In 1982, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa legalizing gender affirmation surgery (GAS), known as ʿamalī-ye tasdīq-i jinsīyat in Persian. Gender affirmation surgery has been available to trans people with gender dysphoria since 1985. A mental diagnosis of gender dysphoria is required to get a permission certificate (mojavvez-e taghyir-e jinsīyat), from the family court, with clearance from the Legal Medicine Organization. This certificate lasts two years, and even adults must have parents present during psychiatric appointments. The GAS protocol requires sterilization, hormone therapy, hysterectomy, metoidioplasty, or phalloplasty for trans men, and penis and scrotum removal and vaginoplasty for trans women. For new identity documents from the Registry Office, a physical exam and judicial approval after a feminization or masculinization check by the Legal Medicine Organization are needed (Azadi and Saeidzadeh 2022). Iranian transnormativity based on psycho-medical diagnosis is legalized, whereas same-sex relationships and homosexuality are criminalized, making GAS legality a hot topic in recent decades. Iranian transidentity is defined by trans medicalization and resistance (Azadi 2018; 2020; 2022). Trans literature in Iran is divided into domestic and international publications (Saeidzadeh 2019). This literature focuses on psycho-medical (Aghabikloo et al. 2013), religious (Fortier 2020, 2021), jurisprudential (Kariminia 2009), and human rights problems relating to trans Iranians. Like others, Iranian trans people face structural cissexism, legal misrecognition, institutional biases, family dynamics, and intimate relationships that disadvantage them (Azadi and Saeidzadeh 2022).
Cissexism,1 which claims cisgender people and their identities are more natural and valid than trans and non-binary people's, denies, excludes, and stigmatizes trans people daily. Little is known about love relationships and marriage as a social institution that reinforces the heteronormative and binary system among Iranian trans people. Iranian Islamic law recognizes only heteronormative marriage. Without legal GAS, trans people cannot marry, because same-sex marriage is banned. Iran has the highest divorce rate in the Middle East and North Africa (Farzanegan and Gholipour 2016); however, marriage remains important in Iranian culture. Trans marriage in Iran is rarely documented. Trans people at any level of transition often struggle with interpersonal and family interactions (Nobili et al. 2018; Stewart et al. 2018). In romance, they struggle to meet partners, reveal themselves, and maintain relationships (Platt and Bolland 2017). However, trans marriage may improve wellbeing (Herek 2006), and advocates say marriage equality could reduce stigma toward gender and sexual minorities (Wight and Badgett 2015). Iranian trans people's marital status needs further study in Iran and abroad.
This study uses the marital advantage approach to examine how married or divorced Iranian trans persons navigate marriage in Iranian society, building on Liu and Wilkinson's (2021), research on marital status and perceived discrimination across life domains. It also analyses how married Iranian trans people form supportive love relationships despite discrimination and social barriers. Transphobia and stigma make it hard for trans persons to build and maintain relationships. Married trans people are less likely to feel discriminated against than unmarried trans people, especially those who cohabit or were married (Liu and Wilkinson 2021). Higher income may give trans people, especially married trans women, more housing and employment options and access to gender-sensitive services (Beam 2007; Norton and Herek 2012; Liu and Wilkinson 2021). However, cissexist violence can occur in trans marriage. Due to past rejection, trans people may tolerate damaging dynamics in relationships (Cantor et al. 2015; Garthe et al. 2018; James et al. 2016; Murchison et al. 2024; Valentine et al. 2017). Using cissexist circumstances, some partners threaten to reveal their trans or nonbinary partner's status (Marrow et al. 2024; Peitzmeier et al. 2019). Despite these hurdles, many trans young people build supportive relationships and strategically respond to cissexism to improve their mental health (Murchison et al. 2023). Supportive relationships assist trans people to handle social cissexism (Galupo et al. 2016), and couples facing trans or nonbinary issues need trust, communication, and positive relationship dynamics (Coppola et al. 2021; Motter and Softas-Nall 2021). What tactics do Iranian trans people use to manage heterosexual marriage and separation despite cissexism and transphobia? Cissexism, a form of prejudice, affects trans people who face stigma after marriage or divorce. They face shame from cissexism in their family, friends, and partners’ families. What distinguishes trans men and trans women in marriage?
