Summer, my best friend as well as the actor and the inspiration for the main character, is both Muslim-American and bisexual. She, however, does not suffer from depression as the main character of my film does.
The inspiration for the details of my plot came from when Alex, Summer, me, and our friend Manahil went out to lunch. Both Summer and Manahil are Muslim and their parents are against them hanging out with male friends, so when we went to go pick up Manahil there was complications with her mother.
Unfortunately, those complications worsened when Manahil's mother told Summer's dad about Alex being with us and came to the restaurant to take her away immediately. He was angry because her mother told him that Alex and her were dating, even though she is gay, but not out to her parents. She debated what would be worse: to tell them she was bisexual or be accused of dating Alex. Once she left we began the discussion of how strict traditional Muslim parents are about male friends, and homosexuality.
Of course, then, our discussion wasn't completely accurate and factual, but with more research I understand why both their parents were so strict about them hanging out with Alex. In Islam virginity, or the concept of virginity, is extremely important within the religion. In fact, if there was no blood shed during intercourse after marriage then the girl was shamed, even though bleeding cannot determine virginity, and sent back to her family, which brought shame upon the family. To prevent the shame, it is the responsibility of her father and brothers to watch over her and monitor her. Even though the concept and testing of virginity has been modernized, it is still common for Muslim parents, especially fathers, to be strict on their daughters to maintain their modesty. Nonetheless, it is seen as improper for young Muslim girls to have male friends and especially boyfriends, even in modern culture.
As for homosexuality, it is clearly prohibited within the religion and punishable within traditional Islamic countries. Within the Qu'ran there is the story of Lut.
"He said to his people: 'Will you commit lewdness such as no people in creation ever committed before you? For you come in lust to men in preference to women. No, you are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds'(Qur'an 7:80-81) 'Of all the creatures in the world, will you approach males, and leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your mates? No, you are a people transgressing (all limits)!' (Qur'an 26:165-166).
I wanted the main character of my film to have multiple, very strong reasons to attempt to end her life, since suicide typically results in the build up of a lot of problems. The three reasons for her being her struggles with her sexuality in an unsupportive environment, her struggle with untreated depression, and the falling out with her only support system, her two friends.
Suicide is the ninth leading cause of death in the United States, but the number one leading cause for death among the LGBT community, with homosexual teens two to six times more likely to commit or attempt than heterosexual teens and are 8.4 times likely to attempt when their parents are unsupportive. Girls are also twice as likely to attempt suicide than boys are.
"About Teen Suicide." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. The Nemours Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
"Depression." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. The Nemours Foundation, n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
"LGBT Bullying Statistics." NoBullying Bullying CyberBullying Resources. N.p., 09 May 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.
"SPEAK: Suicide Prevention Education Awareness for Kids." SPEAK: Suicide Prevention Education Awareness for Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
"Western Europe." Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures. Vol. 3. Leiden: Brill, 2006. N. pag. Print.
"What Does Islam Say About Homosexuality?" About.com Religion & Spirituality. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.
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