Did Pandora misread the Lebanese market?

Pandora has a Christmas ad. So far nothing unusual. Women (and even men) flock to buy bracelets with charms from the brand during the holidays. But let us be very honest here, and I am speaking as a liberal for whom a lot of things are "OK, whatever", the models in the ad are dark-skinned. And in Lebanon, you are only dark-skinned if you are the househelp. Once more, I am trying to be both open-minded, but also very pragmatic. Almost every summer there is an issue at resorts - can the maid be admitted as well, and if she does can she use the pool like anyone else? I know I am not inventing these issues, these are part of the Lebanese society want it or not. And sadly, one cannot be too avant-garde while trying to sell. Someone just told me "I love Pandora, but now if I wear it I would be the same as our househelp as per the ad." I truly do think Pandora did a misstep here. Nothing that two light-skinned models cannot fix. And again, take it from a liberal, sometimes the market is the market.

She's got Bette Davis cigarette: What to do about the past?

In case you have not heard, the company responsible for Dr. Seuss books, decided to discontinue publishing six of his due to racial stereotypes. Aunt Jemima is now rebranded as Pearl Milling Company. Pepe le Pew has been scratched from the new Space Jam movie due to his insensitivity towards the female gender (Penelope Pussycat). And the Muppets (yes, those Muppets!) are now accompanied by warnings of racial portrayals. And these are merely examples dating barely back to the beginning of the year.

I am not defending cigarettes, but the idea of Betty Davis without one seems - not just odd - inauthentic. Yet, when her stamp was issued in the US, guess what was missing between her fingers? Of course, anyone from Ronald Reagan to Bing Crosby did cigarette ads. "More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarettes" - this alone is an ad that sends you chills. "Before you scold me, ma maybe you better light up a Marlboro". Look, Tom and Jerry had a lot of racial undertones and overtones (anything from full racial stereotypes to blackface). Breakfast at Tiffany's - let us to be honest remembered mostly for Audrey Hebpurn - had the otherwise lovely Mickey Rooney portraying I.Y. Yunioshi - an Asian character.

In the Casterman published "Martine", the little girl had a "doll" called Cacao. The doll was black-skinned. That Cacao ended up carrying Martine's bag is of little surprise. That she also cannot remember her name "though it is not difficult to remember" only highlights her stupidity. Do I go on?

Lebanon tends to specialize in this racism. Long ago, there was an ad which, to highlight how good a detergent was at whitening, saw the Sri Lankan maid put in the washer. We still have "sif el abed" (sif - or steel wool and abed - slave) with the appropriate imagery to match. Up until 2010, Gandour had an immensely popular product called "ras el abed" (head of a slave). A competition was launched to rename it and we ended up with "Tarboosh". But the original name still stands.

When Star Academy was immensely popular in Lebanon, there was a nightly program about what these youngsters did. All the Arab youth wanted to emulate them for sure. Still, in one of these nightly episodes, there was a cut of all the young men agglomerated and sharing cigarettes. When my brother called the person responsible for the program and complained, she answered: "Chou 3alei, ma ana bdakhen?" (What does it matter, I smoke too!).

Of course, the point I am trying to make is: How far back do we go? How do we "rectify" the past (because, at this stage, we are assuming the past needs rectification). Am I of the generation that saw Pepe le Pew and saw their mother use "Sif el Abed"? I am. Am I racist or do I harass women? I do not. Did I see my parents smoke like a chimney growing up? I did. Do I smoke? Again, I do not (but let this not be a "rule" like the woman responsible for Star Academy made it -  if it applies to her it applies to everyone else). 

Social norms changed, case in point? In 1989, my cousins were lighting up a hubbly bubbly, when my (male) cousin offered it to her sister she said: "Ana bint bte7terem 7ala!" (I am a girl who respects herself). Lately, with hubbly bubbly became a vogue item (which are much more harmful than cigarettes) I saw the said cousin preparing her own "narguile" (or hubbly bubbly). It ceased to become a stigma to smoke it.

And before we part. Here's a last anecdote. A student of mine was preparing her thesis about "metrosexual men". Then she told me that she had dinner with her boyfriend and told him about her thesis. Metrosexual men are men who, despite not being homosexual, care a lot about their appearance (clothing, manicures, etc...). She told me, in the beginning he laughed it off. Then at the end of the dinner he asked her: "Do you think my nails need a manicure?" Suddenly, realizing there was no shame in it, it became also socially acceptable to do it.

As morals change, how much should we go back? L.P. Hartley said: “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”

I have more pressing problems than George Floyd.

It has emerged that worldwide, there are murals celebrating George Floyd. Including one in Idlib, Syria.

Including.One.In.Idlib.Syria.

I mean I applaud the effort, truly. A war torn country where the economy is almost non-existent, is standing up to racism. That's truly commendable.

Naturally, problems related to human dignity should be on top of our list. Or should they?

