It is clear that most people who haven’t studied ancient history think of ancient civilizations in terms of stereotypes. All of these stereotypes are wrong to some extent. Most of them are wildly inaccurate. Using Egypt as a case study, I will highlight the importance of film and media in changing social behavior; specifically, this study will show that gender-based violence in Egypt can be attributed to trends in film and media. Storytelling conveys the attitudes of a society and transmits them from one generation to the next. Film and media are products of the culture; film is an art form. Media are platforms for expression of values, traditions, and culture. Social behavior is constructed through values, traditions, and culture that influence film and media.
Let's explore some common stereotypes about Egypt, examining their origins and contrasting them with the reality of modern Egyptian life.
Ancient Egyptians: Mystics and Aliens?
The ancient Egyptians are usually stereotyped in modern popular culture as mystics who possessed some kind of secret knowledge, especially secret knowledge specifically about lost ancient technologies, about extraterrestrial visitors to Earth, about magic, or about the true origins of religion.
The first modern cultural phenomenon that I think has influenced the idea of the Egyptians as mystics is Orientalism. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, ancient Egypt was portrayed by many historians, novelists, and movie producers as a strange, exotic, and mystical “eastern” culture, while Egypt was also of great fascination to many nineteenth and early twentieth-century esoteric thinkers, such as Helena Blavatsky (lived 1831 - 1891) and her Theosophist followers, Gerald Massey (lived 1828 - 1907), and Edgar Cayce (lived 1877 - 1945).
While the Egyptians are often portrayed as “mystics” in a positive sense, this portrayal is also sometimes disparaging in ways that I think a lot of promoters of this view don’t even realize. For instance, a lot of people seriously believe that the “secret knowledge” the Egyptians had was knowledge of the supposed fact that the pyramids were really built by aliens.
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The ancient Egyptians did not invent electric lighting. Many pyramids have explicit funerary inscriptions on the insides. Meanwhile, mummies and parts of mummies have been found in the burial chambers of some pyramids. The pyramids that Egyptologists haven’t found mummies in don’t have mummies because they were repeatedly robbed in antiquity and the mummies were stolen. Additionally, ancient Egyptian written sources explicitly refer to the pyramids as tombs and so do later sources written by Greek authors.
As I plan to address in a future article, the “Curse of the Pharaohs” is totally made up. Lord Carnarvon died on 5 April 1923 of pneumonia resulting from an infected mosquito bite. The press went wild, claiming that the tomb was cursed. Of the first three people to enter the tomb, though, Lord Carnarvon was the only one who died shortly thereafter. Howard Carter died of lymphoma at the age of sixty-four on 2 March 1939-a full sixteen years after entering the tomb of Tutankhamun. Lord Evelyn Herbert died at the age of seventy-eight on 31 January 1980-a full fifty-seven years after entering the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Modern Stereotypes
Most people probably think that Egypt is just like other African countries and they associate Egypt as being under-developed, but what a lot of people don’t know is that Egypt is actually pretty developed and modernized. There are many roads and a lot of the population has a car. It may not be the nicest car, but it is a car and there are real paved roads to drive on. The infrastructure in Egypt is actually pretty good in comparison to what a lot of people think.
If you told a friend that you would be traveling to Egypt, their eyes would probably get very big and their jaw would drop and they would look at you like you had a death wish. A lot of Americans think that is extremely dangerous to travel to Egypt. They think that every Egyptian is out to get them. This being said there are some parts of Egypt that aren’t tourist friendly, but it is certainly not the whole country that hates tourists. There are many parts that are still very accepting of tourist and there are still many resorts that are very safe to go to, even in Cairo.
Arab or Egyptian?
I have a friend on my floor who is from Egypt and he gets greatly offended when you say he is an Arab or terrorist. He said that people think that everyone in Egypt is an Arab. This is most definitely not true. An “Arab” is mostly used to refer to someone whose native tongue is Arabic. My friend does know Arabic, but his first language is certainly not Arabic. His native tongue is surprisingly English. He was raised speaking English, which is very uncommon but certainly he is not the only one. His parents wanted him to know English as his first language so he could come to America when he gets older.
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Appearance and Perceptions
When people see Egyptians on airplanes, they probably hold their breath. Egyptians tend to look more like Middle Easterners rather than the typical African. For this reason people look at them like they are terrorist. A lot of men in Egypt have long beards and in an American’s eyes a terrorist is anyone with very tan skin black hair and a long beard from anywhere but America. It is true that there are terrorists in Egypt, but the majority of the population has nothing to do with terrorists. And most terrorist from Egypt don’t leave Egypt, they attack things in Egypt.
