LGBT Marriage in Denmark

By: Alexandra Laforce

Edited by: Yacong Yuan

In most countries around the world, gay and lesbian partners are seeking the right to marry or, depending on the country, enter into other legally recognized forms of domestic partnerships. The definition of marriage is up for debate across the globe, but the trend to legalize same-sex marriage is spreading. Denmark was the first European country to extend legal rights to same-sex couples in 1989. The number of same sex marriages continues to increase in Denmark as shown in the graph below.

As of January 1^st, 2009 there were 10,073 persons in Denmark who were registered as partners.

On the Danish National Association for Gays and Lesbians web site, Stine Digens Helweg wrote, “Danes love to see themselves as an extremely liberal and open minded people, with an impressive and high profile in the welfare and human rights departments.” Per Methner Rasmussen, director for the University of Copenhagen Course in Danish Culture, also believes that Denmark is a pleasant place to be if you are looking for a same-sex partnership.

“It’s a nice country to be gay meaning that we actually have the possibility of people of the same sex having a matrimonial contract between them. I have a student that is a lesbian and it's no big deal,” he said. “You are not aloud to discriminate in public from a social perspective. You will always have people everywhere who will disapprove of certain type but I should say that the community in Denmark is quite liberal.”

Liberal enough to satisfy the homosexual community? Not entirely. While Denmark takes pride in initiating this spread and therefore may appear as a gay haven, most homosexuals agree there is more work to be done. “I am convinced that few Danish homosexuals are completely satisfied with status quo,” Helweg said. “But it is also a fact that many of us dissatisfied homosexuals disagree on the strategies on how to do the job that still lies ahead.”

The homosexual community is divided between celebrating its progress and fighting against the standardization of values based on heterosexual norms. There is a fear that the homosexual subculture will be lost. “It is a fight fought in the shadows of normality and conformity and not for variety and open-mindedness towards different values and different ways of living,” Helweg added.

Image from: DaveCullen.com

While extending rights to same-sex couples may not entirely satisfy the homosexual community, most Danish citizens agree that same-sex marriage and homosexuality are accepted because that is how the Danish are raised.

“We are known to be tolerant and accept most people the way they want to be. People here find pride in not being judgmental,” said Julian Plucnar Jacobsen, a Danish citizen from Solroed Strand. “Out of say 12 political parties, 2 or 3 would be against it but the majority of people would be for it. It is an on going process, but they are respected. They would rarely get comments in public and if you saw a couple kissing you wouldn’t say anything.”

Many other countries are following Denmark’s lead. Norway took similar action in 1993, followed by Sweden in 1995 and Iceland in 1996. Other nations expanded the rights of same-sex partners by granting certain statuses that avoided the term “marriage” by substituting terms such as civil unions or civil partnerships. The first country to legalize same-sex marriage was the Netherlands followed by Belgium in 2003, Spain and Canada in 2005, South Africa in 2006, and Norway just two years later.

In the U.S., the majority of states have Defense of Marriage Acts serving to ban same sex marriage by defining marriage as a union between man and woman. Across the country, activists are working to fight state bans with the argument that such bans violate equal-protection guarantees in state constitutions. In November 2003, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial ruled barring same-sex couples from marriage unconstitutional.

The Court stated, "Segregating same-sex unions from opposite-sex unions cannot possibly be held rationally to advance or preserve the governmental aim of encouraging stable adult relationships for the good of the individual and of the community, especially its children."

Under this decision, the state of Massachusetts began issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples in May 2004. Now, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and New Hampshireissue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Rhode Island and New York recognize same-sex marriages from other states, and New Jersey allows civil unions. However, gays and lesbians do not receive nearly the same amount of respect as those in Denmark.

“We need to deal with the reality of peoples lives, not how we want it to look,” says Director of the LGBT Center at Ohio University Mickey Hart. “It has really gone state to state. Even states that have benefits like California have now changed. It’s back and forth. This is a federal constitutional fight because we don’t have the time, energy, effort or money to go state by state. If we would have done state by state for civil rights we would still be working.”

While the people of Denmark think of themselves as the “most tolerant and most democratic,” Hart says the United States is not as willing to accept the rights of the LGBT community.

“I think we tend to be very bias and judgmental,” he said. “We tend to go through this process of denying people rights then looking back and asking how is that allowed to happen? Who were those people and what were they thinking? Well, we are those people.”

