Cross-Cultural Blog

I really like this post... it is interesting and really makes one think past "what they know" to "what really is"...

This is a really interesting post. It made me consider a conflict between two social systems when it comes to something like prostitution industry.

Hi. So I am going to answer the questions you have asked through the experiences I have observed with tourists (in other words my foreign friends that have come to visit for a few months) that form “short-term relationships” with Egyptian males here in Cairo and through the many readings I have done on such topics. Then I will get to the point why this is easier to get away with in Dahab.

It is definitely more likely that the male makes the woman solicit his needs… This is mostly due to the thought shared throughout the Middle East of a man being in control. Which leads to the allowance and superiority of his needs, no matter what they may be.

Our society and traditions find it somewhat acceptable for men to sleep around (specially with foreign tourist, as they think that is their mundane lifestyle) simply because that is “man nature”, he will not be stereotyped as a “whore” and so can lead a life and marry. Unlike a woman, she is labeled with repulsive terms and most likely cannot officially commit to any man after that. The fact that a woman can get pregnant and hence her body acts as evidence that she has had intercourse before marriage is why men get away easily with prostitution (that is the case of Egyptian and Arab women).

In many cases, it is the man who holds the power in the relationship formed. I think that is mainly because Egyptian men (particularly those that are from middle and lower classes) tend to view foreign women that come to visit and agree to have premarital sex as a concubine that is only present to satisfy his needs. However, the female tourists that come here and let the men get authoritative and fool them with words are solely to blame for why this case of male prostitution is sounding more usual to Egyptian society. I have to add that many people here specially the men would never refer to such cases as prostitution, for in their eyes that is only a word linked to women. Also, even though it is more tolerable for a man to sleep around through societies eyes, it is publicly unacceptable and most men tend to keep furtive about such matters.

Law and Religion strictly forbids premarital sex for both men and women. Hence, in a place like Dahab where there are no legal measures or any form of monitoring and most of the people that are there are either tourists or Egyptian men claiming to “seek work” (when in reality they are seeking prohibited intercourse), it is not surprising that the rate of male prostitution is higher there than in the cities.

I hope I have covered clearly most of your questions.

Salma---I found your comments so thought provoking and astute. I never considered before about how a woman's pregnant body, by providing evidence of possibly illicit sexual encounter, serves to "condemn" her in a way that doesn't happen with men.

You say in Dahab there are no legal measures or monitoring. Why is this? In the article we read, it suggested that there was more monitoring there than in some of the bigger resort towns, so I would be interested to read more about what you say here.

I cannot be sure that in Dahab there are NO legal constraints whatsoever. However, in comparison with big cities like Cairo the measures taken in Dahab are not of great importance or do not seem as a foundation to the city. I mean Dahab is widely recognized with drugs and promiscuous acts, yet no acts were taken in order to enhance the areas reputation for those abroad. That is due to the fact that Dahab acts as a source of income generator to the Egyptian government. Moreover, it seems that the tourists that go and visit Dahab go precisely for such “illicit” reasons. Thus, the government sees no avail in preventing what occurs there, seeing as it is what attracts the tourists to the area in the first place.

In bigger resort towns the people who tend to visit there are from the upper class of Egyptian society. Therefore, it is more of an obligation to have monitoring and legal measures- mostly it denotes a sense of safety. Meanwhile, in Dahab I barely ever hear of Egyptians going there for visits or trips, unlike to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurgada, for example. It is mostly the working class that are already residents in the area of Dahab. In my opinion, it is about who the government chooses to protect from such acts. The upper classes that go to luxurious resorts provide them with the income and thus are entitled to safety. While in Dahab, as I mentioned before, tourists go for prohibited acts that are mostly involving the working class. Yet, no one complains, and they pay what they are required to during their visit. Then why should measures be taken there?

