As a blogger, Ahmed’s story was very inspiring, but at the same time I felt great pain when I listened to Ahmed telling it to me and when I was writing it, as it summarizes the amount of suffering that trans people in Iraq go through. Ahmed is an eighteen-year-old Iraqi trans man, and despite his young age, he has been through many difficult experiences and traumas. What makes me happy is that Ahmed is still among us and is still trying his best to emerge from this war that his family and the Iraqi society started against him.
Ahmed discovered his sexuality and desire to become a male at the age of thirteen so he began to change his appearance and style, but that was also the point where he began to suffer from psychological problems, which is why he decided to seek help from a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist explained to Ahmed that feeling that he is a male in a female body does not mean he suffers from any mental problems or any disease, but rather that he was merely born into a body in which he does not feel comfortable and does not express what is inside him. The positive thing was the psychiatrist’s positive response to Ahmed’s words, which made Ahmed explain his situation very clearly. After meeting with the psychiatrist, Ahmed’s mother attacked him and argued with him which pushed him to take all the depression pills he was using to combat his suicidal and negative thoughts at once and attempt suicide. Even after that incident, his mother did not stop attacking Ahmed despite his bad health condition. Ahmed’s father, on the other side, was not any better than the mother. Ahmed was abused and harassed by his father constantly. Ahmed had reached a difficult stage of depression, where he no longer felt any emotions, which is why he used to smoke and turn off the cigarettes on his skin. In an attempt to fix him, his parents took him to some witches where he got accused of being possessed by jinn and that he had to try to become closer to god and wear an abaya . His parents continued taking him to doctors here and there to find medication to fix him. Ahmed was forbidden from using his phone thus he lost his connection with the world. He was given his medication by his parents and forced to swallow them in front of them without knowing what type of medication he was given. After a while, Ahmed discovered that the medication he was forced to take was schizophrenia medication. Ahmed's life went from bad to worse when his parents got divorced. Ahmed felt very uncomfortable in his father's house because his father was constantly harassing him and his mother did not want to host him in her house. Even after the divorce, his parents were determined to get rid of Ahmed by forcing him to get married. When Ahmed reached the point of despair again, he attempted suicide for the second time by throwing himself from his parents' apartment after a huge fight between him and his parents. After falling to the ground, Ahmed suffered from injuries, but he got up and started walking away from his parents, who previously tried to lock him inside the apartment. Ahmed's mother is a woman of influence and power in the Kurdish regions of Iraq, and his father is of power and influence in the Arab regions of Iraq, and for this reason Ahmed had to be very careful about where to hide. Ahmed's presence in Iraq in general was a severe threat to his life but he had no way to leave the country. After all the fear and suffering, Ahmed decided never to return to his parents so he began searching for a job here and there to afford the costs of living. Ahmed worked in several places, and whenever work posed a threat to his life due to his identity, he would leave and go somewhere else in search of another work opportunity. Ahmed started working in a new place when he noticed the presence of a man at his workplace coming from time to time. The man once broke his silence and offered to adopt Ahmed as he was under the legal age. The man explained to Ahmed that he was not married and had no children and would like to adopt Ahmed and introduce him to his family. The first period was a good stage between the two, as Ahmed met the man's family and started living in his house. This good phase did not last long, as the man began harassing Ahmed until the matter between them ended up in a big fight and violence which led to Ahmed leaving the house. In short, Ahmed's entire life is made up of anxiety, suffering, and fear. Ahmed was never able to feel safe sleeping at night, walk safely in the street, or change his clothes in complete comfort without worrying about being harassed. His work was never stable and he was forced to move from one job to another due to transphobia. Ahmed was always forced to work in small, close-minded places and areas because working there did not require any documents. Ahmed only had his old documents before his transition as the Iraqi government does not give trans people any documents. Hehe tried to apply for new documents with the help of a lawyer, but no good results came out of that. even though Ahmed has not yet entered his twenties, he has lived through a tremendous amount of misery and fear. A person like Ahmed, with his courage and patience, cannot and will not be beaten by the Iraqi society.
