On that BDSM workshop banned in Beirut - what if we are not regressing?

I admit, I knew about this quite late. Apparently an introductory day to kinkiness at KED has been banned. You might read about this at length here. This would not be the first time or the last time a cultural event (because that's what it was) would be banned.

Someone told me we are running backwards. Society at large in Lebanon is going backwards but it got me thinking: Is it?

First some facts: In the 1960s a nightclub in Aley (Los Cuevos) had a BSDM room and a dominatrix.

Lebanon did have the first soft-porn mass market movie (Sayyidat Al Akmar Al Sawda2 - directed by, no I am not kidding Samir A. Khoury, who would go on and direct Remi Bandali in her children's fairy film "Amani ta7t kaws kouza7"). The film was produced in 1971.

In 1972 Lebanon - yes, the country - advertises in Playboy - yes, that Playboy.

In 1978 the late Elias Rahbani released his hit Liza Liza with a women showing her naked breasts on the sleeve.

In 1982, Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt gets interviewed by Playboy - yes, again, that Playboy.

Now all of these signal that Lebanon was an open and sexually-tolerant society. I have heard that too many times.

And yet....

What if these were the exceptions, not the rule.

What if society, has always been conservative, unaccepting of new ideas, what if it benefited everyone - I mean politicians do not want people to actually think, the clergy of all religions would see their reign destabilized by people who ask or ague too much, people themselves prefer their ignorance to really straying too far in thinking. 

Here is an incident I spoke of before:

A commission of the delegates went to Kamel Assaad*'s father who was one of the most influential Shiite feudal lords (or dignitaries to put in mildly) in the South of Lebanon and asked him to build schools for their children, his retort was: “Kamel a’am yeta’alam a’ankon” (Kamel is studying on your behalf!) (*Kamel Assaad became speaker of the house after the parliamentary elections that preceded the war of 1975 and remained until the end of the self-prorogating law which lasted until the first post-war elections which included “nominations” of certain MPs).

As I said, a lot of people benefited from ignorance. From conservatism. I kept a large chunk of people under control. And control is the key word here. 

On all accounts, I still think that perhaps, if we look at this from a different standpoint, I do not think we are regressing. We are simple where we have always been. What happened prior was perhaps the exceptions that proved the rule and which happened before things got "better organized".

Take it from someone who taught at universities since 2005, no our youth are not open-minded at all, and teachers make a point of disciplining anyone who tries to make something which - supposedly - goes against their morals (their being the teachers themselves).

In a retrospective on Jeff Koons, a student was forbidden to include the work he did with his then-wife Elena Anna Stoller better known as Cicciolina (see work under "made in heaven" on Google). Let me repeat, the student wanted to include this seminal work and it is the teacher who forbade him.

With this, I really wonder - are we going backwards?

Second hand: Is there a paradigm shift in Lebanese shopping?

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

Are the Lebanese finally changing their consumption habits? Signs are exposing cracks in that picture perfect way the Lebanese liked to portray themselves. A middle class that just spent four days in Turkey, got clothes there on the cheap, and eats at McDonald's while eyeing the new Zara collection as they drive in a Nissan they pay on monthly installments.

For several years, I used to dress exclusively from Souk El Ahad, or the low-income Sunday market (which actually was held on Saturday and Sunday hence the misnomer) - and where I would get second hand clothes. I usually went with a French friend, his girlfriend and his brother. It was really wonderful to get things at such discounted prices. Sometimes we would strike gold, like that Dries Van Noten shirt, and other times it was the thrill of discovery. When I moved from Beirut in September 2010, almost all the clothes in question were donated.

But to many, the idea of buying second hand was a total taboo. Which is why my praise for Depot Vente is still enormous, as Nawal showed everyone that second hand meant rarities, one of a kind, and things that fast fashion stores could not compete with (read here). Whereas not second hand, if you aim for deadstock material (which is not new either), you might want to check Vntg Smtng for their pristine stock of sporty goods (their Iril polos are to die for). But now, with Zara increasing its prices to match the black market price of the Dollar, with many such stores changing prices almost daily (read here), and others quitting the game entirely (Adidas is exiting the market at the end of the year), something has shifted deeply in the remnants of the Lebanese middle class.

The explosion of August 4 only made things worse in the sense that suddenly everyone, from all socio-economic classes were affected (read here). Garage Souk which dubs itself a community financial empowerment tool to buy/sell/earn/learn/swap/thrift has been gaining momentum. It is supposed to empower women and students and get them extra income. But not only this, thrift stores (more like pêle-mêle vide greniers) have been mushrooming all over Instagram with mostly girls and women selling barely worn items from their closets - mostly fast fashion clothing and accessories - at discounted prices. But even higher end online stores exist - some with physical footprints not just virtual accounts (Preporter Luxury, Chic Beirut, or Garage Luxe).

The idea of second hand, with current prices soaring and imports estimated to have declined 90%, previously owned items (barely worn, back when people would buy, show off, and discard) suddenly seem a viable option. Am not saying people will go to Souk El Ahad yet, but many taboos seem to have fallen.

Lebanon advertising in Playboy in 1972: Dichotomy in a society

Lebanon advertising in Playboy - 1972 (from my personal archives)

“Meet Lebanon
Meet an Arabian Nights fantasy of unspoiled, unexpected ancient and modern delights. Meet a hundred-million years of civilization in the grottos of Jeita and a hundred-and-twenty super-swinging night clubs in Beirut.
Meet a peaceful sun on miles of untouched beaches and skiing among the Cedars of Lebanon. Meet superb food in great restaurants, and the world’s most fantastic bargains in the bazaars called “Souks”.
Meet your own Emeera… Like all the beautiful Lebanese you’ll find her warm, welcoming, worldly.”

And so Lebanon advertised in Playboy. Yes, that, Playboy.

Would today, the Ministry of Tourism take out any official funds to direct them to gentlemen' magazines? I doubt. No, actually the answer is a resounding no.

I traced back the ad to 1972 judging by the article on the musical play Wanted which was playing at the Cherry Lane theater which is next to it. 

But saying today no such ad would run would be unfair. Back then such an ad would not run either. Lebanon, want it or not, has always had a deep conservative streak running through it with small pockets of liberal attitudes. Sometimes such pockets are visible, other times less so. It so happened back then there was someone who agreed to run the ad (for the record it was minister Michel Sassine).

Whereas laughed at, the answer Lebanon's former foreign minister Gebran Bassil gave a few days back in an interview prior to attending (and then bailing) the Davos conference (after much local protest about his presence and him not representing Lebanon) that "Lebanon had family values" was a coded message which said "we always fall back on our clans". And clans are not exactly known to be permissive but they do offer safety and protection.

For all the brouhaha of protesters wanting a new system freed of Sectarian rule, as I said earlier - religion seems a predominant factor in their narrative. I am told that things are changing. But that change with a a capital "C" still needs a lot of time. My assumption would be a full generation.

Till then, good luck meeting your "Emeera"!