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Kayvon Zand's Music Video Was Inspired By "Massacre" Of Forced Gender-Reassignment Surgeries In Iran

"If you are homosexual, they believe you are transgender."

Iranian-American club kid Kayvon Zand has released the video for his song "Touch," and it is making a surprising political statement.

Zand explained to MTV Iggy that he's trying to shine a light on the mistreatment of LGBT Iranians, and the reason why is shocking.

In Iran, homosexuality is punishable by death. Zand revealed that in order to live a life where you can be openly gay, you have to have your gender reassigned.

"It’s really a massacre to be honest," Zand said. "I know it sounds very dramatic but I can’t think of another word."

He went on to share how the Iranian government forces sex changes on homosexuals:

"So the government—and this is where it gets stranger—is basically going to support your sex change. They’re going to help you, which is weirdly generous. Over here we don’t even do that! But the thing is it’s forced. It’s not for transgender individuals, it’s for gay individuals. So what happens is they become separated from their families and they go into prostitution.  But to make the prostitution legal, they perform a marriage that you can do on your own. So before they sleep with the clients they do a marriage! And that’s how they have to make a living! And a lot of them end up committing suicide, because they’re being forced to live in a body that’s not their body. And the surgery itself is incredibly traumatic."

But how does this horrific practice relate to his new music video?

"So in the music video, I’ve created a trio where we’re connected by the hair. My eyes have been sewn shut. The girl’s ears have been shut. The other guy’s mouth has been shut. Obviously, hear no, see no, speak no. And we’re about to go into the transition. There’s also the really jarring scene where there are worms all over my face and there’s a harness—that was my way of representing going into prostitution and suicide."

Check out the video for "Touch" below.

h/t: MTV Iggy 

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