Daneshjoo Park

The Internet has made socializing easier for gays in the past several years, according to those interviewed, who said they had found many gay friends online.
There are dozens of gay and lesbian Web sites and chat rooms, which the authorities monitor and block. But ways around the bans are found, and new Web sites are opened.
Gays say the key to living in Iran without government interference, even as couples, is keeping a low profile. Some have been arrested for looking “too feminine” but are generally fined and released.
Tehran has several famous areas, like Karim-Khan Street, or Mellat, Laleh and Daneshjoo parks, where gays meet and where gay prostitutes seek customers. “It does not take them even 10 minutes to get picked up,” said Amir, 24, a graphic designer who is gay. “There are men from every class,” he said. “Some of them are bisexual and call it being naughty.”
But most gays are driven underground also for fear of being shunned or rejected by relatives.
Shahin, 27, a chemist, has kept his gay life secret from his parents. “I don’t want to upset them,” he said. “Maybe they will consider me sick and feel sorry for me.”
Shahin said a gay friend was disowned when his family learned of his sexual orientation. He said he had many friends who married as a cover for their gay lives.