oh...
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2008/08/26/f-homosexuality-iran-sex-change.html

[sunairco]

The article points out that the ones that become conspicious to the authorities are already crossdressing. She even talks that it's refreshing to get rid of the abiguity. This sounds much like a cultural misunderstanding of who/what gay folks are and it's culturally dependent. I would venture a guess that in Iran, as the prevailing worlwide view is the "homosexual" is the receptive,passive partner only. The top can't be considered gay as he's an active and penetrative partner. Having a gay identity is relative to social contruct. Thirty five years ago, many gay men were campy, effeminite, nell and it was an accepted identity. Now such a characture is likely to be scorned due in part to forces within the gay movement that want to present a hypermasculine image that divorces the effeminite, screaming, queen from the mainstream in order to get societal acceptance. Tyra had a show about this and it was interesting how much antipathy mainstream gay men have for TS/TV/& Effeminate gay men and how they are hampering their efforts to advance their agenda with a sterotypical appearnce and behavior that straight Americans incorrectly associates with the face of homosexuality