Methodology
We interviewed eight married trans men – seven to cisgender women and one to a trans woman. In 2016, five lived in Iran, while the rest lived in Denizli, Turkey. By 2024, two had moved to the US. Three divorced recently. We interviewed also four Iranian trans women in 2024. Three married cisgender men, and one married a trans man after divorcing a cisgender man. When we interviewed Iranian trans asylum seekers in Denizli, participants were contacted directly. We kept in touch with these couples to track their marriages, and in 2024, trans friends facilitated connections with more subjects for the investigation. These additional individuals were interviewed via WhatsApp and Telegram. Our qualitative semi-structured interviews examined married and divorced Iranian trans people's lives. No formal ethical approval was sought for the 2024 interviews. However, the interviews conducted between 2016 and 2018 adhered to the ethical guidelines established by Paris Sorbonne University. For all interviews, informed consent was obtained, and confidentiality and safety were maintained throughout the interview process, transcription, and analysis stages.
Results
We focus on Iranian trans people's experiences with marriage and divorce. Four key themes emerged from interviews: family challenges related to disclosing or concealing their transition; trans women's concerns about fertility; masculinity issues for trans men negotiating marriage; and how sexual and body narratives impacted personal happiness and relationship dynamics. These themes will be illustrated through narratives of five marriages, titled: ‘Resilience in Love’, ‘Shadowed by Fear’, ‘Acceptance Beyond Self’, ‘Unveiling the Truth’, and ‘Embracing Authenticity’. Some stories are intertwined with the experiences and narratives of other participants in this study.
Resilience in Love
When we first fled Iran, it was cold and winter; I was dressed in coat and winter clothes. I returned to Iran with the same clothes but in summer! I didn't have money to buy new clothes... I arrived in Tehran after 24 hours, wearing winter clothes, with a strange face for a girl, meaning a hijab, but with a moustache... a real caricature! People were looking at me, thinking I was a beggar or a crazy abandoned person.
A. finally arrived in Tehran and met E. at the airport, where they disguised him as a woman. Together, they fled to Turkey. A has been working at a bath towel factory in Denizli without labour rights. Despite challenges, he says: ‘E. has been in my life like the only light in total darkness. She was enough to make me forget all my sufferings’. They continued to dream of a future together, even with limited resources.
Two years later, in 2018, they remained in Denizli, with A. still working at the factory. He continued to express a desire for GAS, saying: ‘I didn't pursue it in Iran, not because I didn't want to. I owe it to E's love and understanding. Our married life began in Turkey and under these circumstances. We're together, waiting and looking towards the future, an uncertain future, but what matters is that we're looking in the same direction’. The couple ultimately settled in the US in 2024 and now enjoy a great marriage. A. emphasizes ‘communication’ when questioned about their relationship's strength. He advises everyone, especially trans people, to improve communication. ‘Books and therapy have helped me on this journey’, he said.
A. underwent GAS in the summer of 2024, after waiting many years to ensure a satisfactory outcome. Although he noted that it was costly, he is pleased with the quality of the results. Both A. and E. work as employees in a large company and aspire to start their own business when they feel prepared. They are planning to officially marry this year and celebrate the occasion in Turkey. They lost not only their familial ties but also their home country in exchange for their marital status and love.
The pressure from the cisgender partner's family on trans marriages has been less highlighted than the pressure trans individuals face from their own families. The violence is compounded, targeting not only the trans person but also the disruption of heteronormative marriage by their own child. This extreme form of cissexist violence can surpass religious anti-trans views and attitudes, as illustrated in the following quotes.
