Brave is Beautiful

Having worked mainly in the sex-and-relationships niche of publishing for many years I take some things for granted: the availability of erotica, information and websites dedicated an array of sexual proclivities more varied than the Jelly Belly flavor list. The fact that one can become jaded to such things seems all the more remarkable and valuable in light of reading about Joumana Haddad, an Arabic woman who produces an Arabic language erotica magazine Jasad (which means "Body"). To call her "The Carrie Bradshaw of Beirut," as some have seems to seriously underplay the nerve it would take to produce a glossy quarterly on a variety of sex and relationship issues for Arab women, but Carrie Bradshaw probably never got "hate mail and threats." Click on the link for the BBC story about her magazine, her thoughts of the image of Middle Eastern women and - probably - for a greater appreciation of the wonderful work we read and create in pursuit of a greater understanding of sexuality without ever having a greater worry than "When's my check get here?"

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