Posts Tagged ‘Lebanon’

Posted on May 5, 2010 - by mira

A widening generation gap?

First appeared in The Daily Star

If Noor Al-Sharif stands accused of being gay – let him be gay. It’s none of our business. And let’s start calling things by their names; the magazine being discussed is called Jassad.

So exclaimed, emphatically, provocatively, the young Lebanese journalist in the audience, not in those exact words but stating those opinions in no uncertain terms. Her voice was resolute. She was assertive and loud, the way parents have traditionally told their children not to be. Her belly-revealing top seemed to underscore each word.

She made the comment at last week’s New Arab Woman Forum and raised several eyebrows among a generally older audience during the panel on “Sexuality and the Media.” It was an attack on the subdued manner in which the two subjects, the allegations surrounding the renowned Egyptian actor and the sexually explicit Lebanese magazine, were discussed. Many in the audience may have considered her attitude crass, but the young participant was making two points.

First, she was critical of how discussions in Arab public circles don’t identify their subjects and prefer not to call a spade a spade, according to her. The example of the controversial new, sexually explicit Lebanese magazine Jassad (Body) was raised and censured by a prominent, older Lebanese activist, without identifying the publication by name. Similarly, the actor’s identity was protected by the panelists and his case not clarified to those who may not have been familiar with it.

Second, the young journalist was supporting personal freedom and privacy, two values that are still nascent but integral to a democratic, tolerant and open society. That a famous Egyptian actor thought to be gay should be condemned is unacceptable, according to her, should he be facing defamation for something personal and not criminal charges. In the same vein, she argued that adults – not underage youngsters – having access to a magazine with explicit content should also be about personal freedom.

Regardless of whether members of the audience agreed with her perspective or her delivery, she made one thing clear: she was outspoken, she had strong convictions, and she wanted to be heard. In brief, at that moment, she became the voice of the youth at the forum – or a segment of the youth, at least.

But most significant is how this exchange between the young journalist and the older activist is symptomatic of a rupture between two generations of the Lebanese: the pre-war generation – those over 50 years old – and the post-war generation, those under 30.

On the one hand, some pre-war activists come off as too protective of the youth from what they perceive to be a cultural invasion that they did not experience in their youth. They want to preserve the innocence of the values they grew up on and pass them down. They may have progressive views but that don’t take into consideration the youth’s own. Instead of educating young people, they opt for censorship. They can be likened to protective parents who, in trying to shield their children, end up suffocating them with prescriptive and overbearing formulas which don’t relate to their reality.

On the other hand, the post-war generation is tolerant of what they’re exposed to, be they images or ideas. In the case of sexual images in the media, some may be influenced by them, but others may see them for what they are, that is, commercially driven. And while not completely embracing every new idea, young people don’t outright reject it either. They are weighing new ideas because they are surrounded by them. They are the product of their own age and time.

The older generations are needed to give guidance. But unless we want to be a closed society, the young should not be shielded or removed from the issues facing them. Protectionism might hurt them more in a time when global cultures are now open to each other and an overabundance of information exists.

They should be included in the discussions and encouraged to make informed decisions and educated choices, within the social framework. This is not a rebellion against the old but a natural progression. And if the younger generation is seen as passive receivers, it’s because our patriarchal societies have made them so, as those before them.

This is how patriarchy establishes itself: by not only prescribing specific roles for men and women, but by quieting the youth as well and by convincing young people that they are not able to make responsible decisions on their own, and that the patriarch is the one who makes those decisions for them.

The ocean between the two is huge, and each generation is trying to shape the other in its own image. But this is a useless endeavor. It’s alienating the two generations from each other, and could push the youth to recklessness in their rebellion. Inter-generational communication is needed, with respect given from both sides.