'to be queer and diaspora is not inbetweeness, it is presence;'

[jane_malek]

namazie's poem resonates with anyone who finds themselves queer and in the diaspora, alienated from home through queerness and alienated from the West through the immigrant identity. However, namazie's poem does not submit to this idea, despite it being real and affecting the selfhood of many immigrants, including mine. The 'normative assumption' here refers to the assumption that a place like Persia (Iran), an Islamic state, does not welcome queerness and rejects its own people if they display queerness. However, despite the fact that this assumption does hold some truth, it is important to note that this assumption is validated and fuelled by Western powers like the US to portray the Iranian government as 'backward' for not accepting queerness as part of Iran, justifying their conflict against Iran.

When namazie says queer diasporic Iranians are 'of/against the future simultaneously', this refers to;

1. The view held by Islamic fundamentalists that portray queerness as a 'backwardness of the past'. Here, Queer Iranians are against the future.
2. The view promoted by the US that portrays Queer Iranians as requiring liberation through US-backed regime change that would create a society that would welcome Queer Iranians. Here, Queer Iranians are of the future.
3. The view held by some historians that insist on queerness being a part of Iranian history through literature and believe Iranian society was not homophobic until the colonial and imperial projects of the West. Here, Queer Iranians are against the future, but are not 'backward' like they are portrayed by the first view.

No matter what view one believes in, namazie's poem communicates that queerness has, is, and will always be a part of Iran. Queerness is not something to be repressed to embrace the Iranian identity, both can coexist.