"Picture an Arab Man" in the Egypt Daily News

Picture an Arab man a book review in The Egypt Daily News considers Western stereotypes of Middle Eastern men through photographs of different eras. While much has been made in paintings and books (and currently Western media), of the role and stereotype of their female counterparts, often assumed or presented as being the victim, this book, Picture an Arab Man by Iraqi Canadian photojournalist Tamara Abdul Hadi, focuses on men.  She began her travels in 2009 and sought to photograph the men stripped of clothing, (some semi-nude), jewelry, and accessories; they are "unburdened of hyper-masculine cliches."  According to reporter Nada Akl, the portraits are a challenge to everyone about how identity markers such as gender, culture, religion, affect each one of us.  She finishes: "A flag, a Qur’an, a suit or a keffiyeh would perhaps help you know more, but in Abdul Hadi’s portraits, these guys could be anything. They’re dreaming, laughing and pouting – and you only get to know their first name and nationality. To know more you would need to chat with these men. And maybe you’d talk about paragliding . . ."  


The video came from a blog post on the same book: http://qusaytoday.com/en/2012/03/picture-an-arab-man/


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