Curing homosexuality with sexual reassignment surgery?! Woah. Iran seems more open-minded (okay in reality is more igonrant, go on reading and you will see why) than I thought it would be. Iran not only grants sexual reassignment surgeries as legal in the country, but also the entire process would be paid by the government too. This must be great for Iranians who are born in the wrong body and opting for surgeries. BUT for those who are just interested in the same gender, this might push them into an endless downward spiral. The government's reasoning is human beings are so intelligent and advanced now that correcting mistakes of nature is doable (not to mention heterosexuality is the only right way to go). I mean, are they stupid enough to not realize sexuality and gender are really two separate things? Why do people (in general -including the pre-educated me- not just the Iranian government) always group them together as one thing...
Be Like Others is a documentary by Tanaz Eshaghian, providing "an intimate examination of the intersection of state power, science and religion, gender and sexuality" (quoted from Joanne Nucho's article, Gender Neutralized) Read more description on the film and critiques from Gender Neutralized at http://www.reverseshot.com/article/be_others.
Be Like Others is a documentary by Tanaz Eshaghian, providing "an intimate examination of the intersection of state power, science and religion, gender and sexuality" (quoted from Joanne Nucho's article, Gender Neutralized) Read more description on the film and critiques from Gender Neutralized at http://www.reverseshot.com/article/be_others.
Iran just has too economic and political problems to expect it to be be a tolerant society. Skyrocketing unemployment, a disproportionate amount of young men, an unhinged government, a nuclear powered Israel. Such instability is not receptive to socially progressive view.
ReplyDeleteSo how do you help these countries entrenched in crippling poverty and a corresponding social view: you don't. This is just my opinion, but I hold you help them economically, let the society develop, and let the dissidents within the state (i.e. the minorities!) to transform the state within.
sorry this turned into a ramble. But you get the point. Economy = root problem.
I agree with everything else you said, by the way.
ReplyDeleteThanks and I really appreciate your first comment. I have absolute no knowledge on anything regarding economical, political, and social issues, so I can only touch (or not touch at all) on things at a very basic level. I think the religion has a great impact too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you - how can people discuss cultural or civilization development (I don't think I'm using the right word here but I can't think of another word right now) if most are not even fed?
You know what Amy, I think it might be worth to examine, and develop this a little further. I've had some new thoughts on this I want to include. My first comment was too simplistic, I was too extreme.
ReplyDeleteI have a very marxist perspective of cultural history: all history is the history of class struggle, and thus economics is one of the most important factors in determining history.
However, I'm always in danger of wandering into something called 'vulgar marxism' which is essentially the view that economy determines social relations.
What is needed, is a more complex view of history, a more holistic view, which accomodates for an understanding of history as a result of social, political and economic systems. A good example of this is Aldo Rossi, who as a good socialist, interprets urbanism as based on a city's economic relationships, BUT also spends a lot of time discussing the genus loci, or the cultural zeitgeist. That is not only the quantitative aspects of urbanism, but also the qualitative aspects of the city: the social atmosphere, cultural trajectory.
So my new conclusion, is NOT that economy = root problem, but that: Society is this hideously complex organism where the economy is a dominant factor. Therefore, tolerance can only survive in a healthy economic, political climate, but, a healthy economic, political climate does not therefore mean tolerance!
There's an important idea that comes out of all this by the way. That if society is so complex and interdependant, it is beyond human means to understand and propose solutions to correct it.
ReplyDeleteThis is why, despite the fact I prescribe to a marxist analysis of world history, I don't subsribe to the marxist solution: massive government intervention to correct problems.