A reader sends in a clarifying quote:
"It is impossible to describe our daily lives and surroundings without touching on homosexuality. In Iraq, and throughout the Arab world, a puritanical lifestyle reigns supreme, based in part on the clear segregation of men and women. The severe restrictions on having anything to do with contact between the sexes has produced a special way of life … The atmosphere was one of unceasing desire and curiosity; it is no wonder that Arabic poetry is suffused with sadness, fantasy and yearning … This way of life also increased the incidence of homosexual behaviour in the Baghdad I knew: Boys and adults molested children and some deviants even sought sexual release with animals. Quite a few women became lesbians, perhaps because their confinement in their homes and their limited access to men led to boredom and the search for emotional release," – Mordechai Ben-Porat (a Baghdad-born Jew who became a member of the Israeli Knesset) in his book, "To Baghdad and Back."
The Dish 