My article describing how I bought an artificial hymen (a photo of which I've posted in the previous post below) and my commentary on the subject has been published by the Guardian:
"As a member of the XY tribe, evolution has spared me of one anatomically useless little membrane; and of course, my virginity, as a male, is of little interest to society. For women, however, it is frequently a very different matter.
Recently, news of a $15 Chinese-made artificial hymen sent ripples across the Egyptian media and blogosphere. China has been manufacturing this very same product for years, but it was an advertisement for a Chinese company offering shipping into the Middle East that started the discussion here in Cairo. ............................"
Please go read the article and come back here for comments and discussion!
Update:
So the article has been pretty well received on CiF - it's in the 'most commented' selection (right),
Made it up to Yahoo! Buzz,
And even generated an article that, well, described my article.
But the coolest bit is - someone made my conclusion into a pretty quote:
It's very weird to read yourself quoted, I tell ya'. Weird but very flattering!
24 comments:
yep. I can't but agree with you on all of this. Hipocrisy!!
are we living the dark ages of a certain Islam? Or is it just plain, universal machism? n(ot that hipocrisy is the monopole of one society/group/religion/time of course. just wondering...)
I think you must have misunderstood my point on the last post...In fact, I agree with you when, in the Guardian article, you say, "I do, however, strongly condemn the hypocrisy that allows us to discriminate against 50% of the society while giving a free pass to the other half."
I don't particularly subscribe to the Western idea of free love, nor do I believe in waiting until marriage per se. But whatever one's beliefs, equality is key. You hit the nail on the head.
First, I would like to point out that me myself I wouldn't be happy to find out that my future wife isn't a virgin. Yet, I believe if virginity is a requirement then it should be offered from both parties.
In our society, we always blame the woman for everything. If a man had sex before marriage, we will end up saying " الله هدا - طيش شباب". On the other hand, if a woman had sex before marriage then we'll end up saying "شرموطة - مفتوحة - دايرة على حل شعرها " . At the very same, if non virgin unmarried woman didn't have forced sex, then this is a very good indication that she had spend a good effort trying to cheat and disguise in front of the society and her family.
We grew up, knowing that sex before marriage is a crime. Even a raped woman can hardly explain herself in front of our society. Yet, this "criminal" is weak and this artificial hymen would certainly help protect the weak "criminal" from the society.
It is a shame that we are focusing on the artificial hymens instead of focusing on artificial intelligence.
احنا عايشين في زمن العار
Watch this
An excellent piece. Very well judged. Thanks!
Excellent, dear! A tip of my hat!
This comment on your article really knocked me off chair :D :D
PapaDumb said:
and of course, my virginity, as a male, is of little interest to society
Yes, your virginity is of very little interest to society but I'm sorry to hear about it anyway.
Don't worry - you'll score one day.
:D :D
First I must say... Boy you are brave!! Just to dare order that things and bring it in, and have this little adventure with authorities! You are a brave guy!!
Second, this is one of the best articles I've ever read,, I like your style very much.
I agree, we have a problem, it's in our society's double standards.
For those who thought that all those past years we've been living in a "moral" society, this proves the opposite, we are in fact living in a "hypocritical" society.. And the "moral deviations" we didn't want to admit that we have, are now proven to exist, and the prove that it's actually spreading more and more, is that those clever Chinese, well known for there sense of spotting who-needs-what, spotted our need for fake virginity, fake morality, and are acting to meet it.
Well done my friend :)
Oh, one more thing... Now that your demonstration is over.. What on earth are you going to do with that thing now!!!!??
LOVE it! Wonderful article, and from the comments you've won over a tough crowd--Guardian readers are pretty critical.
Uh, yes, well, I spent some time in a private girl's school---and there are any number of unchaste methods of premarital sex that still allow for an intact hymen, anal and oral sex being the most popular. That's why I suggested you look for a honest, loving woman rather than an intact hymen for a wife. Pigeon spleen/liver is preferred because its so small its easy to smuggle into the bridal chamber. And if that's not available, something sharp or pointy that allows you to cut/puncture yourself in an obscure place will produce enough blood to make virginal drops on the sheets--this is usually accomplished after your new husband has "deflowered" you and lapsed into sated slumber.
And this kind of hypcrisy is universal--you'll find it in most societies, secular and religious. The Double Standard is alive and well just about everywhere. And sisters, if you're sitting in NYC, SF or London and sipping your lattes and feeling very sure that the Double Standard doesn't exist in your neck of the woods, then you're delusional. I've eavesdropped on too many modern western men's "morning after" talks to retain any illusions--they'll pay lip service to sexual equality but in fact, "liberated women" are just "fresh meat" to them. The fact that in the West you're now expected to bed a man after a date is degrading in itself.