My parents forced me to leave the house, and I ended up on the street because no one was willing to take me in, fearing it would harm their reputation. My entire family rejected me, saying I had tarnished their image. Even my sister remarked: ‘The neighbours gossip about you wanting to marry someone who used to be a woman – it's disgraceful!’ Desperate, I sought help from the Imam of our village (imam-e jummah). He intervened, calling my mother and questioning her actions: ‘Why are you mistreating your daughter? This person [T., a trans man] you criticize even interacted with my wife before his transition. There's no religious justification for your concerns. Why have you lodged a complaint against this person? At worst, if they marry, others will simply know the husband was once a woman. But what you're doing is far more shameful!
The story of S. and T. underscores the intricacies of honour culture and the significant familial pressures. It demonstrates that familial honour is not strictly tied to religious beliefs or societal reputation. Interestingly, religious discourse can sometimes be more accepting of GAS compared to familial attitudes, particularly in the context of conflicts arising in marriage. S. and T. fled their village to another city in Iran and married soon after to protect themselves from further violence. However, by January 2018, they had separated in Denizli. This divorce can be analysed through various factors, including the challenges of being asylum seekers, the effects of past violence, pressures from both families, and the lack of mutual understanding before marriage, compounded by societal expectations and the belief that marriage could offer protection as an institution.
Shadowed by Fear
The following marital history shows how family pressure can follow trans people across borders. P., a 34-year-old trans man, post-op, was interviewed in Denizli in 2016. He now lives in the US. P. details the aftermath of GAS to warn other trans people of potential issues, despite familial rejection. P. sees his surgical scars as reminders of his trans life in Iran. He does not regret the procedure, but he would not have had it in Iran: ‘My wife accepts me with this mutilated and incomplete body... I always fantasized about maximizing my body, but reality was different’.
P. revealed his transidentity to M's parents and sibling, unlike most married trans people we interviewed. Revealing P's trans status also compromised his privacy, as his mother-in-law began probing into sensitive matters, including sexual relationships. ‘I found it challenging, but they deserved the truth, so I explained everything’, he said. They married more quickly than expected, but P's identity issues plagued them. The difficulty of obtaining work and the stigma of his military service exemption code, which labels trans people as mentally ill, further affected his choice to leave Iran. While anonymity allowed P. and M. to live more peacefully in Turkey, P. continues to struggle with transphobia: ‘I am forced to live in fear, an ever-present fear that followed us to Turkey’. The act of revelation remains difficult: ‘I always felt the shadow of a threat, that others might discover I was trans’.
In 2018, they moved to America. P. balances LGBTQI+ advocacy with school. However, P. and M. got divorced after 10 years of marriage. He admitted in 2024 that discussing their divorce was hard, ‘but we lived together and learned a lot from each other’. Heterosexual marriage, defined by penis-vagina penetration (Bettcher 2007: 56), offers trans men a form of phallic masculinity that is directly contested by cissexist ideology (Azadi 2024). This is exemplified when P. is compelled to explain to his mother-in-law how he will satisfy his wife, with the expectation that a neophallus will both fulfil his spouse's needs and reassure her family.
If I could go back, I should never have married. It's difficult; everything is more complicated than before. It's not just the families and trying to keep them from interfering in our lives, but also with S. We have many problems. She thought she could control and dominate me because she sees me as weak, because I'm trans. Once, during an argument, she said: ‘you who don't have a penis’. No one in my previous relationships ever said anything like that to me. She is satisfied with our sex life, but she herself has a weak personality, which is why she says such things.
They decided never to disclose R's transition to S's family. Discussing the pressures within their relationship, R. remarked: ‘I don't even care at all if her family finds out I'm trans. I've made significant progress at work and in everything else. The real issue is with her, sometimes trying to control me’.
