Monthly Archives: May 2011

Sexism In Advertising: A Notorious Compilation

Yes, we’ve seen some pretty sexist and just- wrong ads from both Lebanon, and elsewhere,  but it doesn’t stop there. Check out this compilation I made of  sexist ads that make you wonder how the Creative Director of any Ad agency could possibly say YES to, without risking serious backlash!? Bisoux

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About these ads

Promiscuous Sara. Judgmental Beirut

My good friend Sara is what some, or in this case, many, would view as promiscuous. As her friends, we’ve just learned to put our moral judgments aside and consider her outgoing. On the contrary, we respect her, because she refuses to hide her love for men, many men.

It’s not like Sara dresses like a street walker and throws herself on men, come to think about it, compared to many well-respected  women in Beirut, she looks like a nun, I kid you not.

It just happens that if Sara happens to like a guy, she will probably take him home right away.

If you ask Sara she’ll tell you she  doesn’t  want to pretend to be someone she’s not,  she is who she is, does what she wants to do, some men can handle it, some freak out and run for the hills.

Did she develop a reputation? Sure she did. We’re in Lebanon; a stray cat would develop a reputation. We walk into clubs and we’ll have a random flock of girls, simultaneously twist their necks back to stare and bluntly point her out as they ferociously  start whispering. If you look a little closer at the table, you may notice that it may be because Sara once dated a couple of their boyfriends.

One of the most common reactions people about her: “But she has to conform to society, she doesn’t live alone, she should respect her surroundings, or move to Europe or something.”

We’ve all had our share of talks with her at some point, advising her to tone it down, but the fact of the matter is, we all somehow envy her, for refusing to put on the act that everyone wants her to put on, she’s comfortable in her own skin and doesn’t need to pretend. Meanwhile, many girls hold a close record to Sara’s when it comes to men, but they’ll take that with them to the grave.

On numerous occasions we’ve even found ourselves on the front lines of having to defend her right to make her choices as she pleases. She doesn’t feel that sexual freedom should be limited to an exclusive committed relationship.  Yet in Lebanon, if a girl can no longer claim (or prove) that she’s saving her virginity for marriage, she’ll justify her history by claiming it was only this “one” guy and they’re in love. The mere idea that a girl has to justify anything to begin with is proof of the deep levels of hypocrisy and prejudice entrenched in our culture’s obsession with taboos, but the fact that a girl will lie to comfort these moral judgments, makes her an enabler and at times, an enthusiast to this BS. Thoughts?  Bisoux

Mon Obsession Du Jour

Growing up, I consumed hundreds of these circles of love and rediscovered them recently, with chocolate hazelnut and nougat-so rich and fulfilling, you just can’t have one.I’m officially obsessed. Bisoux

Combating Two-Facedness, One Woman At A Time

I’m caught up in a hostile episode with a female neighbor at the moment, she’s gotten on my nerves so bad, I’ve even started fantasizing about running into her in the elevator and roughing her up. Only fantasizing- mind you- violence is never the answer my friends,  although a bitch slap may straighten her out.

See we happen to share the same hairdresser, who happens to have a big mouth. And anyone who knows anything about Lebanon knows, that if you wanna tell someone something- tell the hairdresser or nail lady, they will gladly do the dirty work for you.

So this cow, lets call her Fijleh, tells my hairdresser some info about me I would rather have kept private, such as how I’m always shopping (wtf?), how I’m never home (ok mom), how my boyfriend is always over ( jealous much?)  how much power I take from the generator guy a month ( don’t ask), and how my friends and I like to drink on the balcony before going out!

Meanwhile, Fijleh, flashes a big smile whenever she sees me and likes to make small talk  in the elevator. Not to mention how excited she gets when she sees my man,  a cat in heat would remain more composed.  So naturally, when the hairdresser disclosed this , I decided to ignore Fijleh and instead give her some death looks.

Fijleh was at the hairdresser on Saturday when I walked in. She got super-excited and walked right up to me and said ” Hey Ivy, how are you long time no see!.”  She really put me on the spot- the hairdresser and crew were all standing there waiting for my next move, so I just acted completely oblivious , smiled and said ” I’m sorry do I know you?” turned my head away and continued to  flip through my magazine

Fijleh stood there, muttered something and slowly made her way to her chair, all flustered. The hairdresser had a big smile on his face, later he told me how refreshing it was to meet someone who refused to play the two-faced game. Most women would spew lies about each other, but once they meet, one would confuse them for long lost sisters.

I refused to play that game with Fijleh, and refuse to play it with anyone else for that matter. Being sociable holds high priority in my books, but this is downright two-facedness  and it’s super common amongst girls. Some girls live to play it, others tolerate it, because well, it’s just the norm.  We’ve all had the likes of  Fijleh at some point in our lives… isn’t it time we got rid of them? Bisoux

IVY’s Outfit Of The Week

Your Boobs Have Room For Improvement

Since we’re on the topic of  demeaning, demoralizing  campaigns  that can only be a product of ignorance and bad taste, allow me to bring your attention the latest offender, that a dear friend sent my way:

Ok, I’m gonna give you a moment to catch your breath.. yes my friends this is indeed what we have succumbed to. Before I get into the distrubing message this sends out to women, let’s take a step back to examine the catch phrase.. ” Got the Chest, Get The Breast” ?????? First of all that sounds like something you would say to the KFC employee when he asks you what pieces of  chicken you want in your value meal. ” A chest and a  breast and a  thigh please.”  So let me get this straight,  if you got a chest, then you should get the breast?.. I’m sorry but the last time I checked everyone has a chest, so that can’t possibly be a prerequisite for  acquiring the breast? Whatever! It’s  gibberish, I’m sure the person who “created” this, was so happy when he/she thought that the words “chest” and “breast” rhyme. What scares me more is that Dr. Dany Nasr, who will be preforming the surgery actually approved this Ad. I’m not sure I wanna be under his knife.