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Many people complain that Netflix has gone too far by adding many queer characters to its shows in the past few years. Some people - who are homophobic but consider themselves not to be so, complain that they are no longer able to watch a show with their families or suggest a show to their friends without worrying about being judged for watching a show that includes queer characters. Some of these people might not be questioned about their sexuality but they would still feel the shame and judgment inside their head from others.
Here is some bad news for you. If you feel worried about being called gay, you are probably homophobic since you consider being gay an insult. Now here is our question, are not we all tired of watching only heterosexuals on our screens? have not we all been introduced to this specific category since FOREVER! Romeo and Juliet, Jack and Rose, Troy and Gabriella, and the list goes on and on. How about we try to make our shows more realistic by introducing homosexuals, trans people, feminists, childfree women, feminine men, masculine women, and more of whom we have been forced not to show on TV or talk about in books or sing about in songs. Why should all the big and famous romantic characters be heterosexual? And why is Netflix being thrown with rocks for trying to give more space to people who have been able just recently to prove their existence. We are here to remind you that no show that was based on a heterosexual love story was ever referred to as “just for heterosexuals”. All of us, even the gayest people on earth, grew up watching romance being represented by heterosexuals while lust got attached to the queer community. Although we all grew up with almost no access to any shows or songs or pieces of art that refer to us or represent us, we are still queer and we still know who we are and we are sure about who we want to be with. Let us imagine how happy our kids and grandkids are going to be when they grow up in households where they bring the subject of homosexuality without being ashamed or turn on the TV to watch two men kissing and instead of changing the channel or turning off the TV they give that sweet scene a big smile and continue watching. It sounds nice just to say it now so imagine how nice it would be for it to happen in real life in a country such as Iraq. Domestic violence in Iraq a common issue which is usually practiced by men towards their women or their children. The violence doesn’t stop with the abusive father or husband but rather it passes from one generation to another as the children who got abused sometimes grow up to become abuse their own children or wives in the future.
According to a report issued by UNICEF, about 90% of children between the ages of one and fourteen years in Iraq are exposed to violence in various forms, in addition to a high percentage of women who are exposed to threats and death by their family or husband. This blog focuses on how abuse can change the romantic choices of bisexual Iraqi women and here we ask the following question to our readers, do you think that the abuse the bisexual women get exposed to has a serious effect on their view of men and their romantic lives? IraQueer is happy to hear your answer about this. Iraqi women who have bee directly exposed to violence during their childhood, or those who grew up in unstable homes where their mothers or older sisters were exposed to it, have a greater tendency, as they grow older, to be involved in unhealthy relationships with toxic men, compared to those who lived a stable childhood. Lamis says, "I grew up in a house where love never existed. My father was harsh and violent, and he liked giving orders to me, my siblings, and my mother about everything and if we complained, we would be beaten up and humiliated. I lived like this my whole childhood, adolescence, and several years of my twenties. My father was the first man I knew in my life and seeing him act the way he did affected the way I look at all the other men. As a bisexual, I tend to be more romantically attracted to men than to women, but my love life with men has always been a disaster. Whenever a man approaches me, I get stressed because my mind and body have always related interactions with men with cruelty, violence, and hurtful words. For that I see myself unable even nowadays to find a male partner who I can feel good with. Whenever I get a chance to get close to a guy, my subconscious mind reminds me of the bad memories and the story ends with me walking away. I don't mean to act cold or moody, but I'm just afraid, actually, I’m terrified I have not gotten enough love from men, and I do not know if I will ever be able to fight my fear ad experience a healthy relationship with a man. One thing I know for sure is that I will never accept to be treated the same way my father treated my mother. Being exposed to violence is not going to change your sexuality, but it might stop you from building healthy relationships with the ones