Rasmussen says it starts with the way gays and lesbians are covered in the media. For example, in the United States if a gay or lesbian politician was running for office that would be at the forefront of political debate. In Denmark, however, a personal decision such as a person’s sexuality is just that that.

“There was once a rumor about the last prime minister that she was bi-sexual, but it is not an issue and it never went to the newspapers because that is not what the Danish newspaper or people would do,” Rasmussen stated. “That is something the English papers will focus on but here that kind of information is not important to the political decision making process in general.”

Homosexuals not recognized in Iran, sex change operations legal

By Taylor Mirfendereski

In September 0f 2007 during his visit to New York, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad responded to a question from a Columbia University student about the execution of homosexuals in Iran by proclaiming that Iranian homosexuals simply do not exist.

“In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals like in your country,” he told the questioner. “In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I don’t know who’s told you that we have it.”

Several people have ridiculed President Ahmadinejad for his strong remarks, noting the absurdity of the idea that homosexuals exist everywhere in the world but Iran. Evidently, the confusion around his statement stems from the fact that Iranian homosexuals do not have legal rights. In Iran, homosexuals are subjected to punishment or execution. The Islamic penal code has a specific section about the punishments for homosexual “crimes.”

The Penal Code defines sodomy as “sexual intercourse with a male.” Article 110 states that the punishment for sodomy is death; it is the judge’s responsibility to decide how to carry out the killing. In the articles that follow, it clarifies that a mature man of sound mind who partakes in sodomy is subject to killing, where as an immature person will endure 74 lashes for the action.

Following the chapter about sodomy, the Penal Code discusses lesbianism. It defines lesbianism as the “homosexuality of women by genitals.” Article 129 states that the punishment for lesbianism is 100 lashes for each party. Another article adds that if the act of lesbianism is repeated three times and punishment is enforced each time, then the death sentence will be issued the fourth time.

In 2005, two teenage boys were publicly hung in Mash’had, Iran for the “crime” of homosexuality. According to a report from the Iranian Student News Association, the boys were interrogated and severely beaten in a prison for 14 months. They eventually admitted to having sex with each other and were killed.

To avoid torture and execution like the Mash’had boys, homosexuals in Iran are forced to keep their sexual identities in the closet.

“It’s not peaceful for [homosexuals in Iran]. They are living in a hard situation and their lives are at risk. They face legal and social problems but some have found out how to live an underground life,” Arsham Parsi, a homosexual Iranian said.

Jinos Sharifrazi, an attorney in Tehran, Iran, says that although partaking in homosexual acts is a crime in Iran, people commonly ignore the law. “Having a boyfriend or girlfriend in Iran is a crime, but most people still have them. Going to a party and drinking is a crime, but tons of people do it. Likewise, it is a crime to have sex with the same sex, but some do it anyway,” she said.

Parsi, from Shiraz, Iran says he knew he was gay when he was about nine years old and had sex with his male cousin. “I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I thought maybe I was sick, and probably had to go to the doctor, but I didn’t know which one to go to,” he said.

In an attempt to feel “normal.” Parsi tried to compensate for his differences through the Islamic religion.

“I prayed more to become a good person, a normal person. Most people prayed five times a day and I would pray ten. Other people fasted for two months and I would fast for four,” Parsi said.

At the age of 18, he fully realized his sexual orientation after receiving access to the Internet and conducting research about homosexuality. Two years later, in 2001, two of Parsi’s closest gay friends committed suicide because of the challenges they faced living in Iran as homosexuals.

“After my friends died, I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it and I didn’t have any websites, references or organizations to go to. It was so awful for me. I decided to do something for the next generation of people who were born gay,” Parsi said.

He founded the Iranian Queer Railroad, an online interest group for the homosexual, bisexual transsexual populations. He operated the website, made phone calls, conducted interviews and wrote letters under a false name. One day in 2005, Parsi received a voicemail and several emails from the Iranian government, who had become aware of his activity after tracing his Internet Protocol address and phone calls. He knew he had to leave immediately before being arrested or killed. On March 4, 2004, he fled from Iran to Turkey.

