Passionate uprisings: Young people, sexuality and politics in post‐revolutionary Iran

Abstract

This paper examines the sexual and social practices of young people in contemporary Iran. Young people in urban areas live under the rubric of a fundamentalist, Islamist regime which restricts social freedoms such as premarital heterosexual contact, homosexual encounters, dancing, alcohol consumption and large group gatherings. Drawing on close focus research and individual and group inteviews, this paper seeks to analyse young people's responses to these constraints. Findings suggest that many young adults use their ‘rebellious’ social behaviour to make political statements against a regime that dissatisfies them; saying, in their own words, that they are enacting and bringing about a ‘sexual revolution’.

Résumé

Cet article examine les pratiques sociales et sexuelles des jeunes dans l'Iran contemporain. Dans ce pays, les jeunes des villes vivent sous un régime islamique fondamentaliste qui restreint les libertés sociales telles que les contacts hétérosexuels prémaritaux, les rencontres homosexuelles, la danse, la consommation d'alcool et les rassemblements de masse. Sur la base d'une recherche ciblée et d'entretiens individuels et en groupe, cet article cherche à analyser les réponses des jeunes à ces contraintes. Les résultats suggèrent qu'à travers leurs comportements sociaux ‘rebelles’, beaucoup de jeunes adultes lancent des messages politiques contre un régime qui leur déplaît ; en utilisant leurs propres mots, ils décrètent et promeuvent une ‘révolution sexuelle’.

Resumen

En este artículo analizamos las prácticas sexuales y sociales de los jóvenes en el Irán contemporáneo. Los jóvenes de zonas urbanas viven bajo la rúbrica de un régimen fundamentalista islámico que limita libertades sociales tales como el contacto heterosexual prematrimonial, los encuentros homosexuales, el baile, el consumo de alcohol y la reunión de grupos numerosos. Basándonos en un análisis minucioso de investigación y entrevistas individuales y en grupo, en este ensayo queremos examinar cómo reaccionan los jóvenes a estas restricciones. Los resultados indican que muchos jóvenes adultos se rebelan socialmente lanzando proclamas políticas contra un régimen que les disgusta y expresando con sus propias palabras que ellos están creando una “revolución sexual” a la que representan.

Keywords:

• Iran
• young people
• sexual behaviour
• Islam

Acknowledgements

I would like, first and foremost, to thank my advisor, mentor and friend, Carole Vance, without whose enduring support this research would not have been possible. I would also like to thank, Lila Abu‐Lughod, Lynn Freedman, Shahla Haeri and Rebecca Young for helping me to better the work in all its forms. The research for this study would not have been possible without the financial support of the following fellowships: the Woodrow Wilson Women's Health Fellowship, Cordier Fellowship, the National Development and Research Institute Behavioural Science Training Fellowship and the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy Fellowship Program.

Notes

1. Sexual revolution is defined by the young people as changes in sexual and social behaviors and discourse as a means of reaction to state controls. In other words, because the current regime exercises its powers through enforcing a certain type of morality, young people seek to attack the regime by attacking the fabric of morality through which the regime maintains its power. Young people feel that by engaging in what the regime terms ‘immoral’ activities, such as premarital sex, they are subversively attacking the regime and destabilising it on a daily basis.

2. Holy month of fasting.

3. Holy month of mourning.

4. R. H. Khomeini, statement to the public, March 21st, 1980. Archived in Khomeini’s mausoleum.

5. Names have been changed to protect the identity of the interviewees.

6. It is important to note that an estimated seven million people (out of a population of 70 million throughout Iran) have home internet connections and it is thought that most of the online users are in Tehran (Alavi 2006).