Iran is more accepting of Transsexualism than the 'christian' Right is

[ck4829]

"Someone has asked me to speak to some “special reports,” such as “A Gender Identity Disorder Goes Mainstream” produced by the alleged “Traditional Values Coalition” and sporting the nifty little byline stating that “Crossdressers, Transvestites, And Transgenders Become Militants in the Homosexual Revolution.” I disagree with the concept of this organization’s name since their actions are far from tradition that is of value to me. To me this “special report” and its author(s) are of no value, and assuredly not any traditional value to which I have ever been exposed.

...

The TVC report officially proclaims that “maleness and femaleness are in the DNA and unchangeable.” Evidently no one that wrote this special report worked on their intersex report, or they would know about 5-ARD, AIS, and other intersex conditions - or at least one would hope they do some research prior to bubbling up a special report on things unknown to their editorial staff. Perhaps they should all read “The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism,” May 2000, p. 2034-2041, Copyright 2000, The Endocrine Society, Vol. 85, No. 5, for a primer on the biological nature of medical transsexualism.

This TVC report actually states that those who “promote sex change operations are operating under the delusion that one’s gender is changeable.” Apparently the TVC has not examined the medical guidelines for gender reassignment. I would hardly call it “promoting” and I would not say that one’s gender is changed, but that the body is more properly aligned with the true gender."

But in Iran, transgendered individuals have been officially recognized by the government and allowed to undergo sex reassignment surgery.

http://www.ralliance.org/TVC_GID.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transsexual#Transsexualism_in_non-Western_cultures

So while the TVC includes Transgendered people in their vicious Hate Propaganda, Iran, an Islamic Theocracy openly accepts them.

The 'christian' Right could be seen as being even more RW when it comes to GLBT people than an Islamic Theocracy. Of course, I am not defending Iran, for it's stance toward gay people is harsh and unacceptable. But, if the 'christian' Right is truly even more Right Wing than Iran, I for one, would not want to see what will happen if groups such as the Traditional Values Coalition gain more power.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. This is another example

of the fact that things aren't black and white, but shades of grey.

[slampoet]

2. Islam has always been more accepting in SOME ways.

For instance in college I read a book that talked about how they made a determination of a child's gender in Medival islam when the genitals are "indeterminate". The only concern of the test was to make sure that the transgender person prayed in their proper place at worship services. The text the book refered to was from the 12-14th century (I think).

Similarly women's property rights before, during, and after marriage were also very progressive under early islam. Wasn't one of the Prophet's wives a sucessful merchant/business owner?

Birth control techniques were also in practice in medival islam. Birth control was illegal in the USA until the second half of the 20th century.

[Odin2005]

3. A Somali friend told me that the unprogressive things we associate with...

...Islam are really just pre-Islamic Arab customs given religious backing by later muslim theologians that was reinforced by a wave of conservatism that occured after the Caliphate collapsed.

[ck4829]

4. Khadija (One of the Prophet's wives)

Did own property and was a business owner.

My girlfriend (also a Somali and a Muslim) has some takes on the Issues that surprised me at first, but I am now relieved that she shares many of my takes on the issues. She is for equal rights for GLBT people, supports Birth Control, although not Abortion, and so on and so forth.