Hmmm, two days ago my bank chose to break our agreement we had together and whose maturity ends in one year (2021). My financial consultant did all the necessary contacts and it turned out that yes, legally, the bank can break the arrangement at the end of every year. No, I did not know it could do so.

My consultant swiftly advised me about a new strategy and now I am waiting for the bank to answer the email I sent them to fine tune the strategy in question.

Meanwhile, prices of goods are soaring, the IMF is knocking on our doors (plural, as there are too many doors behind which lie contrasting numbers), the social unrest is rampant (again, the figures are scary but the reality one could palpably see is too striking), the post-feudal political order is still going strong, oh and there's the Coronavirus leaving the country in a lockdown limbo (not sure if we are in lockdown or not, it is all too confusing).

Now about that racism problem, here's what someone posted yesterday on Facebook:

"If anyone has an Ethiopian worker he does not want anymore, I will take her. Please DM privately."

I am trying to translate verbatim. When I was working as a consultant at a very reputable university in the mid aughts, a professor was walking by the main door. Then a woman of dark skin followed him. The security stopped her, to which the professor turned and told them "hayde ele" (she's mine/she's my property) not "hayde ma3e" (she accompanies me).

Up until a few years ago, one could still purchase a product called "ras el abed" (abed means slave - and ras el abed means head of a slave). The product was rebranded into "tarboosh" (fez) but guess what people still call it? And at the supermarket, one could still purchase a product called "sif el abed" whose name in English is "Negro" (they are cleaning utility pads if you want to know).

I do understand saying that I have more pressing problems than George Floyd might seem being racist or xenophobic - but try living in Lebanon today. The daily pressure is unbearable before we get to the problem that the Ethiopian embassy closed its doors in the face of girls wanting to be repatriated and not affording it (as they need to shell 770 Dollars to pay for their two-week quarantine as soon as they land in Ethiopia as they need to be stationed in hotels because the government owned spaces are now at full capacity).

As I cheer on Aziz Asmr and Anis Hamdoun, the two Syrian artists behind the Idlib mural, I wish either one of them could answer the email I sent to the bank (because the bank still did not yet!) - yes, racism is a major problem in Lebanon, but there are more pressing daily problems that need to be tackled.

The George Floyd issue needs to wait in line.

Tania Saleh: between blackface and good intentions

Source

The incredibly talented Tania Saleh found herself in hot water. 

Here is how she captioned her image:
كل عمري كنت احلم كون سوداء
I wish I was black, today more than ever... Sending my love and full support to the people who demand equality and justice for all races anywhere in the world.
#nojusticenopeace #georgefloyd #blacklivesmatter #usa #policestate #whitesupremacy #amrika #justice #peace #love #color #race #black #strangefruit (Photo montage from an original picture found on Pinterest)

Now, it is obvious that Saleh (whose work is otherwise admirable) did what is commonly known as blackface. I assume the original Pinterest image she did a photo montage of had the afro already (which does not exonerate Saleh but might alleviate the cultural appropriation found in the final photo).

Truth be told, Saleh is neither the first nor the last creative to be accused of blackface, actually comedian Jimmy Kimmel just apologized profusely for an image of him which shows he had blackened his skin. In 2018, fashion house Prada removed figurines which closely resembled black caricature, and in 2019 Gucci withdrew a sweater which resembled a blackface, and in 2016 Marc Jacobs received backlash for his models' afro hairdo.

In other words Saleh is in good company. Still, it might have been a faux pas. But as the French saying goes "hell is paved with good intentions".

In the meantime, check her incredible "wehde".... 

Lebora - Lebanese housekeepers, racism and stereotypes.

Recently, I have seen photos of Ethiopian house helps being repatriated - by the hundreds upon hundreds. The reason is simple, few households can now afford either to hire someone by the hour (the rate was 5 Dollars) or full in-house on 24/7 basis (the average cost is 450 USD).
Actually, Lebanese being mostly racist in their demeanor, the whole category of house helps was labelled "sirilankiye" (Sri Lankese - due to the nationality of the first wave of women who would help at home). So much that one of my students (the son of an MP no less) told me once in class "Monsieur, Sirilankiyetna jeye min Ethiopia" (Sir, our Sri Lankese comes from Ethiopia). Actually, prior to be called collectively "sirilankiye " such women were called "baalbakiye" (the woman who comes from Baalbeck in what is sociologically called "rationalizing of the position").
Which brings us to Lebora (an incredible name truth be told which mixes Lebanon-Labor-Ora (by the hour) in a lovely mix) which promises to procure Lebanese house helps either per hour, part time or full time live in.
Now, Lebanese are not only racist but they are also snobbish and "menial work" is looked down on, and yes, many people do not abide by the "desperate times call for desperate measures" although in my dictionary I see nothing desperate about honest work - been there, done that. So many women feel degraded to be working as "san3a"  (maid) as men do with regards to filling jobs on fuel stations (the IPT campaign comes to mind).
Well, perhaps the current crisis will make the Lebanese reconsider. Here's hoping.