Iran is rapidly becoming the home to the Middle East’s latest sexual revolution, where women flout laws to date men they won’t marry, where drugs and sexual affairs coexist. DigitalJournal.com spoke to author Pardis Mahdavi about the erotica behind Iran.
You might know Iran as part of the “axis of evil.” Or as the target of worldwide condemnation for their supposed nuclear powers. Or perhaps Iran is winning headlines because of the strict laws touted by its elders, such as a court sentencing a man to be blinded acid.
But behind the public image broadcast to the West, a new trend is seething beneath Iran’s veneer. Sexuality, drugs, alcohol and rebellion have become the main entrees on the plates of Iranian youth. Author Pardis Mahdavi covered this tidal change in her recent book Passionate Uprisings: Iran’s Sexual Revolution, tracking dozens of interview subjects through their lives in Tehran and beyond.
Iranians don’t want a closed society any more, Mahdavi told DigitalJournal.com in an interview. In the book, she writes, “Through discussions in schools, underground music, and popular Web sites maintained by young Iranians, young adults throughout the country are calling for a more open dialogue about issues pertaining to sexuality.”
As related in Passionate Uprisings, classes on adult sex-education are teaching Iranians about STDs and birth control, areas that used to be off-limits. More teens are risking make-out sessions in cars, for instance, even if they get caught and whipped. It’s an act of rebelling against the regime.
Mahdavi spoke to DigitalJournal.com about female empowerment in Iran, the car as an escape for sexually active youth and how homosexual relationships have changed in the Middle East country.
DigitalJournal.com: You interviewed someone who said things are better in Iran if you’re a man. That’s the case in many Western nations too, but how pronounced is that difference in Iran?
Pardis Mahdavi: Women in Iran have achieved serious gains. The numbers say 60 to 65 per cent of university graduates are women. They are not meek at all, but they still face higher unemployment rates.
Then there’s moral regulations such as head coverings. Fashion has an intellectual architecture. Many of them say half reason why they wear this much makeup is to push the envelope, because these are signals that the regime hears. Rebelling through fashion allows women to show their frustration, to do something as a way of getting back at Iranian authorities.
DJ: The car culture in Iran fascinating — numbers being passed through windows, living adventurously through their cars. What role does the vehicle play in courtship and flirting?
Mahdavi: The kids see the car as a little bubble of privacy. They play loud non-Islamic music, they flirt and pass phone numbers through windows. Some substance use happens in the car too. It provides an escape route if they get caught.
Iranian youth are not always looking for long-term relationships. They might want someone to pass the afternoon with. But there is an underlying fear of families or police catching them in the act, so the car becomes key to their relationship.
DJ: What about homosexual relationships? How have attitudes changed about those unions?
Mahdavi: Iran has long history of fluidity of sexuality. Men kiss each other on both cheeks, and that’s OK. It’s very American to ask an Iranian if she’s hetero or homosexual. They don’t want to be put into boxes. She might say, “I’m just sexual. Yes, I’m married, but I still engage in same-sex behavior. I love my female friends, I have same-sex friendships, and do I sometimes get physical? Yes, but it’s just an extension of our love.”
DJ: In the book, your friend told you, “You may not be able to return [to Iran] once you leave.” Is that still the case?
Mahdavi: I don’t know if it’s risky. The most interesting thing about Iran is its unpredictability. You never know what is OK or what won’t be. I’m waiting to see the outcome of Obama’s first term of presidency to determine how the Middle East reacts to him.
