Few days ago, a
student at AUB” American University of Beirut”, a prestigious university in
Lebanon, wrote an article entitled: “Viewpoint: Please me at any Price”
The article itself caused so much reaction that I googled it and read it.
Surprisingly, the article is one of the weakest I ve read in ages…and coming from an AUB student, that was the first surprise.
The article itself caused so much reaction that I googled it and read it.
Surprisingly, the article is one of the weakest I ve read in ages…and coming from an AUB student, that was the first surprise.
The content was,
surprisingly enough, not a shock.
it reflected the views of many people you run across in the street...
The article tackled homosexuality…
it reflected the views of many people you run across in the street...
The article tackled homosexuality…
“The other day, I
saw a couple holding hands along Hamra Street. Normally I would never look
twice, but something was not right. They both had short hair, facial hair, and
rough voices. The sight was disturbing. Call me sexist, call me whatever you
like, I couldn’t get that image out of my head for the whole day. I couldn’t
believe what I saw, I know that Lebanon aims to be an ideal ‘secular’ country,
but if this is what ‘secular’ is then maybe it’s not such a good idea” … said
the opening paragraph…
Now it is impossible for anyone living in Beirut, not to come across gay couples, despite the legal circumstances ( art. 534- penal code).
Secularism has nothing to do with it… when many people have come a long way to cross that bridge of fear and illogical narrowness against love between two adult people.
the writer , mohammad Sibai, noted the guys have facial hair and short haircuts, which sheds a light on a pre-existent image of “Homosexuals” in many of people s minds…
do gay men come in customized looks??
I felt the need to contact this guy and every person who thinks alike, only to give them living proof that being gay does not mean being an alien…
It is rather sad and pitiful to think that such an image is locked in modern people… and allow me to say that the first ever gay kiss was depicted more than 4000 years ago in an Egyptian tomb, during the pharos ruling…Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep were painted together for eternity in an embrace usually associated with heterosexual couples of the 5th dynasty.
Now it is impossible for anyone living in Beirut, not to come across gay couples, despite the legal circumstances ( art. 534- penal code).
Secularism has nothing to do with it… when many people have come a long way to cross that bridge of fear and illogical narrowness against love between two adult people.
the writer , mohammad Sibai, noted the guys have facial hair and short haircuts, which sheds a light on a pre-existent image of “Homosexuals” in many of people s minds…
do gay men come in customized looks??
I felt the need to contact this guy and every person who thinks alike, only to give them living proof that being gay does not mean being an alien…
It is rather sad and pitiful to think that such an image is locked in modern people… and allow me to say that the first ever gay kiss was depicted more than 4000 years ago in an Egyptian tomb, during the pharos ruling…Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep were painted together for eternity in an embrace usually associated with heterosexual couples of the 5th dynasty.
And those two were highly ranked.. so is the world going
backwards???
So what mohammed saw was two manly looking men, in a status of couple. Mmm let me rephrase… two adult regular men who love each other and decided to be in a relationship…. And that awakened a fear…
I am not comparing and forgive my direct and instant words… mohammad was not disturbed by all the sheehsa bars and teenagers smoking. Mohammad was not disturbed by the amount of pollution in beirut. Mohammad was not disturbed by all the crimes, pauverty… prostitution… because these things are regular… but a love relation between two adult men was a shock.
I do not intend to sound too “humanitarian or idealistic, but this logic seemed wrong to me…
if I want to agree with mohammad and I quote him “Even if I were to put religions aside, our cultures, logic, morals, and humanity have and hopefully always will condemn such acts whether in public or in private.” So holding hands, such an innocent act, is something offensive not to be done in public…
So what mohammed saw was two manly looking men, in a status of couple. Mmm let me rephrase… two adult regular men who love each other and decided to be in a relationship…. And that awakened a fear…
I am not comparing and forgive my direct and instant words… mohammad was not disturbed by all the sheehsa bars and teenagers smoking. Mohammad was not disturbed by the amount of pollution in beirut. Mohammad was not disturbed by all the crimes, pauverty… prostitution… because these things are regular… but a love relation between two adult men was a shock.
I do not intend to sound too “humanitarian or idealistic, but this logic seemed wrong to me…
if I want to agree with mohammad and I quote him “Even if I were to put religions aside, our cultures, logic, morals, and humanity have and hopefully always will condemn such acts whether in public or in private.” So holding hands, such an innocent act, is something offensive not to be done in public…
Another logic
that Mr Mohammed evoked was the rise of STIs with homosexuality…
technically speaking, if a homosexual couple are in a relationship, then the risk of STIs between them is as high as a heterosexual couple… so same conditions apply…
cheating is not limited to homosexuals and I d rather say is not a homosexual disease, HIV is not a homosexual disease, HPV, hepatitis …. Those are not caused by or strictly linked with homosexuality…
this is another worry that hits me.. if people think they are safe of STIs because of their heterosexuality… then NGOs are not achieving the goal they aim to in HIV awareness…
technically speaking, if a homosexual couple are in a relationship, then the risk of STIs between them is as high as a heterosexual couple… so same conditions apply…
cheating is not limited to homosexuals and I d rather say is not a homosexual disease, HIV is not a homosexual disease, HPV, hepatitis …. Those are not caused by or strictly linked with homosexuality…
this is another worry that hits me.. if people think they are safe of STIs because of their heterosexuality… then NGOs are not achieving the goal they aim to in HIV awareness…
I really fear for the future of our nation with the presence of the likes of mohammad…
as I said, the article is weak, and I am not going to go through it line by line so as to defend a logic or criticize another… but , with the rise of the arab spring, with the rise of conservative groups to power in many countries, notably the arab ones, in my region, I believe a bigger role and a bigger threat is endangering the little successes we have come to achieve in the field of human rights… and I truly and deeply believe that a new educational system should be implemented if we are to rise to the level of Humanity in human rights… I also urge the media to play a positive role in promoting human rights and equality… the united nations' charter… so as, for now and the core of my topic, homosexuality, is looked at as THE regular social status it is and not a s stigmatized social danger
