Egypt: sex, dolls, and revolutions
The frustration of the Egyptian population with the French occupation found its only outlet in an expression of patriotism through sexuality. The sexual potency of Egyptians as opposed to their “better armed but effeminate” race of conquerors eventually manifested itself in the rising popularity of a doll they called Ali-Kaka, clad in an oriental dress and with a monstrous penis. The doll boosted the morale of the population who were desperate for an outlet for their dissatisfaction, and became a symbol of Egyptian pride against the occupation. Ali-Kaka became a gift, ever so common, amongst all classes and even produced by bakeries as sweets for young children.
Continue reading on Your Middle East
Banned: film and television censorship in Jordan
In the country from which the film Theeb was shortlisted for the Oscar’s Best Foreign Language Film 2015, a portion of Jordan’s resources continues to be dedicated to a system for censoring films and television shows viewed by Jordanians.
Officers are aware of how unrealistic it is to control what Jordanians watch in their homes—especially with the spread of the internet. However, according to one employee, “there’s a difference between watching a movie in your home with family and friends, and making it open to the public.” An officer sitting in a different room added, “imagine taking your son to the movie theatre only to find that the film contains sexual content inappropriate for his age. Would you be happy?”
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"On the sex trafficking ring bust in Maameltein" by Edwin Nasr
As soon as we reach puberty, we are taught by our heterosexual male peers in Catholic school to stop perceiving sex workers as social pariahs and start exploiting their bodies to attain manhood status. Our peers – by handing down advice gracefully given to them by older generations – will then resort to a classification of sex workers according to their nationality – Eastern European/Russian sex workers being the “most expensive” and Syrian sex workers being the “cheapest”.
Continue reading on Hummus for Thought
