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Episode 2

Syrian universities with the sex don't mix
The second episode of M-GENDER-A critically discusses the outdated and scientifically unsupported teachings regarding sexuality and sexual practices within Syrian universities, particularly focusing on perspectives related to homosexuality. The episode explores the historical context, revealing how 19th-century psychiatrists like Von Krafft-Ebing pathologized and classified certain sexual behaviors and orientations as "deviations" without scientific basis. The critique sheds light on how these unfounded and antiquated ideas, such as classifying homosexuality as a deviation or even pathological, persist in contemporary Syrian educational contexts, despite modern, international standards and classifications, like those from the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization, recognizing homosexuality as a natural variation of human sexuality. This discrepancy fosters harmful stereotypes, perpetuates societal stigmatization, and promotes distress among individuals and their families, thereby underlining an urgent need for reform in Syrian educational systems to ensure teachings are both scientifically accurate and socially conscientious.