Lebanese-American porn star Mia Khalifa would not be a big adult film star that she is now if she started her career in the East and not in the West, opines Haaretz.
Despite strong religious beliefs and high morality issues among Arab countries, porn also thrives in these nations. It may not be as open as say the US or in some European countries, but beneath those hijabs, mores, and traditions, adult films still have underground markets in Arab countries.
Amid the severe restrictions and prohibitions that apply to unmarried people, two of the eight countries that have the highest rate of surfing of Internet porn sites, are found in the Middle East. And surprisingly, Pakistan holds the unenviable top spot while Egypt is a close second.
Real porn stars
Arab men and women do not just watch porn behind closed doors, they are also engaging in sexual relations or masturbations and subsequently post the clips on the Internet.
Once their output is posted, the clips are watched by Arabs from various countries who love to hear sex talk in their own language.
Generally, porn surfers these days have grown tired of the rigid and often monotonous Western model of beauty. Arab adult film clips normally show voluptuous women and hairy men, which to some find it a bit revolting.
But if they are hoping to make it big as a porn star, Arabs have to migrate to the West. This was the route followed by three Arab gays who have become famous in the adult film genre. Tony Aziz of Lebanon, one of the three successful gays, said that many gay men from the Arab world have written to him and thank him for standing up for and on their behalf. Tony is a big symbol for the gays in the Arab society.
A dubious career
After the three Arab gays, it was the turn of Mia Khalifa on the porn industry’s limelight. While it was easy for her to make it big to the porn industry in just a matter of months, the actress would not be able to develop the immense popularity that she is enjoying now had she decided to take her act to her home country of Lebanon.
Mia Khalifa is basically an American citizen and her being a Lebanese is simply history. While she was born in Lebanon back in 1993, it must be noted that she was raised in America while she was only seven years old.
As such, her morals have been liberalized and also loose, making it almost like a no big deal for her to strip naked in front of the camera and do what she does best.
In most of Mia Khalifa’s porn films, she is often wrapped in hijab or wearing a keefiyeh or an Arab kerchief over her shoulders, in an effort to fulfill the exotic Middle Eastern fantasies of either Americans or Europeans.
The West has always been looked down as a mysterious and mystical place, whose sons and daughters are both terrorists and object of attraction. But the West is never proud of admitting that porn has become part of the so-called white man’s burden.