Now lets move on to the “Under Construction” sign they placed on this woman’s chest, yes, you better believe it, it just gets better and better. This Ad takes the concept of “objectifying women” to a new low,  labeling her as one would label a site, or  business, a mere lifeless product that needs some “work”  done to improve.

So  ladies, are you gonna take matters into your own hands? Are you gonna be fabulous?

IVY Finally Falls In Love- With A Burger

There’s a spot in the city I like to occasionally escape to- dating  back to the 1920′s,  influenced by both the Ottomans and the French is the authentic Albergo Hotel, located at the heart of Ashrafieh.  But this is not about their  (oh-so-romantic) suites  rather this is about their tree-friendly rooftop overlooking the city, and more specifically, their  3 Mini-Burgers on the menu.  It’s cruel I tell you, how one could fall so in love with something so small, yet so unforgettable.

I usually make my way to the Albergo’s cozy rooftop for a nice bottle of wine, after a long day at work during Spring time.  I didn’t intend to eat, let alone have a burger. But our eyes met on that menu list, and my curiosity got the best of me, three different  mini- burgers? cheese? onion and tomato?

I never thought I’d be one to be out of words, but the utter joy that came over me as I bit through the precious buns was so overwhelming, I’ve been searching this city in and out for the best burgers it has to offer and all this time,  right under my nose,  I had missed these tiny treasures. So good and sinful, it should be against the law to make them any bigger, surely they’d be  hazardous to your health otherwise. And the fries, the thin, golden, elongated,  crispy on the outside, soft on the inside fries.

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The Art Of Attraction?

Has anyone spotted this billboard on the highway? What does this say to our dear men?  Here is my interpretation:

Dear men,

If you invest in this white suit on your big day,  you too will become a Lord, a lord with an obedient bride-slave that is. She will be,  as you’ve always fantasized for her to be, by your feet, like a dog, waiting for your every command. You may have noticed the big metal chains in the pic- from time to time, it’s a good idea to torture your woman,or at least ensure she remains fearful of you,  screw this whole women rights BS,  obedience is an essential element to every successful relationship.  But in general, this suit should keep her in check.  Pimp it up Yo.

I think I may have to strip the  folks who did the “Le Bijou est aussi un droit campaign off their Lebanon’s Shallowest Ad” title, this new Ad is by far the uncontested winner. What do you think? Bisoux

No Such Thing As A Free Drink Ladies

We tested out this theory Friday night. My girls and I went out for some drinks in Hamra.

 10:15 PM We enter the first spot and head straight to the bar. As soon as we ordered some drinks the bartender gave us a round of free shots.  Jagermeister. The man clearly wanted to get us drunk. We hesitantly drank them, thanked him and tried to continue our discussion. He stuck around. At times, even interrupted our conversations to contribute to the topic. It was annoying.

10:47 PM We start giving him some serious attitude and so he brings in the next round of shots. This time: tequila.  We knew were this was going so we had the shots thanked him and asked for the bill.
He wanted a number, any number, all our numbers, whatever he could get. We apologized and told him we all have boyfriends.

11:03 PM We finally get the bill and it included ALL the shots. My friend wanted to go off on the sleazeball for charging us for shots he offered, I convinced her out of it. We don’t need his freebies.

11:17 PM  We move onto another bar. Suddenly the waitress shows up with three glass of Moet, from the two gentlemen in the corner. So here’s the dilemma, we don’t accept them, and we look like uptight stuck-up girls who don’t know how to have some fun, but if we do accept the drinks we risk having to reject the men in person.  So we hesitate for a minute, but it’s champagne!

11:35 PM The men are hovering like sharks that’ve spotted their prey, until they finally decide to approach us. One of them says something cheesy calling us “very beautiful women.”

“Thanks for the champagne, but if you don’t mind we are having a girls night” my friend says to them.  We may as well have just shown the guys some skin, because we seem to have turned them on somehow.  They were both smiling and still hanging out at our table, at some point one guy even placed his drink on our table.

11:43 PM We ask them to leave again, they just smile.  So I looked at them both and said” listen guys, thanks for the drinks but we are not interested.”  They got even more excited at this point.

11:50 PM We exit the bar

Oldest dating lesson in the book: Accepting a drink is a verbal contract with a stranger. Indeed he wants something in return: YOU

Let’s Do Brunch

Sundays are lovely. They present the perfect occasion for a big bad brunch. So yesterday, I took the liberty of whipping up two of my all-time favorite perfect-for-brunch dishes: a Spanish Omelette and a favorite family recipe  we call Feta Mix.

The Spanish Omlette includes fresh mushrooms, diced ripe tomatoes, green pepper and lots and lots of paprika. Here’s a secret- add some milk to the raw eggs while whipping them to get the best results. Some people like their Omlette  in one cake-like piece- I like to fluff mine up while in the pan.

To make the Feta mix, chop up some white onions, ripe tomatoes, green peppers, juicy black olives and cucumbers.  Slice some feta cheese or any white cheese you prefer and toss them in with some extra virgin olive oil. Add some sea salt and black pepper et Voila!