Liquid Love in Iran: A Mixed Method Approach (original) (raw)
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In Iran, social media platforms have become powerful tools for political and inter-personal communication. They open new ways for their users, particularly women, to negotiate their intimate relationships with their family, (potential) partners or friends. Intimacy online is usually achieved through reciprocal visual and textual self-disclosure, which in turn may lead to face-to-face encounters. For Muslim Iranian women, social media allows room for self-expression, a way to combat loneliness and create meaningful relationships with like-minded people. However, at the same time, women are confronted by a number of risks associated with social media interaction in Iran, such as censorship, online (sexual) harassment, or cybercrime.Based on in-depth interviews and participant observation with Muslim Iranian women in Tehran, this paper explores the extent to which social media platforms (blogs, Facebook and dat-ing sites) have created both challenges and opportunities for Muslim Iranian women by transforming the ways in which they create and maintain intimate relationships online.
Internet and sexuality in Morocco, from cyber habits to psychopathology
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A large part of Internet users of different ages and from all over the world do use it in order to get and consume pornography, meet sexual partners or plan for intimate relationships. In Morocco, sexuality itself is a great deal since living one's sexuality is dependent on religious and social determinants of individual freedoms, sexual education and empowerment of women. The aim of the study is explore Internet misuses, sexual abuses initiated or totally conducted through Internet in Morocco as well as couple issues and the concept of faithfulness, hypothesizing that Moroccan people use and misuse internet the same way worldwide, but with very few means of protection against potential offenders. We found that nearly a third of people interviewed during the study confirm that they regularly consume pornography on Internet, with an obvious gender difference, that half under-18 years old interviewed teens have for at least once undressed in front of a webcam, or sent naked photos of them to unknown cyberinterlocutors, and finally, that sexual assaults in the Internet are as frequent as sexual assaults happening in the real life, with possible and frequent connections between risky behaviours on line and real life sexual assaults.
The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2014
Introduction. The prevalence of male homosexuality is difficult to elicit considering the sensitivity of one's sexual orientation. The Global Online Sexuality Survey (GOSS) is an online epidemiologic study of male and female sexuality. The online nature of GOSS allows more confidentiality and wider geographic reach, particularly important in investigating sexual issues within the more conservative societies. Aim. This study aims to determine the prevalence of male homosexuality among Internet users in the Arabicspeaking Middle East and the unique characteristics of this subset of the population. Main Outcome Measures. Prevalence of male homosexuality. Methods. In the year 2010, GOSS was offered to Arabic-speaking web surfers above 18 years of age in the Middle East. Potential participants were invited via advertising on Facebook®. Invitations were dispatched randomly with the exception of geographic region and age, regardless web surfing preferences. GOSS relied in part on validated questionnaires such as the International Index of Erectile Function, as well on other nonvalidated questions. Results. 17.1% reported desire toward the same sex, of whom 5.6% had homosexual encounters, mostly in the form of external stimulation rather than intercourse, and exclusively undercover. An overwhelming majority was egodystonic (78.2%). Conclusion. This is-to our knowledge-the first online survey to address the prevalence of homosexual orientation and practice in the Middle East, discriminating desire from practice, ego-syntonic from ego-dystonic, and investigating the pattern of practice. Homosexual desire is present in the Middle East as it is around the world, and homosexual encounters are as prevalent. Yet, the undercover and ego-dystonic states prevail. Shaeer O and Shaeer K. The Global Online Sexuality Survey (GOSS): Male homosexuality among Arabic-speaking Internet users in the Middle East-2010.
Computers in Human Behavior, 2008
Ever since the beginnings of the internet researchers have questioned its utility in developing and maintaining psychological healthy romantic and sexual relations. Advocates of the social presence theory and media richness theory purport that in leaner media individuals can be quite aggressive towards one another (e.g., in the form of flaming). In contrast, others believe that the lack of traditional cues in CMC can in fact be overcome and instead lead to more personal, intimate relationships. As this paper will demonstrate, when we consider how beneficial it is to form relationships online we also need to consider individuals' characteristics (e.g., personality characteristics and physical attractiveness), the amount of time people spend online, the duration of online relationships, and how these relationships effect individuals' offline activities and relationships. Overall, the view here is that online relationships can be empowering for many people; that is, cyberspace provides a unique environment for people to experience and learn about relationships and sexuality.
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The Internet has two faces, positive and negative. Its positive aspect is that the Internet en- ables the enrichment and improvement of human functioning in many areas, including health, education, commerce, and entertainment. On its negative side, the Internet may provide a threatening environment and expose individuals to great risks. Paralleling this overall dual perspective, the Internet facilitates sexual exploration,