I feel that the most important distinction between male and female prostitution comes down to the image portrayed. Men are viewed as horny as strong. A man hiring a female prostitute is just some horny guy that wants to get laid. As a male prostitute, people see him as getting paid to have sex all day, and would never think of it in the negative way that female prostitution is portrayed. A female prostitute is viewed as poor, helpless, and that she suffers as men take advantage of her. Men could be in this same situation, but would not get any pity.

Well…you’ve touched upon the every interesting topic, prostitution…It’s rather current item; notwithstanding living in modern society and having abolished the serfdom there’re still exist almost all types of slavery. For example children exploitation, the use of hired labor and of course prostitution. It’s not a secret that in Russia prostitution is widely spread phenomenon, of course the authorities do their best to cope with this problem, but it’s not so easy. Nowadays so called “sellers of love” become more and more clever. They rent appointments and do all their “dirty things” privately.
As far as men’s prostitution is concerned it’s not so spread in our country as women’s. To tell the truth I didn’t even see articles in newspapers or information on TV concerning men’s prostitution. But frankly speaking the attitude of the majority to men’s and women’s prostitution is different. People tend to think that a woman prostitute is connected with smth dirty, disgusting, low and a man prostitute is just an entertainment of rich women, so called satisfaction of their needs. And it’s OK! I think the attitude should be the same at least it’s one and the same profession and the gender is not an indicator.

Well…you’ve touched upon the every interesting topic, prostitution…It’s rather current item; notwithstanding living in modern society and having abolished the serfdom there’re still exist almost all types of slavery. For example children exploitation, the use of hired labor and of course prostitution. It’s not a secret that in Russia prostitution is widely spread phenomenon, of course the authorities do their best to cope with this problem, but it’s not so easy. Nowadays so called “sellers of love” become more and more clever. They rent appointments and do all their “dirty things” privately.
As far as men’s prostitution is concerned it’s not so spread in our country as women’s. To tell the truth I didn’t even see articles in newspapers or information on TV concerning men’s prostitution. But frankly speaking the attitude of the majority to men’s and women’s prostitution is different. People tend to think that a woman prostitute is connected with smth dirty, disgusting, low and a man prostitute is just an entertainment of rich women, so called satisfaction of their needs. And it’s OK! I think the attitude should be the same at least it’s one and the same profession and the gender is not an indicator.

Well…you’ve touched upon the every interesting topic, prostitution…It’s rather current item; notwithstanding living in modern society and having abolished the serfdom there’re still exist almost all types of slavery. For example children exploitation, the use of hired labor and of course prostitution. It’s not a secret that in Russia prostitution is widely spread phenomenon, of course the authorities do their best to cope with this problem, but it’s not so easy. Nowadays so called “sellers of love” become more and more clever. They rent appointments and do all their “dirty things” privately.
As far as men’s prostitution is concerned it’s not so spread in our country as women’s. To tell the truth I didn’t even see articles in newspapers or information on TV concerning men’s prostitution. But frankly speaking the attitude of the majority to men’s and women’s prostitution is different. People tend to think that a woman prostitute is connected with smth dirty, disgusting, low and a man prostitute is just an entertainment of rich women, so called satisfaction of their needs. And it’s OK! I think the attitude should be the same at least it’s one and the same profession and the gender is not an indicator.

Sorry...have some problems with internet that's why my message is tripled. Unfortunately I don't know how to delete any of them.

Wow, what an interesting few questions. I did not know something like this existed. That picture of the woman tourists just kind of makes me gag a bit.

I can't think Egypt wants to let this message get out, if it's accurate. Their males would certainly feel inferior.

I'm doing research on similar topic of your blog discussion and thought you'd be interested in this article called Policing the Illcit Peripheries" about restrictions on Egyptian male/foreign female relationships in Dahab (the argument is that it is discouraged in Dahab, but allowed in other cities)
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1520214

there should be an article for male prostitution in Dubai as there are alot of female tourists here who take advantage of men and pay them well for screwing their brains off...