you are attracted to. I have a long way ahead of me to learn to trust men and believe there are good ones out there and that I have the chance to be with one of them. I have to believe that my father is not the best example of what a man could be and that he does not represent all men. We all deserve to heal from the pain we were exposed to and we deserve to ourselves the right and freedom to choose those who respect us and love us exactly the way we are" Kali, who is an Iraqi activist from the LGBT+ community, has been living abroad after struggling with homophobia for years and finally making a decision to leave. He visits Iraq every now and then but his last visit, which was recent, has been completely different than his other visits. He explains to us how homophobic and dangerous the environment has become in Iraq in a matter of months. All Iraqis from the community know by now that the Iraqi government has been trying hard to pass a law for criminalizing homosexuality. Although it has not been official, the government has in fact started practicing it and Kali is here to describe what he experienced in his last visit. As someone who is used to visit Iraq from time to time, how do you find the situation different this visit compared to the situation in your previous visits? The situation for those who work as activists is really hard. I’m connected to many people working for the LGBT+ community and also other people working for women’s rights in feminist organizations. They all agreed that even though the Law of criminalizing LGBT+ activist has not been passed, but in fact, it is being practiced on the ground, and most of who I know are being questioned when the police or security forces know they have an activity on the subjects mentioned. Did you face any difficulties in the Iraqi airport when you entered or left the country? No, I did not have any problem entering the airport. My gender expression is not very different from what is known in the Iraqi society as normal so I don’t face this kind of problems often, but so many of my friends have told me about how they were investigated in the airport. I personally was bothered by checkpoints between cities because I looked modern as they said. How do you think the recent changes have affected your LGBT+ friends who live in Iraq? As I said, my friends have been questioned, arrested and threatened because of being involved in queer activism. The community today is very vulnerable, and the risk of being arrested, killed, or tortured is higher than ever and working in activism has higher negative consequences. Can you describe us your feelings of anxiety during your last visit? Honestly, I never felt this way in Iraq before. I have had lots of issues with different people trying to attack me or trying to threaten me because of my mentality and my work but I never felt unsafe in a public space where there are so many people around with different genders, and backgrounds. This time, however, I felt the community members being watched, but maybe that’s just me feeling wrong because in Iraq things change between a day and a night. What are the some things you will be more careful with in your future visits to Iraq? I think in my next visit, I will make sure that I don’t express my gender in a public space or in a space where I feel that it’s not safe enough for me to do so and I will make sure that I also communicate with people I trust about this kind of subjects. I still can’t have fun in my own way and work as well but I need to be more careful generally and try to reach out to those who know more. What do you advise LGBT+ members who live in Iraq to be careful of? I would advise all my friends and my peers in Iraq to also be careful when it comes to gender expression. I’m not saying to look yourself down, you can still express yourself but just know the right time and place for that and also try to find peers like yourself maybe to share your feelings with because that always helps you create your own circles, and be basically be more secure. What is Monkey Pox?
COVID pandemic has only ended a while ago when social media sites and news channels began spreading news about Monkey Pox so what is Monkey Pox? Monkey Pox is one of the contagious diseases which means it can get transferred from one person to another and some of its symptoms could be headaches, high body temperature and muscle pain, followed by blisters appearing all over the body. Currently, there is no cure or vaccine for Monkey Pox, but in most cases a person who suffers from it recovers without medications after two to three weeks of being infected. Monkey Pox can be transferred between people during sex whether that was oral, anal, viganal sex, therefore it could get transferred between heterosexuals or homosexuals. Hugging, kissing, and touching the infected person could also transfer the disease. Other than that it could be transferred from the mother to her child during pregnancy or by mixing the blood of a person who suffers from it and another who is