Some gay Iranians, like Parsi, make the decision to openly advocate for their homosexual rights. Other homosexuals who reside in Iran choose to go about their lives, hiding their sexual identities from the public. Another portion of Iranian homosexuals prefer to have sex changes.

Sex changes have been legal in Iran ever since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution, passed a religious decree, known as a fatwa, about 25 years ago and authorized the operations to “diagnosed transsexuals.”

Iranians who wish to go through the operation must contact Iran’s Ministry of Health. They are required to meet with a panel of psychologists whose primary job is to determine whether the person is a homosexual or transsexual. Once a person is deemed to be a “true” transsexual, they can proceed with the operation.

Parsi, still the director of the IRQR and now based in Canada, explained that Iranian homosexuals who seek sex change operations may attempt to find a way to make their psychologists diagnose them as transsexual.

“I have received about 45 reports of operations in Iran where the people [who seek or have had a sex change] are not really transgender. They are gay and only want to change their sexuality for a little bit of freedom,” he said.

Bahram Mirdjalali, one of Iran’s few gender reassignment surgeons, disagrees with Parsi. “[The high number of sex changes in Iran] has nothing to do with politics, religion or any other external factors. These people are not homosexual. They are just people who are basically trapped in the wrong body,” he said through an interpreter.

He added that he believes the people who undergo sex changes have a phobia against their own gender. “If they are technically male, they are not attracted to men. But once they have an operation and become a female, they become attracted to men,” Mirdjalali said.

Mirdjalali has performed more than 600 operations over the last 12 years. He said that in a European country like France, where he was trained, he would have carried out fewer than 80 transsexual operations over the same period. Aside from Thailand, Iran carries out more sex change operations than any other country.

Mirdjalali assisted with an Iranian study about the roots of the high number of those with gender identity disorders in Iran. The study concluded that women living near the war zone during the Iran-Iraq War with three to four month gestations had a higher rate of incidents of children being born with gender identity disorders than the average population.

He said that the entire sex change process is physically painful and emotionally draining for the patient, adding that it is crucial for the patient to have the support of his or her family and close friends. “I see people going through this very tough operation and difficult post operational procedures, but once I see them smiling, it gives me such great satisfaction,” Mirdjalali said.

The Iranian government used to make note of a person’s sex change on their birth certificate, but because of Mirdjalali’s efforts to change the policy, there is now no documented trace of the operation. The person’s new gender replaces the old on the birth certificate, making it easier for transsexuals to peacefully reemerge into society.

But even though sex changes receive legal recognition in Iran, this doesn’t always equate to social and political acceptance.

“[Transsexuals are not accepted in Iran. Everyone gossips about them. People—especially old people and traditional people—think that transsexuals are bad people or criminals,” Sharifrazi said.

Bijan, a resident in Tehran, who wished not to disclose his full name, has never seen a transsexual in Iran. He doesn’t deny their presence in the country, but instead thinks that the transsexual community avoids the public whenever possible to avoid humiliation from the generally unwelcoming Iranian crowd.

“It’s very unacceptable to be [transsexual] here. A lot of people keep hidden until they can leave the country. My friend’s son wanted a sex change, but waited until he left Iran to receive one. His father was always trying to keep him away from other people because he knew the others would make fun of him for his differences,” Bijan said.

Mirdjalali also notices a lack of tolerance towards those with gender identity disorders. “Traditional families are having a hard time accepting this concept that we are operating on their kids. I often have to talk longer hours with the father or mother of the patient. A lot of parents and family members do not want to recognize that these individuals are in need of help and have gender issues,” he said.

Parsi tries to encourage Iranian homosexuals to stop resorting to sex change operations as a means to be free. “[Gay and lesbians] who are going through this process are victims of ignorance. They usually don’t have any knowledge about their rights,” he said. “Suicide rates are very high after operations and many live in a pre-suicide type of depression.”

Through his organization, Parsi offers advice to Iranian homosexuals who consider going through the surgery. He asks them to share their particular situations and talks to them about their motive for wanting a sex change.

“[From the mind of a gay man considering a sex change,] the only way he thinks he can sleep with a man is to become a woman,” Parsi said. “But these people are not transgender. They are homosexuals. Society forces them to change their sex.”

Parsi, Mirdjalali and others may disagree about the reasons for such a high number of transsexuals in Iran, but it’s impossible to deny the existence of a homosexual population in a country of approximately 70 million people.