This is a controversial website, I don’t think anyone can argue that we’re all wise and level-headed moderates with no biases or personal influences. We never claimed that we’re preachers who know right from wrong in this world, we simply engage in discourse in order to learn more about ourselves and those around us. And this progressively diverse platform is the best place (at least, for me) to do it.
Despite this site and its projects being a big part of my life, I’ve never shared it with close friends or family. But some time ago last year, I created business cards for the most hard working members at MEY. Recently, I’ve been giving mine out to said friends and family, knowing fully well the risks involved in doing so.
I was expecting a lot of negative responses, and I got them. But I thought they were going to be about having Israelis posting with us as well as some disrespected minorities (i.e, “infidels”) like the Baha’is, self-critical Muslims, and outspoken atheists.
But most of my friends (people I went to school and grew up with) were complaining about the “sex” and “homosexuality” category, noting, and I quote this, that it’s “very offensive.”
Uhm. Why? Just because they’re taboo?
No, apparently, they think it’s because we “invite porn.”
Do our entries really look like this?

Someone please go through the sex and homosexuality categories, and tell us how any of it invites or promotes porn. And then think again about my article concerning sex/porn searches being most apparent in Arab and Muslim societies. Then think about how this is most likely the result of “sex” being treated like an “offensive” topic that should never be discussed in public, not even in educational institutions.
It’s worth pointing out that our articles about sex here are never about the process of sex. We never encouraged young people to have sex before marriage, or that it’s okay to be a manslut or whore. No one here reveals or talks about their sex lives, most of us talk about sex education and the need for it (with regards to AIDS, STDs, and offenses like sexual harassment or rape.)
All of these are taboo, but none of them should be. This censorship is hurting our societies, and especially our youth, and people in turn feel oppressed and emotionally/intellectually sheltered.
Ditto to homosexuality.
I can see how it would be offensive if we posted pictures of people engaged in homosexual activity or sexual behavior in general.
But all we did was give homosexual human rights activists the ability to share their voices, struggles and experiences, or write about the unfortunate things many of them suffer through.
What’s so offensive about that, people? What’s so pornographic and sexual about people defending their rights to be who they are? They have a different sexual orientation and suddenly they’re corrupt and immoral?
Why do many people consider being open about our lives and our societal problems “Western-influenced propaganda” or being outright “offensive”?
Who are we offending exactly? If it’s you, then why?

Esra'a (Bahrain)
Fatima (Saudi Arabia)
Mira (UAE)
Kawthar (Sudan)
Wameeth (Iraq)
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Amen! Hallelujah.
I’m so tired of that.