healthy. Everyone regardless of their age and sexual practices can get infected it and transfer it to another person. Monkey Pox disease is not new and definitely didn’t start because of homosexual sex which is exactly the opposite of what has been reported by some news and what is supported and believed by some people. According to the World Health Organization, the disease first began in the seventies and the first infection was when a nine-year-old boy had a close contact with animal fluids and thus began to be transmitted between humans until it was under control at that time. Back then the disease spread in ten African countries but later was stopped. Why do people blame Monkey Pox on gay men? Monkey Pox started spreading again during this year, and some people in several countries have linked it to homosexual sex this time, due to the high percentage of infections among homosexuals compared to the percentage of infections among heterosexuals. The start of the attack against homosexuals was when two homosexual men in two different countries in Europe were reported to be infected. That is when the blame was directly placed on gay and on bisexual men who mostly have sex with people from the same gender. This opened the space for homophobic people to attack gay and bisexual men and use this disease as a reason to frighten and criticize LGBT+ people. This situation is similar to what happened during the spread of AIDS, which was considered by some as a punishment from God to homosexual people. What about gay and bisexual men in Iraq? As usual, homosexuals in Iraq also have been criticized and threatened as Monkey Pox started spreading. Muqtada al-Sadr, an Islamic man and the leader of the Sadrist movement in Iraq, announced through his Twitter account that Monkey Pox is nothing but a punishment from God to homosexuals, and he called on them to change and fix themselves. Muqtada al-Sadr also pointed out the importance of having a special day against homosexuality as a way to stand against LGBT+ people in Iraq. These false news that have gotten spread between people can make a lot damage to the Iraqi LGBT+ community. If a person gets infected, even if they were not from the LGBT+ community plus not infected due to sexual practices, can get accused of being gay. People are not ready to enter into a new cycle of fear and anxiety like the one caused by COVID. That pandemic alone put many LGBT+ people in dangerous situations as they were subjected to a lot of physical and/or emotional abuse along with a lot of isolation. Based on the horrible experience, we say, what if the existence and spread of Monkey Pox is all now blamed on LGBT+ people? Rudaw News Agency published yesterday that the Kurdish Parliament is planning inside the parliament to legislate a law prohibiting homosexuality in Iraq and banning any kind of activity “promoting” queer community rights. The draft of the anti – LGBT+ legislation was submitted yesterday – The 4th of September 2022 and 50+ signatures were already collected.
The proposed law entails two parts: 1. Prosecution for up to one month minimum and a year maximum of queer activists and organizations. 2. A fine of minimum 500K IQD and maximum 5M IQD for anyone breaking the law. This proposed law constitutes another attack by Iraqi officials- this time the Kurdish ones- on the LGBT+ community. For nearly two decades, LGBT+ Iraqis have been the victims of rape, torture, and murder. The Iraqi and Kurdish governments did not only fail to put an end to these crimes but has actually committed many of them through police forces and armed groups. Kurdish officials have always advocated for Kurdistan region as a relatively safer environment for LGBT+ people and label Kurdish region as more progressive than the rest of Iraq, yet such laws are being drafted and voted on in the parliament. The passage of this law will put LGBT+ Iraqis generally and Kurdish LGBT+ member specifically at great danger as it will allow the government to be legally protected when committing these crimes against the community. Such a law will also put LGBT+ advocates and allies in danger reducing the already limited spaces available to LGBT+ advocacy inside Iraq and threatening the young queer movement in Iraq. It will also leave the community members with no choice but to seek immigration. The lives of LGBT+ Iraqis and especially the Kurdish ones are on the line. We call on allies in the Kurdish government and the international community to act immediately. We urge the international community including the United Nations, European Union, Embassies, and International Organizations to put pressure on Iraqi Kurdistan government to refrain from passing this law. We also call on Iraqi LGBT+ people and all Kurdish activists to join the fight for queer rights in Iraq. IraQueer is dedicated to advocating for LGBT+ Iraqis and we need to step up as a community to fight these attacks. If you have questions, please reach out to: hello@iraqueer.org In Solidarity, IraQueer Team What is the idea of dating apps?
