Blog 4 We are Everywhere: Gay and Lesbian Iranians Come Out on Facebook

Lavonnie Gittens
Blog 4
We are Everywhere: Gay and Lesbian Iranians Come Out on Facebook
Saeed Kamali Dehghan
21 September 2012
4:55pm



Summary
Dehghan discusses the fear that many gay Iranian people have. Iran is a state that is extremely anti-homosexual. This country has made homosexuality criminalistic. The photo that is in this article shows two adolescent males that are about to be executed. They were convicted under Iran’s anti-homosexuality laws. Iran’s gay and lesbian community is struggling to win some recognition and have decided to come out in defiance of a regime that criminalizes homosexuality. Iran’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community has decided to use technology to show their disagreement with the State’s current homosexuality policy. The LGBT community has been posting videos of themselves on Facebook in a campaign to highlight the discrimination against sexual minorities in Iran where homosexuals are put to death. These posts come from people living in Iran as well as Iranian that have fled the country because they fear being executed. The fear is so strong that many of the peopling posting on Facebook have decided to hide their identity. Many gay Iranian’s flee their home country to nearby Turkey and become what they consider a gay refugee. Although these individuals have gone to Turkey seeking refuge many have complained that they have been subjected to homophobic attitudes from locals.

Analysis
I believe the Iran State in terms of its anti-homosexual attitude is exemplifying the idea of assimilation. If these lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals are willing to suppress their true sexual feelings they will have not have to fear execution. As long as these gay individuals assimilate or at least portrays to have assimilated to the superior sexuality they will not have any problems. Iran’s sentence to death for homosexual activities is a direct violation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 3 of the aforementioned declaration states that "everyone has a right to life, liberty, and security of person." It may seem a bit ethnocentric for me take this position however, the people of Iran have decided to question the cultural relativity of the anti-homosexual laws. Iran’s government has taken a paternalistic approach to dealing with its LGBT citizens. I question why the state is so anti-homosexual. Are the strict sanctions against such behavior truly in the best interest of its culture or is there another reason?


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/11/gay-iranians-facebook-defiance?INTCMP=SRCH