Page 62 - IJPS-9-2

International Journal of
Population Studies Personality traits in homosexual men in Iran

Patriarchal culture, religious beliefs, and low knowledge dissatisfied with life and lack hope for the future. Members
about sexual issues and orientation in Iran can manifest in of these two groups often have low self-esteem and a sense
the form of psychological, physical, and sexual violations, of guilt and humiliation. This finding is consistent with the
particularly for the bottom and versatile homosexual findings of Liu et al. (2020) that suggest that bottom and
men that have more gender non-conformity compared to versatile homosexual men suffer from a greater degree of
heterosexual men. This results in a negative self-image and a depression and anxiety compared to their top counterparts.
strong sense of self-criticism, which in turn leads bottom and According to Eslen-Ziya & Koç (2016), the perception of
versatile homosexual men to adopt a correction approach to masculinity in homosexual men of patriarchal cultures has
protect themselves against social violence. This is an approach a root in traditional gender roles. Therefore, tops in these
that puts the person in a constant state of “readiness” to repel countries self-identify as heterosexual (Tapınç, 1992; Labi,
potential attacks even where there is no real danger. Therefore, 2007), whereas bottom and versatile homosexual men
the damaged ego perceives every opposition as a threat and are considered full of inherent femininity (Murray, 2000;
immediately assumes a defensive posture. Therefore, the Fernàndez-Alemany & Murray, 2003).
person fails to have normal group interaction.
In countries like Iran, bottom and versatile homosexual
High scores of tops and versatile groups in hypochondria men, who have more gender nonconformity than their top
(Hs) indicate considerable, and sometimes even strange, counterparts, are more prone to different types of physical
physical concerns, along with anxiety disorders. Members and psychological violence (Swift-Gallant et al., 2018) because
of these two groups use physical pain to attract attention receptiveness is considered an insult and a heinous act in
and control the environment. This finding is consistent Iran. In such an atmosphere, bottoms are doomed to come
with the findings of Morrison et al. (2004) and Levesque under constant criticism and humiliation. These excessive
& Vichesky (2006), who claimed that homosexual men criticisms make the bottom and versatile homosexual men
are more prone to physical dissatisfaction and pay not only feel worthless but also blame themselves for what
more attention to their physical appearance than their they are, leading them to fail to have an influence on their
heterosexual counterparts do. It is also consistent with the surrounding environment and cause major disappointments.
findings of Yelland & Tiggemann (2003) and Carper et al. On the other hand, social reluctance in responding to their
(2010) who showed that homosexual men have greater demands (i.e., emotional support) plays a major role as a
dissatisfaction with their physical fitness compared to their sociopsychological factor in the development of depression
heterosexual counterparts. symptoms, making bottom and versatile homosexual men
In societies with a patriarchal culture, the male gender vulnerable to depressive disorders.
is manifested by two rules: (i) A man must be attracted High scores of bottom and versatile groups in hysteria
to the opposite sex and (ii) a man must be homophobic (Hy) indicate that they typically display bodily symptoms
(Lehne, 1989; Eslen-Ziya & Koç, 2016). In these societies, in response to anxiety. On the other hand, they have a
homosexual men are perceived as more feminine and are narcissistic personality disorder and adopt indirect and
accused of being “less of a man.” To compensate for this inappropriate attention-seeking methods. Goenjian
social view, homosexual men internalize homophobic et al. (2000) reported that excessive attention-seeking
behaviors, such as negative feelings toward their feminine behavior is not a personality disorder but a response to
side and that of other homosexual men, to create a safe damages inflicted by neglect these men experienced in
haven for their masculinity. At its extreme, this behavior the development and growth process. Moreover, Dawson
leads the person to reject his own sexual orientation (1985) believed that attention-seeking behaviors are
(Blashill & Powlishta, 2009; Herek & McLemore, 2013). rooted in developmental delay due to rejection by parents

Given a higher mean score of tops in hypochondriasis and peers. These issues can be rooted in the gender non-
(Hs) scale, they are less likely to identify themselves as conformity of bottom and versatile homosexual men in
homosexuals and report greater internalized homophobia. Iranian society with the dominance of patriarchy, where
Since there is a relationship between internalized men are judged against traditional criteria for masculinity
homophobia with negative body image and low self- and violators are punished. In this culture, their demands
esteem (Rowen & Malcolm, 2003; Hart et al., 2003), it can for emotional support from their families and communities
be said that tops are more likely to conform to masculine are rejected because of violating desired norms, disrupting
gender norms and thus become alienated from their body their internal regulation.
compared to other groups. High scores of tops and bottoms in paranoia (Pa) indicate
Higher scores of bottom and versatile groups in that they are sensitive to mistreatment and criticism from
depression indicate that these groups are generally others. They have a strong bias toward their beliefs, making

Volume 9 Issue 2 (2023) 56 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.0390