A Strong Arab Woman.
Posted by candyposes on 30 Jan 2007 at 02:05 am | Tagged as: Uncategorized
In several past emails, people have brought up the fact that I’m Arab- one even considered me to be a “strong Arab woman.”
Which is all well and good, but I don’t really consider myself to be Arab.
My father was born and raised in the Middle East…and that’s about it. I grew up in America, raised by two American citzens in a Catholic home.
Truth be told, I don’t really consider myself any ethnic group or race- or, rather, I don’t identify with any. I’ve referred to myself as “off-white” before, and that seems to work as well as anything else, and makes people laugh, to boot.
Being called Arab doesn’t offend me, but it makes me feel uneasy in certain contexts- I don’t want to represent anything, be it women, arabs, feminists, or all three. Two of those I most definitely consider myself, but the other…not so much.
Of course, I haven’t even skimmed the surface- and don’t really care to in this blog- regarding the different ethnic groups and religious sects within the “Arab” label that’s thrown upon pretty much everyone who grows up speaking Arabic by the western world.
Nor have I brought up the fact that using the phrase “strong Arab woman” in this context implies that most Arab woman are weak.
In any case, I’m sure there are lots of strong Arab women out there, but I’m afraid you’re reading the wrong blog if that’s what you’ve come seeking.
Regardless of what you think you represent, or what you want to, the fact of the matter is you are who you are and being proud of the fact you do what you wish, should be an inspiration for those who cannot, or may need the courage.
I am not advocating an uprising in the middle east with gratitouitous pussy showing.
You are, who you are and you have a certain responsibility to represent yourself to others as an individual, and maybe more to those who are trapped in groups.
You see, I am an African American man, and I have a chip on my shoulder. I have to do eveything better than everyone to prove a point that was taught to me when I was younger. That is, you have to.
I grew up Catholic and I am thankful of one thing, and that is learning too much about religion. Learning how much men in the name of an idea has fucked things up.
PS. I like this shot alot. Very strong, confident, and beautiful.
A strong Arab woman? Hell, you’re a strong woman…period.
Keep up the great work; the photo in this posting is amazingly beautiful!
M
PS. Let’s find a date to get you in front of the camera once more before you move three time zones away…
This might come out wrong, but to be honest, having read your blogs, including this one, I think sometimes you read too much into what people say.
But nevertheless, you make a good point in this blog.
الرجاء التكرم ببعث جميع الصور الخالعه والجميله للجميلات
انا لا أتكلم العربية.
I enjoyed your photos and ideas.
I hope your family doesn’t murder you.
(I’m told there are about 5,000 “honor killings” a year in the Muslim World. )
and I thought MY family was a drag!
Good luck
C.John Smith
John-
That was a really stupid comment.