By Victor Melamed
Iran’s legal system, rooted in Islamic law, imposes the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual activity, making it one of the few countries in the world where this extreme punishment is a legal consequence.
Sharia became the law. I think for any country, that's probably the worst thing that could happen: merging religion with politics.
JP: What happened in the Iranian Revolution would basically need to happen in reverse across much of the region.
MP: Yeah, I think you're right [sighs]. Part of it was that I hadn't completely come to terms with my own sexuality and here was someone who was so confident and comfortable in himself.
Then he mentioned, “Oh yeah, I’ve also had relationships with women”, and just the ease with which he said it was alluring to me.
At the same time, [his bisexuality] also made me a bit insecure. The same goes for Islam. I feel there's always a kind of middle ground that people tend to lose. Did you ever consider getting this type of surgery?
MP: No, I never really wanted to be a woman.
While their death sentences were later overturned, the initial verdicts underscored the lethal risks faced by LGBTQ+ individuals and activists in Iran.
2021: The brutal “honor killing” of Alireza Fazeli Monfared, a 20-year-old gay man murdered by family members, vividly illustrated the severe societal dangers and the profound lack of state protection for LGBTQ+ individuals.A History of Executions: Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, human rights activists estimate that thousands of individuals have been executed for crimes linked to their sexual orientation.
The feminine side of me felt a closeness with women that I kind of got in touch with, but I never felt that I was trans.
JP: Did you know any gay men who got trans surgery even though maybe they still felt like men, simply because it was easier than being gay?
MP: [pauses] No. I think all people I knew who took that route of just having a surgery were actual trans women.
So the Ayatollah issued a fatwa and said, yes, you can transition and the government is happy to help you, but you cannot live as a trans woman with a male genitalia. And hence, after Thailand, Iran performs the largest numbers of bottom surgeries, which is kind of twisted in a way.
JP: At one point you wrote about watching a Britney Spears music video and sort of wishing that you were her.
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