Young Female Beirutis' Sexy Fashion Sense: A Resilient Sign of Liberalism in a Region of Religious Fundamentalism
Being in Beirut, it is just too easy for one to forget for a moment that the sources of some of the Middle East's most violent religious conflicts are but a few hundred kilometers away. While ISIS, Hamas, and to a lesser extent, Hezbollah, impose their versions of religious orthodoxy on a hapless local population, Beirutis are still out in force, displaying their socially liberal tendencies that is increasingly one the wane in the region. One of the most visible, and beautiful, ways for Beirutis to express that freedom, is through how they dress.
This blog previously wrote about the liberal fashion of the Indonesian Muslims. Thinking that in the nonchalance Indonesians, some of the most liberal Muslims out there, may represent the logical extreme on the fashion front, the author is proven completely incorrect upon visiting the local university campuses and shopping districts. Not only is it impossible to detect who is Christian and who is Muslim (just like in Indonesia) in a city that is about 50-50, unlike the Indonesian case, the local females holds no qualms about wearing quite revealing pieces of clothing.
In response to the climbing temperatures as Beirut enters the earliest days of summer, the local females not only brought out their skimpy T-shirts and tight jeans, but even started walking around the streets in really short shorts and tanktops with seriously plunging necklines. Voluptuously as Lebanese tend to be from their genetically given physique, such way of dress leave very little to the imagination of the casual male observer. Their sexy stylish appearance would draw plenty of eyes in even the most liberal of East Asian or Western neighborhoods.
One might ask whether its is just the local Christians that dress this way. However, it should be noted that Lebanon is, all things considered, not a Western country, culturally speaking. Sure, Christians here may be more socially open than Muslims here, but even Christians of the Middle East, highly influenced by conservative, family-oriented local culture, are unlikely to agree with many social values held by Christians in Western Europe or the US. To have the Christians here dress like Westerners is, as such, just as much of an accomplishment as it is with the Muslims.
Unsurprisingly, such way of dress is not something that is true of all Lebanese. Even in liberal university campuses, plenty of Muslims dutifully wear headscarves and long-sleeved clothing to conceal hair and skin. And if one leaves the cosmopolitan, urbane neighborhoods of Beirut, to more provincial cities, such blasphemous ways of dress becomes decidedly rare. Even in those liberal neighborhoods of Beirut, the only places for such clothing to truly, 100% not draw any negative attention are probably within the city's legendary clubbing scene.
But the very fact that, visually, they do not seem even a little bothered by their compatriots strutting clothing that expose shoulders, thighs, and even cleavage right in front of the country's most holy mosques and churches illustrate that the city remain relatively tolerant of irreligious "otherness" in a Muslim world that is increasingly incapable of such largesse. Even within the country, Christians of southern Lebanon remain segregated communities, not interacting with the Muslim Shiite majority. For either, disputing over clothing can only deepen established sense of cultural schism.
It only one fear how long Lebanese society will stay indifferent toward the supposed overexposure of the female body. Historical development seem to be against them. It may be only a matter of time before more religious strains of Islam (and equally conservative reactions of militant Christianity) take down visual ads of lingerie and tell Beiruti youngsters to cover themselves up. Such a bleak future is all the more probable considering that religious fundamentalism has no signs of declining in influence after unsuccessful American, European, and Russian interventions.
Yet, the fact that Beirut remain somewhat liberal despite those militant fundamentalist forces that caused civil wars (including one in its own border), refugee influx, and political deadlocks, show that liberal, tolerant attitude lie deep within the psyche of the common Beirutis, reinforced by centuries of pragmatic interaction with the world as seafaring, globetrotting businessmen, capable of taking the best ideas from every culture encountered. It is this author's hope that the Beirutis' tolerant mindset can be available for export beyond the city limits more often and more comprehensively.
This blog previously wrote about the liberal fashion of the Indonesian Muslims. Thinking that in the nonchalance Indonesians, some of the most liberal Muslims out there, may represent the logical extreme on the fashion front, the author is proven completely incorrect upon visiting the local university campuses and shopping districts. Not only is it impossible to detect who is Christian and who is Muslim (just like in Indonesia) in a city that is about 50-50, unlike the Indonesian case, the local females holds no qualms about wearing quite revealing pieces of clothing.
In response to the climbing temperatures as Beirut enters the earliest days of summer, the local females not only brought out their skimpy T-shirts and tight jeans, but even started walking around the streets in really short shorts and tanktops with seriously plunging necklines. Voluptuously as Lebanese tend to be from their genetically given physique, such way of dress leave very little to the imagination of the casual male observer. Their sexy stylish appearance would draw plenty of eyes in even the most liberal of East Asian or Western neighborhoods.
One might ask whether its is just the local Christians that dress this way. However, it should be noted that Lebanon is, all things considered, not a Western country, culturally speaking. Sure, Christians here may be more socially open than Muslims here, but even Christians of the Middle East, highly influenced by conservative, family-oriented local culture, are unlikely to agree with many social values held by Christians in Western Europe or the US. To have the Christians here dress like Westerners is, as such, just as much of an accomplishment as it is with the Muslims.
Unsurprisingly, such way of dress is not something that is true of all Lebanese. Even in liberal university campuses, plenty of Muslims dutifully wear headscarves and long-sleeved clothing to conceal hair and skin. And if one leaves the cosmopolitan, urbane neighborhoods of Beirut, to more provincial cities, such blasphemous ways of dress becomes decidedly rare. Even in those liberal neighborhoods of Beirut, the only places for such clothing to truly, 100% not draw any negative attention are probably within the city's legendary clubbing scene.
But the very fact that, visually, they do not seem even a little bothered by their compatriots strutting clothing that expose shoulders, thighs, and even cleavage right in front of the country's most holy mosques and churches illustrate that the city remain relatively tolerant of irreligious "otherness" in a Muslim world that is increasingly incapable of such largesse. Even within the country, Christians of southern Lebanon remain segregated communities, not interacting with the Muslim Shiite majority. For either, disputing over clothing can only deepen established sense of cultural schism.
It only one fear how long Lebanese society will stay indifferent toward the supposed overexposure of the female body. Historical development seem to be against them. It may be only a matter of time before more religious strains of Islam (and equally conservative reactions of militant Christianity) take down visual ads of lingerie and tell Beiruti youngsters to cover themselves up. Such a bleak future is all the more probable considering that religious fundamentalism has no signs of declining in influence after unsuccessful American, European, and Russian interventions.
Yet, the fact that Beirut remain somewhat liberal despite those militant fundamentalist forces that caused civil wars (including one in its own border), refugee influx, and political deadlocks, show that liberal, tolerant attitude lie deep within the psyche of the common Beirutis, reinforced by centuries of pragmatic interaction with the world as seafaring, globetrotting businessmen, capable of taking the best ideas from every culture encountered. It is this author's hope that the Beirutis' tolerant mindset can be available for export beyond the city limits more often and more comprehensively.
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