Culture of Love #3: Desire for sexual self-determination

Sorour grew up in Iran in a very conservative environment and had contact with boys for the first time at the age of 16 – but in Germany. In the third article in our “Culture of Love” series, she talks about her early experiences when it comes to dating, prejudices and the desire for sexual self-determination. Dating and love can be pleasant experiences but also quite exhausting. Nice because you can meet a person who inspires you, with whom you can trade closeness and intimacy. Exhausting, because we live in a society that is moving ahead with sexist and racist stereotypes and norms. What experiences do people with migration and refugee background in Germany have when it comes to dating and love?

Two people meet each other and out of it emerge two (cultural) identities with different expectations, socialization and experiences, also different desires, freedoms and sometimes languages. This can lead to misunderstandings, prejudices, new insights and similarities.