Dating apps seem like good tools for people who are interested in dating and relationships. These apps ease the whole process of looking for a partner. They are good for shy people who usually are terrified of making the first move and they are a fast way to connect to other people and decide whether or not to spend more time with them. Tinder might be the most popular dating app, but there are other apps too such as Bumble, Her, Grindr and many more. Some of these apps are available to heterosexuals as well as to members of the queer community while some others are used exclusively by the queer individuals and are considered their private space. The danger that surrounds the Iraqi queers who use dating apps? Queers in Iraq are exposed to a greater danger if they use dating apps compared to heterosexuals. If your sexuality and preferences are mentioned in your bio and one of your friends or relatives finds your account, you will be in a big trouble. The majority of teenagers and adults living in Iraq who use dating apps do not feel fully comfortable using them and the fear becomes even more if they were members of the queer community. That is why, many people tend to put fake profile pictures or give wrong location until they spend some time knowing the people they are talking to. Kareem is a queer person from Iraq and he comes to tell us about his personal experience with dating apps. Kareem says that he started using dating apps about ten years ago, and he has been using various types of apps since then including Grindr, Hornet and Tinder. He explains, “From my point of view, I see that some of these apps are helpful so I use them when I’m bored to get to meet new people. Sometimes, I end up making new friends with the people I talk with on these apps so we share our Instagram accounts and we stay in touch. As an Iraqi who lives inside the country, I say that it’s pretty scary to fully show yourself and be yourself on dating apps. You always have to keep a little bit of you hidden until you fully understand what kind of person you are dealing with. If you ask for my advice, then I ask everyone is to stay away from Grindr because it has an extremely toxic environment. The majority of its users are judgmental and they are obsessed with criticizing each other. Hearing criticism over and over again will affect your mental health negatively and makes you hate how you look and how you feel about yourself. Personally, I think that Tinder is one of the best applications that queer people can use in Iraq. Although it is not exclusive for the queer community, but you can still make it as queer as possible through the app settings as you can choose “females only” or “males only” to avoid any encounter with heterosexuals. My advice to everyone, no matter what city you live in, is to not go out on a date with someone who you do not know much about. First, you need to spend some time trying to understand their mentality and their view of the queer community. Only then, you can think of taking the next step. Just because you exchanged Instagram accounts or Facebook accounts or talked for a while, doesn't mean that you can trust them. People can be really different in real life compared to how they look like online. I made such a mistake when I matched with a guy on a dating app a while ago, I added him on Instagram and we talked for a month. I thought a month was enough for me to know him well so I went out with him on a date. I was shocked because the guy was completely different from the person I spoke to on the app. He turned out to be a homophobe even though he was a member of the queer community. He kept telling me how I deserve to be killed for being queer and for supporting the queer community. That experience was terrifying and helped me learn a good lesson. That is why I advise you to be careful because dating apps are available to everyone so you can’t reveal the whole truth of a person through them.” Iraq does not believe in the idea of dating apps Iraq is still considered a conservative country so Iraqis who live in it are still unable to express themselves freely. They are still controlled by their family, tribe, and religion. All these can end anyone's life at any moment. Up to this day, even heterosexuals can’t use dating apps openly. They won’t even find support from their families if they got into a problem with someone they met on dating apps. It’s even harder for members of the queer community to solve any problems related to dating apps and that’s why being extra careful is the best thing to do. Different people have different opinions about dating apps as some think they are totally healthy and helpful in finding good partners while others think of them as means for entertainment or even free spaces for criticism. Dating apps come with some risks that IraQueer likes to shortly mention for the sake of educating people. Some people tend to use dating apps to get information about other users then end up blackmailing them. This alone can put people’s lives in huge danger. Also, dating apps are one reason that pushes people to be shallower by teaching them how to judge other by their looks only. One other risk of using dating apps could be the risk of developing depression and having low self-esteem as a consequence of hearing bad judgments from strangers over and over. In the end, it is up to the individuals. They are free to choose whether to use dating apps or avoid them. IraqQueer cares about the safety of the queer community, and for this we advise you to think carefully before talking about your orientation with people you meet on these apps. Avoid giving full confidence to anyone and make sure to not meet them unless you have enough information and understand of who they really are. The Iraq News Agency published today that the Iraqi Parliament’s legal committee is organizing a movement inside the parliament to legislate a law prohibiting homosexuality in Iraq and banning any kind of activity related to the queer community. Individuals like Muqtada Al Sader tweeted earlier a proposal for a day dedicated to fight against homosexuality. Official legal experts claimed that a 2001 law punishes homosexuality with death penalty. This proposed law constitutes another attack by Iraqi officials on the LGBT+ community. For nearly two decades, LGBT+ Iraqis have been the victims of rape, torture, and murder. The Iraqi government did not only fail to put an end to these crimes but has actually committed many of them through police forces and armed groups. Iraqi officials have continuously used LGBT+ people to spread fear amongst Iraqis and distract them from the real problems facing Iraq including the failure to form a government and the failure to provide the most basic services for Iraqis. The passage of this law will put LGBT+ Iraqis at great danger as it will allow the Iraqi government and armed groups to be legally protected when committing these crimes. Such a law will also put LGBT+ advocates and allies in danger reducing the already limited spaces available to LGBT+ advocacy inside Iraq and threatening the young queer movement in Iraq. The lives of LGBT+ Iraqis are on the line. We call on allies in the Iraqi government and the international community to act immediately. We urge the international community including the United Nations, European Union, Embassies, and International Organizations to put pressure on Iraq to refrain from passing this law. We also call on Iraqi LGBT+ people to join the fight for queer rights in Iraq. IraQueer is dedicated to advocating for LGBT+ Iraqis and we need to step up as a community to fight these attacks. If you have questions, please reach out to: hello@iraqueer.org In Solidarity, IraQueer Team.
