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Transsexual in Iran: A Fatwa for Freedom?

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LGBT Transnational Identity and the Media

Abstract

Robert Tait, writing in the The Guardian in 2005 in an article titled A Fatwa for Freedom, describes Tehran as “the sex change capital of the world” (The Guardian 2005), offering a vision of possibility and sexual liberation. Also, at that time, according to Memri TV (Middle East Media Research Institute) the annual number of Iranian transgender operations, on average, exceeds the number of European transgender operations by seven times (Memritv 2005). This seems surprising, as Iran is internationally portrayed as a traditional Islamic state which adheres to archetypal gender roles. Also, significantly, homosexual activity is forbidden in Iran, and the death sentence is at times carried out under Sharia law (Religion Facts 2011). For example, in July 2005 the Iranian government executed two teenage boys, Farbood Mostaar and Ahmad Chooka, for confessing to acts of homosexuality (Page One Q 2005).

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References

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Authors
  1. Sahar Bluck
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Bournemouth University, UK

    Christopher Pullen (Senior Lecturer in Media Studies) (Senior Lecturer in Media Studies)

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© 2012 Sahar Bluck

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Bluck, S. (2012). Transsexual in Iran: A Fatwa for Freedom?. In: Pullen, C. (eds) LGBT Transnational Identity and the Media. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230373310_4

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