It’s no secret that sexual inequality has been a longstanding issue in most Middle Eastern countries. Lebanon, however, has a reputation for being one of the more liberal countries among its conservative neighbors. For the most part women can wear what they want, where they want, and can act as provocatively as they choose. Freedom of lifestyle should not be misconstrued to equate to sexual freedom, an area in which Lebanese women have not been liberated. Oftentimes Lebanese women are objectified to such an extreme that some people think they are freed. This is not true. Case in point: LBCI’s new ‘dating’ show Take Me Out.
Take Me Out is a popular dating show originating in Europe. The premise? 30 women stand behind their own individual podiums and are presented with an eligible bachelor through a series of ‘reportages’ that demonstrate the man’s way of life – which usually involves a motorcycle, a love for his mother, a scene of him playing backgammon with friends, and of course, the fact that he is looking for a nice looking lady to cook for him all the live long day. If the women don’t like what they see, they turn the light off on their podium and wait for the next bachelor to be presented.
Now, other than the obvious layers of sexism involved in shows like this, we haven’t really gotten to the disturbing part yet. The show’s host, Lebanese singer/actor Fouad Yammine, seems to suffer from an innate inability to speak to women like human beings with souls instead of women who are dying to be kissed in places that you’d think would be deemed inappropriate for broadcasting on one of Lebanon’s most popular national television channels.
The show begins with Yammine distributing inappropriate and demeaning comments to each of the 30 women. The women don’t seem to have a problem with it. They giggle at the aggressively depreciating comments, oftentimes contributing to it, as they eagerly await the presentation of their next potential lover.
It is true that these women and men are willing participants of the show, but in no way does this mean that the show is not demeaning to either men or women. For the most part, the ‘bachelors’ that the women are fighting for are the most respectable aspect of the show. They speak to the women with respect (albeit lustful respect), until their comments are immediately shut down by the revoltingly crude presenter.
Below are a few lines translated from Arabic, taken directly from the mouths of both the presenter and the women. Please keep in mind that this dialogue is uncensored, and presented on primetime Lebanese television, when young girls and boys often watch television with their parents on the weekends. Here is a snippet of what LBC deems appropriate ‘entertainment’ for Lebanese women, men, and youth alike:
Yammine: Tell me a question that would make you uncomfortable if a guy were to ask you.
Girl (Yvonna): I’m never uncomfortable.
Yammine: For example, if a man were to ask you, “What do you wear to bed?”
Girl: I’d tell him that I sleep naked 😉
Yammine: In that case, if you decide to take selfies before you go to bed, make sure to share them with us. **intense laughter and applause**
Yammine: What kinds of pictures irritate you the most on social media?
Girl (Joanne): When guys take gym selfies.
Yammine: They upset you because you wish they’d just take a picture of what’s important instead, right? (Makes a hand gesture to suggest him taking a picture of his penis) **intense laughter and applause**
Yammine: If you walked in on your boyfriend with another woman, what would you do?
Girl (Yvonna again): If I walked in on my boyfriend with another woman I’d..
Yammine (interrupting Yvonna): Jump in bed with the two of them!
Girl: That’s exactly what I wanted to say! **giggles proudly**
Yammine: What was the setting of your first kiss?
Girl (Randa): Two boys were playing basketball and they made a bet that involved kissing me, so one of them kissed me and won 100 dollars. He was screaming ‘yes, yes!’ but not because he kissed me, because of the 100 dollars he won.
Yammine: So now how much do you charge? **intense laughter and applause**
As a Lebanese/Jordanian woman, I actually first saw the show in Jordan. A friend of mine was ecstatic to show me, which led me to wonder if this is what outsiders think that Lebanese women are really like. Will we ever be known for anything other than being sexy blonde babes who idolize the likes of Haifa Wehbe?
I hope that it’s unnecessary for me to elaborate further as to why this show is offensive. Unfortunately I know that as long as shows like this are being broadcasted, I will probably need to elaborate. But at this point I’ve watched three episodes of Take Me Out in the process of extracting the above dialogues, and now I’m too frustrated to even try.
