Why do males dance?

[Amulya]

The real question is, would the Iranian government fabricate criminal accusations and evidence, and if so, why?

Yes they do! It's a disgusting government.

[Recnadocir]

Right on Dipali and Amulya! In fact, I think it's time we opened up Mt. Rushmore and sent someone to pay them a little visit...

[Amulya]

Men, who dance, are viewed as gays.

It's like that in many countries, I wonder why. It's just silly to assume something just because someone dances.

[Aisha Azar]

Dear Rico and Group,
Before we go around solving everyone else's problems, we had better deal with our own as far as homophobia goes. I come from the land of the brave and the free, where we have the citizenry beating people to death, or tying them to a fence with barbed wire for being gay. Yeah, nice, big difference between us and Iran in that capacity. The government here also will not let you serve in the military or get marrried to your life partner, or be on your same sex partner's insurance, or be there at deathbed of the person who means the most to you in the world, if you are not married or related by blood. You all can just knock it off with the holier than thou attitude until we in this country, where things are supposed to be so wonderful, before you get critical of anyone else. Fix it here, then worry about Iran.
A'isha

[sultan]

The real question is, would the Iranian government fabricate criminal accusations and evidence, and if so, why?


I have to agree with A'isha in that we need not trouble ourselves too much over questions like those above. After all, the world is far more concerned over our own government's fabrication of alleged sightings of WMD that never existed except in the warped minds of war profiteers and those who seek to subvert world peace.

[Recnadocir]

Well, we are Team America, and we are the World Police!
America! _______yeah!
Whatcha gonna do, when we come for you!

Hey, ever notice how when those extremists are executing someone, they always cover their faces? Just like the Ku Klux Klan! Yippee!

[summerdance]

Dear Summerdance...
Homophobia exists everywhere, Gay men/women are killed or abused everywhere in this world ,I believe there are Christian groups in Western countries where they think homosexuality is a sin or mental problem. In the middle East the situation is more volatile as the middle eastern men somehow have to prove that they are masculine, Its the way their culture works. But I would say Gay men and gay intimacy exists and in big groups in some Arab countries. I heared its much easier to get a man for sex than a women there.
If you check Amnesty International reports you will see almost everywhere in this world minority groups suffer a lot. The following pictures are of two Iranian boys 18 and 19yrs who were hanged last year because they were caught having a sexual affair. I dread to think what a gay mans life would be like in the Middle east.
http://www.farisqc.observationdeck.o...es/hanging.jpg
http://myrtus.typepad.com/photos/unc...gayhanging.jpg

Dear Dipali,

I agree with that homosexuals are persecuted everywhere. In M. E. countries men are expected to be men and have sex with women. however, this does not mean that they suspect every male dancer of being gay. It's not accepted simply on the grounds that that is a womanly art form and men performing it( with exceptions being made for men who join a dancer on the floor with swords, canes etc as a Taheya(Greeting)

As to the stories out of Iran, I have not heard, but can believe anything of this government. By the way we cannot speak of Iran as an arab government. Iran is persian and the culture and language and even religion is different from actual arab countries. The religion is Shiite and even fundamental at that. they have bastardised one of them most tolerant and loving religions in the world. So please lets not lump all arab countries with Iran. That being said, yes, intolerance is everywhere and in the arab world, it is socially acceptable to be homophobic and look at gays as mentally ill and abnormal.

I agree with A'isha, before we send another army to another country to solve the world's problems, let's deal with theis country first.

[charity]

a'isha

i had imagined i would get reamed with insult for my post. thank you for answering my question so honestly.

[Aisha Azar]

a'isha

i had imagined i would get reamed with insult for my post. thank you for answering my question so honestly.

Dear
Charity,
I feel that an honest question deserves an honest answer!!

Reqards,
A'isha

[Tarik Sultan]

Bullshit alert! Bullshit allert!

Male dancers, homophobia, gay sex...Do I want to get into this Why the hell not!

Okay, so here's the deal. When it comes to dancing socially, for the most part there is no stigma. For people who live in the upper classes whose world view is more western, this is sometimes not the case. Many of these people view men who do any type of dancing as queer.

Where things get sticky is when it comes to the issue of dancing Oriental on stage. Its seen as woman's work and therefore, unsutable for a man. Which means the real issue here is MISOGENY, (spelling? oh well you know what I mean), yep that bitch we all love to hate, 'cause she hates women! Most people will automatically assume a guy who dances is gay, because they ignorantly think gay men want to be women. Therefore, if a guy is doing woman's work, he must want to be a woman. Just for the record, dancing is not the only thing that will brand a guy gay. 1. Wearing gold, 2. wearing shorts, 3. long hair, 4. getting a tatoo, 5. Not being married by a certain age, in fact doing anything out of "the norm".

This is why most male dancers tend to restrict themselves to doing Theater dance, (that shit ai'nt folklore and I wish people would stop calling it that...but that's another issue ). Funny thing is from my experience some of the biggest queens are in fact the so called Folk dancers. I know from one dancer, who performed in one of the well known troups, that rich men would visit the dancers backstage or after the show to make "appointments". So while the official view is that "folk Danceing" is tolerated, they are assumed to be available, or at least suspect.

There is no such thing as a gay lifestyle as we know it in the west, but that does not mean that there is no such thing as gay, or homosexual activity. Its there just as much as it is anywhere else. Everyone is expected to get married. It has nothing to do with love and affection, but social and familial duty. Just because a man is married, does not mean that he is faithful. Having a wife does not mean that he will not have relations with other women, or men, if that's his taste, on the side. However, its not the kind of thing they go shouting from the highest mountains. They are very discreat. Just as here in the USA, the vast majority of men who engage in same sex relations, are men who in fact live lives that on the surface are heterosexual.

As far as how repressive the governments are, on paper its illegal. How hard it is repressed depends on the country. I've been told that in the gulf, like Saudia people only get arrested if they piss of the wrong person. Mostly foriegners or people who are lower class are the most vulnerable to this. So my guess is those kids in Iran pissed off the wrong people because believe me there is plenty gay sex going on over there. For god sakes, they don't have girlfriends. What happens here in all male boarding schools and prisons? However, most homosexual activity, there, like here, does not mean that the individual has a gay identity, just like a guy who comes out of jail, they resume a heterosexual lifestyle one given the opportunity to do so. If you really want to know what's going on, just take the blinders off and take a good hard look at our society. People are all the same emotionally, what you see in Arabs is just a reflection of what we are also guilty of.

I know the tone of this post may seem...hostile and I'm sorry if I've offended anyone. Its just that I'm getting less and less tolerant of hypocricy and attempts at simplistic classifications that have nothing to do with truth, reality or logic. Okay, my brain, (as you can probably tell by the misspellings and typos), is turning to jelly. Speak later.

A'isha do I qualify for my BOB teeshirt, yet? I am trying