Trans people who experience cissexist rejection develop two related beliefs: internalized cissexism, which is a negative view of one's trans or nonbinary identity due to societal influences (Rood et al. 2017); and anticipated cissexism, which is expecting future discrimination. These views greatly impact trans people's societal expectations, especially romantically. Internalized cissexism maintains stereotypes about trans and nonbinary people as unsuitable partners (Rood et al. 2017), whereas anticipated cissexism involves expecting rejection from potential love partners and friends.
Her family didn't easily accept our marriage, and my family was also sceptical of all the girls I introduced as my girlfriend. They never believed in any of my relationships because they've never believed me. They never accepted me as trans, and even after all these years, they sometimes call me by my past name. When I met N., she was the first to show her love, telling me she was pansexual, but she had only been with girls before me. It took some time for us to develop a sexual relationship, and I was her first man. We lived together for many years but faced financial issues, so we decided to get married officially just to apply for a marriage loan. Now, I think I should have been in a relationship with a trans woman. N. wants to separate; she told me she wants to be with a cisgender man. I believe a cisgender body can't be with a trans body.
Navigating and performing a cisgender body to affirm their identity as men posed a significant challenge within their marriages and romantic relationships for many of the trans men we interviewed. The next marriage story further illustrates the challenges faced by trans men in embodying masculinity.
Performing Masculinity
D., a 29-year-old trans man, faced family rejection and abuse following GAS. ‘I cannot forgive my father... I remember how he hit me’, he says of his father's reaction. SH., a high school friend and cisgender woman, comforted and loved him despite these problems. When interviewed in Denizli in 2016, they were seeking refuge as a married couple.
SH. recounts their struggles, particularly school stigma: ‘My friends labelled us lesbians’. SH. moved home with her father, since her mother pressured her about her connection with D. Her family advised her father, who was alone and ill, to move into a nursing home. She explains, ‘We disagreed and hired D. as a home nurse, unbeknownst to my father. Living with my father twice a week helped him cook and reduce sadness. This arrangement was hidden from my mother, and I admire D. as my spouse and a brave man’.
Their new strategy worked despite looking for a studio, living in their car for two weeks, and SH's mother's betrayals. While nursing D., SH's father grew close to him, unaware of his transidentity. D. described his struggles portraying a man without genital surgery, which he believes is essential for his full transition and identification as a man. He said: ‘I felt comfortable washing him in the bathroom in shorts without a prosthesis. I was stressed but worked on my confidence. Mastectomy and facial hair growth helped me feel more myself’.
After seeking his approval, SH's father approved their marriage due to D's ‘perfect performance as a man’ and trust and friendship. D. recalls obstacles in Turkey after leaving Iran: ‘I married in 2004... Leaving was unplanned, but my wife's mother forced me’. Despite challenges, they found peace in Turkey. SH. hinted at relationship changes in 2018: ‘D. suffered greatly due to our family's rejections, and our relationship has changed considerably. He didn't realize how much these obstacles changed him, but they did. I believed love alone could save us when we were young. Although my mother eventually accepted him, she now feels sad for D. and his loneliness’.
Maybe fewer issues if we met now. Every time we had a difficulty, she took me back to my pre-transition life. She told me, ‘No one could have married you, but I did!’ Funny, everyone thinks she left me because I'm trans, yet I requested the divorce. My new lover accepts me as I am and meets me in my fulfilled condition, which makes me joyful. I like someone who accepts me fully.
In Iranian society, masculinity is valued, although transmasculine people express masculinity differently, reflecting changing gender norms (Azadi 2024). Many trans males we interviewed do not fully conform to traditional masculinity, yet heteronormativity and societal standards put pressure on binary and heterosexual transmasculine people. Trans men's divorces show that masculinity can support heteronormative manhood, but maintaining these roles is difficult.
Acceptance Beyond Self
I'm not skinny and lovely after surgery. After surgery, my sex drive has diminished, but I experience more pleasure in my chest and throughout my body. My husband knows how to make me orgasm. He's bisexual, but I don't mind. It seems natural and usual. We must understand that many people are secretly bisexual. We cannot deceive ourselves. My vagina causes occasional pain, but we have no sexual issues. I love our sex life, but I don't know my husband's opinion. I suppose my tight vagina makes him seventy to eighty per cent happy. Sometimes I enjoy it because my husband does. I think wanting to please your mate is psychological.
