Happenstance
Cautious Pessimist
In September 2007, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad famously stated of his home Iran:
'We don't have homosexuals like in your country. We don't have that in our country. We don't have this phenomenon; I don't know who's told you we have it.'
One could say he was ignorant of his own citizens, or turning a blind eye to Iran's gay population. It could be his way of disowning them as Iranians. But I read a much different interpretation in an article from a small university newspaper that I unfortunately cannot provide a link to, so I will do my best to paraphrase, then explain why it is relevant to us.
In Iran, homosexuality is a crime. However, gay Iranians are not without hope of a publicly safe relationship. How is this possible? Quite simply, gays are encouraged to undergo gender reassignment surgery. While the Qur'an clearly condemns homosexual acts, there are passages which describe something akin to transgenderism, and since this is the more acceptable route, it has become very common, and Iran now has more gender reassignment surgeries than any country except Thailand. (The article did not state why Thailand was number one, only that it was so.)
However, in order to obtain permission for gender reassignment surgery, a patient must receive a note from a psychiatrist diagnosing them with the 'mental disorder' of homosexuality. So what Ahmedinejad may have meant when he said there are no homosexuals in his country is that there are no people who simply are homosexual - only 'normal' people who have been afflicted with it.
Now let me present the title again. Is the overwhelming belief in America today, (as well as other countries of course,) that there are no fat people in America?
Isn't it the common view that there are no people who simply are fat, but 'normal' people with whom there is something wrong? Isn't fat seen as a physical disorder, diagnosable by medical professionals? Aren't fat people encouraged to undergo 'size reassignment surgery', to make themselves publicly acceptable, so that they may find happy relationships like everyone else?
Next time you hear someone espouse views such as these, perhaps you could let them know which Iranian president they remind you of.
'We don't have homosexuals like in your country. We don't have that in our country. We don't have this phenomenon; I don't know who's told you we have it.'
One could say he was ignorant of his own citizens, or turning a blind eye to Iran's gay population. It could be his way of disowning them as Iranians. But I read a much different interpretation in an article from a small university newspaper that I unfortunately cannot provide a link to, so I will do my best to paraphrase, then explain why it is relevant to us.
In Iran, homosexuality is a crime. However, gay Iranians are not without hope of a publicly safe relationship. How is this possible? Quite simply, gays are encouraged to undergo gender reassignment surgery. While the Qur'an clearly condemns homosexual acts, there are passages which describe something akin to transgenderism, and since this is the more acceptable route, it has become very common, and Iran now has more gender reassignment surgeries than any country except Thailand. (The article did not state why Thailand was number one, only that it was so.)
However, in order to obtain permission for gender reassignment surgery, a patient must receive a note from a psychiatrist diagnosing them with the 'mental disorder' of homosexuality. So what Ahmedinejad may have meant when he said there are no homosexuals in his country is that there are no people who simply are homosexual - only 'normal' people who have been afflicted with it.
Now let me present the title again. Is the overwhelming belief in America today, (as well as other countries of course,) that there are no fat people in America?
Isn't it the common view that there are no people who simply are fat, but 'normal' people with whom there is something wrong? Isn't fat seen as a physical disorder, diagnosable by medical professionals? Aren't fat people encouraged to undergo 'size reassignment surgery', to make themselves publicly acceptable, so that they may find happy relationships like everyone else?
Next time you hear someone espouse views such as these, perhaps you could let them know which Iranian president they remind you of.