A few days ago, the University of Kufa announced that its College of Engineering held a seminar under the title “The Psychological Impact of Homosexuality on The Student in The Academic Behavior” as a way to remind mothers and fathers who attended the seminar about the importance of keeping their kids away from any websites, applications, and cartoons that include the topic of homosexuality, or as called in some parts of the news “Deviation”. As it is mentioned in the seminar, homosexuality is a soft war against our societies specifically the Muslim ones.
How do children and teenagers in Iraq learn about homosexuality? It is important to point out that Iraqi educational system lacks the educational curricula that discuss the topic of homosexuality in a scientific manner. Also, our educational centers lack the teachers who can respond to their student’s questions about such topic properly. So how do children and teenagers learn about homosexuality? Most often, children and teenagers learn about homosexuality through warnings and intimidations of their mothers and fathers. A result of that would be creating a negative picture about homosexuality and about the word itself. This is why we see that some children, teenagers, and even adults, in some cases, use the word "homosexual" as a way to offend each other and express the existence of a problem or an illness. Another way for children and teenagers to learn about homosexuality is through their electronic devices. We all see the huge numbers of children who walk around carrying electronic devices through which they are able to watch hundreds of videos, read posts, and follow certain individuals who might teach them wrong information on topics such as sex, homosexuality, and others. Unfortunately, many are now learning about sex through pornography and about homosexuality through social media accounts that distort the image of the LGBT+ community and directly link homosexuality with moral decay. The hatred that children learn to hold against homosexuality and homosexuals does not go away. As these kids grow older, their desire to express that hatred grow with them and push them to look for any opportunity to express it. The problem is that some of them end up realizing that the closest people to them are from the LGBT+ community. Perhaps their brothers, sisters, or closest friends are gay. Or even worse, these children might grow older and realize that they are gay and that is when they start hating themselves or fearing that someone knows about them. How come our educational centers in Iraq divide science into two parts, one that it teaches to students with pride, and one that it associates with moral decay? There is a great number of universities in Iraq that include various university departments and specializations from which teachers, engineers, doctors, nurses and many others graduate every year. The curricula in these educational centers are based on purely scientific foundations and laws that came from experiences, research and studies. The question is, how can universities that believe in science refuse the fact that homosexuality is scientifically proven to not be a mental illness? What is the difference between someone who argues that one plus one equals three and someone who says homosexuality is an illness!? Linking homosexuality to genes, environment and psychological state is not based on any scientific basis and spreading wrong information among students only makes things worse. What if the son, daughter, relative of one the speakers or attendees is an LGBT+ person? LGBT+ people are literally everywhere as they are members of the Iraqi families. We often don't think about it this way because we don't hear about their numbers and we all know why, it's impossible for LGBT+ people to show themselves in public when their lives are in danger. How do you imagine that the daughters and sons of attendees or speakers would feel if they were LGBT+? How much fear do you think they carry knowing that their mothers and fathers are the ones who spread hatred against them and urge others to hurt them? What are the risks of holding seminars like this in Iraq? Iraq suffers from countless problems. Therefore, holding such seminars that spread hatred does not make things any better in the country. Iraqi fathers and mothers need to educate themselves about homosexuality by depending on scientific facts, and they need to learn to accept differences and accept different points of view, because they will not be able to raise happy and open-minded generation if they are not able to accept their own kids as they are. Iraq needs mothers and fathers who give unconditional love to their kids and encourage them to be proud of themselves. The internet, magazines, newspapers, TV, and radio are all media means that aim to communicate with a specific audience. Iraq, like other countries around the world, uses these means to convey news to the Iraqi citizens..... Our question is, to what extent can we rely on the media and its news in a country like Iraq?
