BBC2 9pm tonight:
"Tanaz Eshaghian investigates gender reassignment surgery in Iran — which is sanctioned by Islamic law, and sponsored by the government — with access to a clinic in Tehran. She follows a number of young men considering the operation and reveals the pressures that drive many to such extreme solutions."
Sounds good. You know though, when you've had SRS it doesn't actually seem "such an extreme solution".
Always interesting to see how other cultures and other governments handle these issues. I'll be watching.
xx

Lucy, Thanks for Highlighting this programme.
I'd spotted it myself in the listings, and was going to post a message about it myself, as I'm sure a lot of the girls would be interested in watching it, but you beat me to it!

Hopefully, it treats the subject constructively, and doesn't go for the usual, "tabloid" approach.

No doubt, we'll have a good discussion about it tomorrow ................. let's hope we can "compliment" it, and not, once again, find that it's gone for the "sensational" angle!

Hugs,
Angela.

I will be watching.

When you consider how women are treated there it would be a very big decision.

Girls,
Hopefully, a lot of you watched this programme last night.
I certainly did, and, afterwards, I don't know if I was more angry, sad, or totally confused!
Am I the only one who got the impression that, in reality, none of the girls were truely T/G?
It seemed to me, that they were, more, Gay men, who, to avoid the death-penalty, were having sex-change surgery, in order to be able to have sexual relationships with men.

All of the "interviewees" stated that they were extremely unhappy about the situations they were in, and that surgery was the ONLY option for them!
If they were found by one of the many police forces in Iran, to be gay, they could face the Death Penalty!
If they were stopped in the street by the Morality Police for wearing Female clothing, they would face imprisonment!
None of them struck me as "geniune" T/G's ..................... more like gay men trying to survive in a totally Homophobic country!
I think it was summed up by the comment by one of the people, just as "he" was about to have his SRS, when he was asked if he was happy about what was about to happen, and he replied that he wasn't, but that, in Iran, he had no choice!

So, I was saddened, because, here were people, it seemed to me, being "forced" to undergo SRS, just to "survive"!
I was angry, because, here was a Country, giving these people no other choice but to undergo SRS, as a means to "fulfil" their need for sexual relationships!
And I was confused, because, I was left wondering ............... Had I got the programme's message completely wrong!! ??

Well, that's my "interpretation" of the programme.
What did anyone else make of it?

Hugs,
Angela.

Hi Carren & Danique,

I'm glad that you agree that I hadn't mis-read the thinking behind this programme.

Out of interest, I've just been checking out a few other web-sites that might be discussing this programme' and they all seem to be of the same opinion ...................... that none of the people involved were T/G, and that they were all gay men, taking the only route available to them!

They all, also, highlight the fact that none of the people was happy after the SRS.
They all had social, family and financial problems.
All bar one had been totally disowned by their family, and none could find employment.
One had even gone into prostitution to earn a living, or as she called it, temporary marriages, as Prostitution is punishable by death in Iran, she would go through a form of marriage with a "client", and then go through it all again with someone else, an hour later!!

One other "thought" raised on one of the sites I checked out, ( an Irish LGBT ste), was that the reason that the Government were prepared to sponsor the treatment by 50%, was that, due to the extreme Homophobia in Iran, that this was a method to sterilize the gay community, and stop them "breeding more of their kind"!
Personally, I think this view is rather "extreme", but I thought it worth passing on, as it's an explanation put forward as to why, in a country not noted for it's tolerance, the Government should see fit to sponsor SRS to more or less anyone, on demand!!

Hope that sums up what's being said elsewhere about this.

Hugs,
Angela.

i just watched it. my gawd what a travisty! these poor people. it left me kind of empty. i noticed there was no aspect of therapy or interest on how these people felt. no support of any kind. the theme seemed to be "as long as the religious law is followed everything will be fine" but then considering "temporary marriages" they have built in so many loop holes it becomes a joke in the end anyway. no wonder they are all suicidal.

An amusing footnote to this programme:

TW members in Blighty apparently either don't take The Independant or,if they do,then they skip read the Television listings.According to the current issue of Private Eye,there was an amusing text-picture
juxtaposition in connection with this programme.Now,this may only have been a quirk of the page layout but
the plug for this programme was underneath a photo of..........................Maggie Thatcher!

It certainly makes you think!

Ciao,

Lynn H

Penny,
Your funny as hell!!!
I so injoy reading your comments, "leggin it in the other direction" and "No wonder they are suicidal". They say simplicity is the hallmark of genius, and you seem to convey your message in short burst of witt and irony with oh so few words. Thanks for the contributions

Susan