G. seems satisfied with her husband's enjoyment, suggesting a frequent predilection among males for sex with a tight vagina (Fortier 2022). G. accepts this sacrifice in her personal connection, even if it might be physically and mentally painful for women. When probed about her spouse's bisexuality, she responded, ‘My husband once betrayed me with a man. I learned on my own and waited for his reaction. He admitted that, despite the pleasure, nothing beats being with me. I let him try such connections once, but he never did it again. I cannot accept my partner's passive sex; that would be an emotional divorce’ (emotional divorce is when the marriage continues but the partners remain emotionally distant).
…was not big, as he put one hundred per cent effort into convincing them. My family was my toughest challenge. When I had surgery, I lied to my family and said I was traveling. I had nowhere to stay following surgery, so a trans friend volunteered. However, she mistreated me and left me hungry. Eventually, I survived. I was more flexible and grateful after my struggles. My husband and I love one other and learned to adapt and treat each other well. Before the marriage, my family bothered me, but they now regret it. We get along with both families.
G. said she believes ‘I have a defect, and by marrying me, they extended their grace’, indicating cissexism. Despite having control and family approval, she hides her transition from her cisgender women acquaintances: ‘I lack close friends I can trust. I'm silent when my friends talk about pregnancy and menstrual discomfort since they don't know I'm trans. I feel unsafe revealing my identify. I wondered if a coworker thought I didn't have menstrual discomfort because she presumed I wasn't trans. I avoid trans women friendships to avoid men's interest and safeguard my marriage’. We found that trans people, especially trans women post-marriage, prioritize sexual satisfaction. Trans women like G. stay in relationships despite physical challenges for their partners’ delight.
Unveiling the Truth
T., a 28-year-old trans woman, is a makeup artist, trans activist, and poet. She underwent GAS in 2019 and has been in a relationship with her husband, M., a cisgender straight man, since she was 21. They met online, and M., initially unaware that T. was trans, took three months to understand her transidentity. T. explains: ‘Once he told me: “I'm passive in sex (maf-oul-am)”; actually, he wanted to know if I had any sexual orientation like men and could be active!’ M. fell in love with T., supported her through her transition, and they became committed after a year.
In 2020, they married without informing M's family that T. is a trans woman, despite her father's opposition. M. assured her father they would disclose it later. T. faced significant challenges, including hostility from M's family when they discovered a year later that she was a trans woman. They searched her identity before the transition, leading to severe emotional distress and panic attacks for T. She chose to share the details of her transidentity with them but faced hate and humiliation in return. She clarified: ‘Once his sister told him, “If you knew that she is trans, isn't it disgusting for you to have sex with her?” and his mother said, “Who let this filth come into my home?’ They told me I'm a man and if I really love M., I should let him go’.
T. tried to tolerate these hateful remarks, saying, ‘I believed that all these hate words are coming from ignorance. I had a lot of good memories also with their family before they got to know that I'm trans’. However, she suffered not only from transphobia but also accusations of being ‘a charlatan who wanted to benefit from M’. She showed them the testimony letter (eqrār-nāmeh) that M. wrote for their marriage contract, in which he attested that he was aware T. is a trans woman and would not have any biological children. But this document made them more violent, and they attacked T. and her family. M's family took back their home, but despite these hardships, M. and T. continue to support each other.
T. described the challenges of being a trans woman in a cis-trans marriage, especially concerning the possibility of having children. Her previous relationships ended due to this issue, but M. accepted it after a year. Despite this acceptance, the lack of biological children remains a significant regret for T., causing occasional disputes.
