# Are Iran And Egypt The World's Most Gay-Friendly Cultures? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 30, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420 "2009-11-30T02:39:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/41 "2009-12-01T03:35:48Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Some cultures deny that there are any gay people in their country. After living there for 5 years, I would say that is an accurate description of Egypt. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/42 "2009-12-01T05:20:33Z")
FWIW, I had a friend who taught in Dubai, and he described gender-separated wedding parties and ample experimentation among young men, ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/43 "2009-12-01T05:28:16Z")
I’m sure there was. It seems to me there are two issues to be discussed here. One is the attitude towards homosexuality in Egypt and Iran. The other is how exactly those statistics wound up being so skewed. I think there is no way those statistics are not somehow in error. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/44 "2009-12-01T06:23:13Z")
I know a dude who is an old fashioned racist. Currently he hates “rag-heads”,:rolleyes: but a couple decades ago, he wouldn’t have even thought of one as a possible neighbor. Flawed survey. Iran is pretty much one of the least gay tolerant nations in the world. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/45 "2009-12-01T07:20:51Z")
> [@2ply](#): > > I wouldn’t say the Hijars aren’t very respected in South Asia. They face a great deal of discrimination and violence. I suppose one could say the Hijars are respected in India like indiginous people are respected in the United States; people may think they’re cool and interesting and all, but they still face a ton of poverty and discrimination. There has been a rash of Supreme Court cases in Pakistan recently relating to Hijra rights, which has culminated in the Federal Government agreeing to set up a body to improve their situation. A _Khothi_, I have no clue, the word _Khoti_ means a female donkey. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/46 "2009-12-01T07:23:35Z")
Again, here I would like to pose a question to naysayers, do you have any first hand knowledge of any of the countrys opinions on Homosexuals to make such a judgement? Seem Dopers are also as capable of prejudice as anyone. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/47 "2009-12-01T08:30:29Z")
No firsthand knowledge, but one presumes if over 99% of a population approved of homosexuals, someone would get around to changing the law so the penalty for homosexuality is a little less severe than “death”. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/48 "2009-12-01T09:21:18Z")
How about [this](http://www.payvand.com/news/05/jul/teens-execution-iran.jpg) for a reference point. (Warning – graphic photo of two Iranian teenagers being hanged for homosexuality in Iran 4 years ago.) That doesn’t seem all that gay-friendly to me. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/49 "2009-12-01T15:51:10Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Again, here I would like to pose a question to naysayers, do you have any first hand knowledge of any of the countrys opinions on Homosexuals to make such a judgement? You don’t need first hand knowledge to figure out that there’s something wrong here. If we were to eliminate the list from this question and just phrase it as a single question of “Would you have a problem with \_\_\_\_ living next door?” There’s hardly any \_\_\_\_\_ in any place on Earth where over a thousand respondents would all say “No”. If you showed me the result that said they did, I would be suspicious regardless of what \_\_\_\_ was and where the respondents were. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/50 "2009-12-02T03:14:15Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Again, here I would like to pose a question to naysayers, do you have any first hand knowledge of any of the countrys opinions on Homosexuals to make such a judgement?. They \*fucking execute dudes for being gay. \* ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/51 "2009-12-02T12:05:34Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > How about [this](http://www.payvand.com/news/05/jul/teens-execution-iran.jpg) for a reference point. (Warning – graphic photo of two Iranian teenagers being hanged for homosexuality in Iran 4 years ago.) > > That doesn’t seem all that gay-friendly to me. I thought they were hung for raping a 12-year-old boy? ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/52 "2009-12-02T17:05:51Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > I thought they were hung for raping a 12-year-old boy? According to what I found on Wikinews, at first it was claimed they were executed for being caught having sex with each other. Then after they were tortured and executed the government claimed that they were executed for raping a 13-year-old boy at knifepoint. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/53 "2009-12-02T17:19:24Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > According to what I found on Wikinews, at first it was claimed they were executed for being caught having sex with each other. Then after they were tortured and executed the government claimed that they were executed for raping a 13-year-old boy at knifepoint. Good thing they weren’t tasered, then people might really take notice. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/54 "2009-12-02T21:23:48Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > I thought they were hung for raping a 12-year-old boy? It was only after the outcry over this sentence that the story about raping a 12-, or 13-, or 11-year-old boy was circulated. (The age is uncertain, since no such boy ever appeared in the court ‘trial’.) And even had it been true, rape is not a capital crime in Iran. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/55 "2009-12-02T21:25:45Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > Good thing they weren’t tasered, then people might really take notice. No, tasers are not readily available in Iran. They used model railroad transformers with wires connected to the genitals & breasts instead. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420/56 "2009-12-02T21:44:51Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > No, tasers are not readily available in Iran. They used model railroad transformers with wires connected to the genitals & breasts instead. Everyone needs a hobby. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-iran-and-egypt-the-worlds-most-gay-friendly-cultures/519420.md?page=2)