I am laughing out loud now!
Great article. You are absolutely right when you mention hypocrisy. It is one of the greatest ills that constrict Egyptian society. Why should I expect my wife to be a virgin when I myself am not? Sick hypocrisy.
Apart from faking virginity, I think it would be very useful as a sex toy for virgin fantasies and the like, don't you think so?
Your conclusion is very good. It deserves to be quoted.
Why some of them do this fake thing? I mean, God sees everything and know everything, so why all these lies? They should read mor the Quran, than do such those stupid traditional things.Sick hypocrisy, right. May Allah give these ppl more knowledge to leave those stupid traditional acts. Ameen!!
@Maria
"yep. I can't but agree with you on all of this. Hipocrisy!!"
This has nothing to do with Islam. It's a sick tradition made by humans.
They are talking about your post at Jezebel! http://jezebel.com/5393627/egyptian-man-orders-artificial-hymen-online A commenter wrote 'Mr. Al Rahhal is awesome. We need more men like him.'
How many times it was told to them that it's Mo-ha-med. MO-HA-MED!!! Unbelievable...
*sigh*
Maria - probably a bit of both, I'm afraid. I remember reading an article titled "The Age of superficial Islam". Maybe they're right...
Jillian - Nor do I, but as you say, regardless of the end goal, equality is key! I find amazing how we can still discriminate against a "minority" of 50.5%... (yes, there are slightly more women than men around!
Khaled - Precisely! فاقد الشيء لا يعطيه as we say, and we can't hold people to standards we don't abide by ourselves..
Love the 'artificial intelligence' part. :)
Goy - Thank you very much!
Soha - Merci beaucoup, chere amie!
Nobody - Thanks for bringing over here the least flattering comment out of the 166 that people left there.
Hmph.
NG - It was quite fun, I have to say! And thank you for the compliment. :)
That's the thing! There is no moral society! We just go on pretending...
As for what to do with the thing... I don't know.
I'm considering holding a contest or something. ;)
Aliyah06 - I guess so, but I'm quite surprised!
Excellent point about the double standard. Even virginity has a premium in western countries - i can't find the article right now but it was about British women (that is, non-Muslim white women) undergoing hymen reconstruction as a birthday present, or to 'relight the sparkle' with their long-term partners - 'doing a virgin' is still of interest everywhere apparently.
Baher - thank you very much!
As for use for virgin fantasies - oh yes, absolutely. I'm sure it is actually being used for that reason as well...
Anonymous - Ameen, yes! As Maria was pointing out, it looks like we're taking religion the most superficial way possible...
Lena - Indeed.
Vertigo - Hurray!
Ah, it sucks to see your pseudonym rather than your real name..
Nobody - Eh. I'm giving up. Apparently is very hard for people to separate syllables...
Thanks for keeping the tradition alive though!
Cari you've been quoted :) that's so cool. We are big hypocrites yes.
Aliyah, love the double standards note.
How could I have missed this brilliant article of yours! Not to mention the actual hymen per se!
Well written in a very entertainingly informative and throught provoking way.
And a big lol on that papa dumb comment....sorry but that was just too hillarious...you kinda asked for it..
That wold be *thought* I meant...
*would* lolllll
I should leave now.
Ah, yes, that was good fun. Delighted you like it!
And -- well yes, I did ask for it. And I also laughed at that comment. It was unfortunate though that the comment was among the first ones written... :)
Good to read from you, Shay :)
Great article. Now more are more 'hymen recontruction' 'hymen restruction' is being advertized all over the US - especially in the US.
It's actually funny. All these working girls getting a new hymen each time they make a trip to Dubai to meet up with a wealthy guy who pay big dollars for virgins. What could be better than a nice virgin blond with experience! Imagine their confusion when they contracted the CLAP...now that's sometime to applaud about. Pay back can be a bitc*.
Alilyah06, so very true. Living in the US, I know that for a fact. Woman who sleep around are called sluts and tramps. The men are called studs.
The double standard is everywhere on earth.
I mean 'especially in New York City' sorry.
Thanks, Anonymous. I guess some people like to convince themselves that their 'virgins' have a lot of theoretical experience? :)
very nice blog .. I liked the theme too! never thought they were going to write about it:) thanks
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