In one way or another, media affects our views as well as our opinion about our lives and the lives of others around us. Media, also, changes our level of acceptance or rejection of certain events that take place inside and outside the country. Plus, it constantly changes the angle in which we look at what is around us and perhaps sometimes makes us become extremists as we reject any differences that we notice. Constant exposure to content that imposes negative opinions about a group of people often increases the likelihood of spreading hatred against them and this is exactly what the Iraqi media has been doing against the Iraqi LGBT+ community. Imagine that the media can persuade women to use a specific face cream or men to choose a razor from a particular company by constantly sharing advertisements that either speak positively about a product of a particular company or speak negatively about a product of another company. The situation gets worse as we realize that media affects not only what we want to buy, but also things that have a greater impact on our lives and the lives of those around us, such as sexual orientation, religion, political tendencies and many more. An important point to mention is that not all the information we get from the media is wrong but we have to be careful when choosing our source of information to avoid forming wrong opinions. Does the Iraqi media address the subject of homosexuality and the LGBT+ community? Iraqi media gives full space and freedom to anyone who wants to speak negatively about the LGBT+ community even without providing any supervision to determine whether the information being published is true in the first place. We all can see that it’s easy in Iraq to spread rumors about the LGBT+ community but it is difficult to defend the community and to correct the wrong ideas that are already spread about it. While haters are free to say what they want to say about the LGBT+ community, those who want to defend and help the community end up being threatened, insulted, or even dead. One of the ways in which the Iraqi media negatively affects the Iraqi LGBT+ community is by spreading misconceptions that have no scientific basis. One of the worst misconceptions against the LGBT+ community is that sexual orientation can be changed and controlled. In other words, a gay man who is attracted to men chooses to be like that, and if he had morals, he would have chosen to be attracted to women. For this reason, we see that many of the LGBT+ individuals are blamed and forced to change. Other than that, the Iraqi media uses harsh and disrespectful words to refer to the LGBT+ community, which in turn makes it normal and acceptable to offend the members of the community. The Iraqi media visualizes the LGBT+ community in a negative way and spreads hate speech. Doing that does not only normalize violence and hatred against LGBT+ people but also teaches Iraqis that it is necessary to kill or violate any LGBT+ person. In addition, the Iraqi media often associates sexual orientation and the LGBT+ community with topics of pedophilia or with prostitution and moral decay. Doing that creates an image in people's minds that LGBT+ people have sexual obsession and that all their relationships happen to fulfill their sexual needs but never based on love. That could be a reason why most mothers and fathers reject their LGBT+ daughters and sons and they go ahead to either kill them or force them to get married. As we mentioned previously, frequent exposure to the news that carry a huge amount of hatred against the LGBT+ community in addition to the lack of freedom given to organizations and activists to raise awareness about sexual orientation leads to having generations that think of violence as a way to save the Iraqi morals and values. Understanding what sexual orientation and gender identity mean as well as understanding the meaning of human rights and freedoms can contribute to reducing cases of violence, suicides, and forced marriage. Iraqi parents, Iraqi schools, and Iraqi media may not support homosexuality or the freedom of choice but let’s keep in mind that the Internet makes it easier for us to educate ourselves and understand such topics in a scientific and correct way. Reading and spreading awareness by relying on trusted sources can make a huge positive impact on our Iraqi mentality. |