The essay by Naber describes how the females, whose stories are examined in it, can be qualified in accordance with two opposing categories. Those are “Arab virgin” associated with the traditional culture-specific values and “American whore” characterized as “culture-degenerate, morally bankrupt” (Naber 87). Nevertheless, the author emphasizes that the categories frequently leak, in other words, women may find themselves in between them or beyond both.
For instance, Rime’s family, according to her, became too focused on her virginity as she grew older. In addition, her parents expressed racist views which, presumably, rooted at their desire to see their daughter as a member of Arab culture. Nevertheless, she was living with a black American; her new boyfriend, although Arab, is an atheist, for which reason her family do not accept him. The collision between Rime’s upbringing and behavior is also that between the two categories.
Another girl, Lulu, says that her parents did not want her to have sex when she admitted being a lesbian. A true Muslim woman must not have sex before a marriage, while marrying a woman is unacceptable. Lulu’s parents, who reckoned that she was “the only gay Arab in the world,” asked her repeatedly to marry a man and suppress her sexuality (Naber 100). Other relatives, in particular, uncles, believed her to have been brainwashed by Americans, being absolutely convinced that Arabs could only be straight. This case is a textbook example of how negatively conservative Arabs treat anything that is beyond the image of “Arab Virgin.”
Sometimes, however, categories leak the other way round, which is apparent in the story of Nicole. Her mother scolded at her for the desire to smoke shisha she regarded as a “dirty, horrible, uncivilized Muslim habit” (Naber 102). She wanted her daughter to be “Western,” “civilized,” and “modern,” which, as much as anything else, involved being Christian (Naber 102). Here, the binarity reaches its peak, as the mother assumes that a single behavioral pattern will mark Nicole’s belonging to a different category.
Reference
Naber, Nadine. “Arab American Femininities: Beyond Arab Virgin/American(ized) Whore.” Feminist Studies, vol. 32, no. 1, 2006, pp. 87-111.