Before undergoing gender affirmation surgery, I was concerned that my vagina might not be deep enough for sex with my partner. However, my husband reassured me that he wouldn't leave me because of this. Our sexual life is satisfying for both of us. While cisgender women often have clitoral orgasms and sometimes intercourse orgasms, I, as a trans woman, experience intercourse orgasms with my husband and during masturbation. Therefore, I don't have any issues, only some appearance concerns that I plan to address with cosmetic surgery later.
However, societal and familial pressures, jealousy from friends and neighbours, and lack of belief in their relationship from both families add to their struggles. She explains: ‘It is really sad that no one believes in me and my love. Even my family believes that M. shouldn't have married a girl like me because he'll lose everything by marrying a girl like me’. Despite these obstacles, T. and M. remain committed to each other, continuing to save money to live together independently again.
Many trans individuals we interviewed navigate the secrecy of their transition within their marriages, a common challenge influenced by factors such as financial dependency, the couple's independence, and the trans individual's self-confidence. For instance, as T. explained about L., her trans woman friend who kept her transition secret in her marriage but faced different challenges after the truth was revealed: ‘L's husband is wealthy, as his family is rich, and they don't live in Iran. When they found out L. is a trans woman, they were upset but accepted it easily. This couple is unique – they party all the time and use drugs. They didn't suffer as much as we did when the truth was revealed!’
Embracing Authenticity
M., a 35-year-old trans woman, post-op, recounted two marriages. Her first marriage with a cisgender man ended after five years, but her second with K, a trans man has been blissful for four years. M. met her ex-husband, a cisgender man, who proposed without knowing about transgender issues before her gender affirmation surgery. M. advised him: ‘If you make this decision with excitement, I suggest you think more and do it with knowledge’. He requested M. not to inform his family she was trans. M. inquired what they would say about not having children, and he pledged to blame himself. He proposed three months after surgery, before she updated her ID.
M. had familial issues and thought marriage would ‘solve many problems and provide validation’. M. married her ex-husband in a studio apartment near her mother-in-law, who did not know she was trans. According to M., her ex-husband was an ‘open-minded man, and I was completely in my marital role, often forgetting I was a trans woman’. She felt pushed to lie about her background: ‘When I was with his sisters and they talked about their past as girls, I had to remind myself every time to keep the story that I had always been a girl, grown up with other girls, and in a girls’ high school. It was stressful’. She added: ‘He had orgasms, but not me. I know that ladies can't orgasm if they don't like someone.’ Their last year was challenging due to her husband's drug addiction and job loss. M. took on everything and ‘felt a maternal responsibility to care for him’. After his drunken assault, she stated, ‘I don't have any feelings for you, and it's better if we have a mutual divorce’.
M. went to her mother's home and worked in beauty salons as a skincare worker after her divorce, but she was depressed. She reunited with trans pals and met a trans man at a party for support. They and their families became good friends over months. His mother suggested a one-month sigheh (temporary) marriage to assess their compatibility. After the trial, they married. M. said: ‘I'm happier in this marriage because I'm myself and more comfortable. Family is fine, I have a nice sexual connection with a trans person, we moved to another city, and I work from home’.
M. said, ‘With my trans friends and K, my husband as a trans man, it feels like there is no gender; I don't have to hide anything’ when asked what it meant to ‘be truly herself’. ‘Example: my ex-husband always inquired why I was so nice and relaxed with men. To behave like a woman, I had to talk less, laugh quietly, and be less casual with men. With my trans man husband, these things no longer exist. By living two genders, we understand each other better. I struggled when my trans friends visited to our house since my ex-husband found it strange and may have thought poorly of us. With my hubby, I don't have these issues. I can get along with his family since they understand my reactions’.
We have a reciprocity of understanding that our ex-partners lacked. I don't label her if she does machine mechanics or connects well with my male pals. I'm kind to our kids, and family members say I'm patient, unlike other men. My wife doesn't label me for my different feelings from other males. My wife knows my cleanliness standards because I lived with ladies for a while and some of our traits originate from our former bodies and contexts.
