Once again it is that time of year, where many of our Western male compadres have grown/attempted a moustache to raise money and awareness for Prostate Cancer & Male Depression charities all over the world. It is a great cause and really, the only time that many of them can get away with the porn-star/Magnum PI look at work.
Duma has never participated in Movember, but each year we sponsor a bunch of our mates and make sure that we recognise the good that comes out of so many guys having crappy, wispy, scratchy faces...one of my girlfriends wrote on facebook that "my bf's face looks like a botched bikini wax - thanks Movember!". Friggin' hilarious, and I'm sure there are women all over the world who feel the same!
So the concept of Movember came up at Duma's work, where there is pretty much a mixed bag of nationalities - Omani, Indian, Filipino, a few Saffers, a couple of Italians and an Aussie. So you can imagine that leads to many interesting conversations over lunch and Duma revealed the idea behind Movember BUT moreso to lead into asking about why SO many Indian men have these fabulously MASSIVE moustaches!?!?
Can you imagine the smell? Gross!
His colleague explained that having a big 'mo' is a sign of masculinity, and that for the older generations if you didn't have a mo you were considered gay. Now, the younger generation are apparently less inclined to follow this trend and are breaking away from the 'big mo' phenomenon. Interesting no? But bear with me for a minute as I explain Duma's dilemma/reaction...
We see Indian men walking around town, holding hands and arms around each other in a seemingly 'intimate' way, giggling and enjoying each others company. So the question he poses is "So no mo means you are a homosexual, but hugging and holding hands with other guys doesn't?". Go figure.
Maybe it's only a cultural thing. I mean, two guys being holding each other's hands would not neccessarily mean anything else other than friendship, in their cultural. Every thing cultural cannot be condemnable.
ReplyDeleteYep I totally get that, each to their own culture. But to me its pretty unreasonable to assume that someone is gay because they don't have a big moustache, but then let men frolick around hand in hand and say they aren't, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteAgain, just food for thought.
If you do get it than I don't get why you find 'it unreasonable'. As Non-Crowned Princess was saying, it's just a cultural thing. They don't consider men-holding-hands a gay-thing. We do. They do consider a man without a moustache a gay-thing. We don't. At the moment I'm living in Egypt and here men kiss each other as a greeting and call each other 'habeebee' (my beloved). That's not considered gay at all. Culture also changes. Twenty years ago (in Europe) it was considered gay for a man to use grooming products. Now it's dead normal, the guy is just looking after himself.
ReplyDeleteI believe we find it strange and unreasonable because it's a cultural thing, again =p.
ReplyDeleteHmm.. I just wonder what your response to this would be: as a Salalah girl, I was suffering from being told that I'm not a grown-up because I had a pink school bag in secondary school.
And at Uni, a Salalah girl once said: Come on, Mona. You're a grown-up! You should wear lences!
I know how Salalah girls see things, but sometimes I violate their rules. At any way, tell me if you find that unreasonable as well ;]
Keep writing please.
@darkfairy - thanks for reading and making comments on my observations. But I gotta admit, I find it unreasonable because of the double standards thats why, simply because I do, period. I'm entitled to my opinion on my own blog, just as much as you are in expressing yours on here without knowing me. Again, thanks for reading and I will check yours out.
ReplyDelete@NCP - I will keep writing, don't worry, difference of opinion or not :)
Tobe honest, I wouldn't care if you wore a pink schoolbag to work and I think its totally different (given its not about double standards), your example is more about people thinking you don't fit because you are different. And I'm sorry but I don't know what lences are? Oops.
I think its great that you challenge things in Salalah, so that you can be yourself. Its an individual thing to wear a pink bag, but lets face it...it wasn't like people in Salalah thought you were a Lesbian...they just thought you should grow up and that isn't as hard to swallow in a conservative culture.
Again, my thoughts :)
Among Arabs Iraqis are the most notorious with their moustaches.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool idea to raise money for charity...and the facebook comment is priceless!
ReplyDelete