I told him I had five responsibilities: first, be a lady – a good chef, a friend for his loneliness, and a gorgeous woman for the bedroom. I must listen to him. Womanhood is about being a ‘lady’, not merely bearing children and doing housework.
Z. first stressed her financial independence. Her definition of ‘lady’ is ‘femininity, not reproduction’. Reproduction defines her as ‘female’. Her reference to this ‘power’ of the feminine emphasizes that femininity is neither weak nor passive. She believes women are strongest when they embrace their femininity. Z appears to view femininity – or being a lady – as a created force, unlike being female, which she views as innate. Marriages can protect trans women from family rejection, but losing parental support might isolate them, especially in domestic abuse cases. Trans men initiate and manage divorce processes, while trans women are more passive.
Discussion
We identified different experiences among our interviewees about cissexist violence in trans and cisgender marriages and families. These findings support earlier research on cissexism in relationships, which includes controlling behaviours and difficulties disclosing a partner's trans or nonbinary identity. For escaping potentially dangerous relationships, family support is vital during divorce and in marriages where neither partner's family accepts. Compared to trans men, trans women married to cisgender males face cissexism in the lack of a maternal role, which is difficult. This topic is rarely discussed by trans males in marriage. The ability of trans males to become parents may explain this gap, as some interviewees mentioned acquaintances who became fathers using donor sperm and their wives’ eggs. Trans couples in Iran can adopt, and Shia Islam is receptive to assisted reproductive technologies (Fortier 2020). Fertility and parenthood are understudied and need more research.
Conclusion
Marriage among trans people in Iran's religious and political context can enhance circumstances, but the concealment of their transition often strains marital relationships. A notable solution observed is the use of testimony letters (eqrār-nāmeh), where cisgender partners affirm their awareness of the trans person's situation, including the inability to have biological children. This document aims to protect trans individuals in marriages with cisgender partners. Additionally, there is no legal pressure on cisgender individuals to disclose their partner's transidentity to their family. However, the marital experiences of the trans individuals we interviewed vary significantly, with many facing family violence and stigmatization. Interestingly, two trans individuals who married each other reported minimal familial stressors, benefiting from mutual support and understanding within their relationship. Navigating the secrecy of their transition within marriage, both in Iran and as asylum seekers abroad, emerged as a distinctive feature among this group. The family pressures faced by partners of trans individuals, whether cisgender women or men, are significant aspects requiring further exploration in trans studies. Trans people married to cisgender partners in Iran face greater challenges related to cissexism and heteronormativity, especially concerning gender roles and stereotypes, than their cisgender counterparts. While marriage can provide protection from gender-based violence and stigma for some trans individuals, it can also expose them to new forms of stigmatisation. The disclosure of their transidentity, along with the fear of its consequences, can significantly affect the couple's dynamic. However, those who embrace their authenticity often experience more fulfilling and happy marriages. Comparing trans women and trans men in marital status, it appears that although trans men may integrate into society sooner post-transition due to masculine privilege, they also encounter challenges related to masculine roles and stereotypes. However, findings indicate that trans women face greater difficulties, particularly regarding the issue of children in their marital lives.
Study Limitations
This study explores the marriage and divorce experiences of 14 trans individuals. However, the diversity of experiences shaped by factors such as socioeconomic class, regional origin, and ethnicity within Iranian society limits the generalizability of the findings. The study's geographic scope is also limited, with the majority of participants from Tehran, which may overlook the specific challenges faced by trans people in rural areas. While we attempted to highlight some of these rural experiences, further research is needed in less studied regions of Iran. These limitations underscore the need for more in-depth research on the experiences of trans women in Iran.
Notes
Cissexism refers to discrimination against individuals whose gender identity or expression differs from the gender assigned to them at birth based on their sex, while privileging those who conform to it. Coined by LGBTI+ activists in the 1990s, it arises from the belief in a strict male/female gender binary. See Hibbs 2014.
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