Landscape and Climate
Close your eyes and try to picture what it looks like in Egypt. I bet you see sand and hot dry air, maybe some pyramids and cacti. This is probably what most people who are ignorant of Egypt see, but that is not all Egypt is. Egypt is much more than a sandy desert and big pyramids. There are cities in Egypt just like we are used to here in America. They get rain and sometimes it even gets pretty cold. They do not often have snow but it is certainly not hot and dry all year long. In the winter they often get close to temperatures in the high thirties in the winter.
Materialism
Another stereotype of Egyptians are that they walk around with as much gold and fancy clothes and makeup as possible. This is just simply not true for all Egyptians. There are indeed some that do this, but most of them are just like any plain old American. My friend from Egypt is probably more American than most people at this school. He wears Timberland Boots and doesn’t own a single gold piece of jewelry.
Egypt is a country that is usually typically off of most people’s radar.
Addressing Gender Stereotypes in Egyptian Film and Media
The representation of women in film and other media such as music videos and television shows highlight the problems in the way women are treated in Egypt. As a signatory country to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Egypt is obligated to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. Although the Egyptian government has initiated many efforts to end discrimination against women in the Egyptian society, discrimination still prevails. This paper will describe the importance of gender stereotypes in Egyptian film and media and discuss to what extent these stereotypes affect Egyptian women in society.
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The Repression of Men's Emotions
These are all expressions that most men in Egypt grow up hearing. A tweet asking “why do men have a hard time expressing their emotions?” was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Between cultural norms and gender stereotypes, many Egyptian men criticized how society labels men who express any kind of emotion as childish or feminine.
Discipline begins at home, and follows in school. In Egypt, upbringing is sometimes the root of the problem. “I grew up in a home with no emotions. “My relationship with my parents was cold-hearted. With baba (father), there were zero emotions, with mama (mother), only a little more. I don’t remember seeing my dad expressing anything positive to me or mama. Since the repression of men’s emotions is frequently encouraged in everyday life, the cycle continues from one generation on to the next.
“Almost every male child was told that they should not cry. It was treated as a weakness. ’You’re grown up now, almost a man. And men do not cry.’ In our formative years, this encouragement to suppress some of the most basic feelings like wanting to cry leads to an inexperience or unfamiliarity with emotions which almost assuredly stunts emotional growth.
Meanwhile, many Egyptian households use the silent treatment to deal with conflicts and arguments. With no communication or confrontation, suppressed emotions accumulate with neither the parents nor the children coping with them the healthy way.
“In pre-school, the male teachers’ responses to boys crying were ‘man up’ , ‘don’t cry like girls’, or ‘a’yotaa’ (crybaby). Even if a boy likes a girl, if his classmates found out, they will keep shaming and making fun of him, so it’s top secret when you love a girl in elementary or middle school. In Egypt, many school boys are bullied for crying. The bullying is not intentional, but rather bullies have been raised to think that any show of emotions - namely crying- is not tolerated and can be used against them.
“I was bullied by everyone, including my own family, for being the emotional kid, for easily crying, for easily getting frustrated, and for being overly affectionate with family and friends.
“You grow up your whole life learning that men don’t show emotions because that is weak or unmanly or childish, or frequently go even further and say sexist things like ‘don’t be like a woman’ or [other] homophobic remarks. As boys grow up and get into relationships, they are confronted with the opposite sex.
“I couldn’t discuss them [the attacks] with anyone close to me of either gender. To men, I knew that this would be a point taken against me in every argument, that my opinion would always be invalid because they’d have ‘proof’ that I can be irrational.
In June, an Egyptian girl’s tweet about healthy expressions of emotions from men went viral. In the tweet, she described her happiness when her partner discards his ego and expresses his feelings openly with her. A tsunami of negative replies from Egyptian men followed her tweet, describing what she said as “a trap”, and advising fellow men not to “fall for this”.
Replacing sadness with dark humor is another way of hiding unpleasant emotions. Although humor is a form of expression, many men use it to hide how they truly feel or how they are being affected by an experience.
In 2002, Egyptian comedy movie ‘El Lemby’ hit theaters. After the character of Nousa (Hala Shiha) breaks up with El Lemby (Mohamed Saad), he is heartbroken. Instead of dealing with the breakup, he decides to join ‘Am Bakh (the late Hasan Hosny) self-abasement, poking fun at the situation he finds himself in, and smoking hashish (weed).
In addition to movies, television commercials of certain brands top the list of sexism and gender discrimination in Egypt. “Estargel” (Man up) is the main slogan for the non-alcoholic beer company, Birell, which reached the Egyptian market in 1986. Although the company has been repeatedly criticized for its sexist advertisements and for promoting gender discrimination, it continues to run in the same direction until today.
Nevertheless, there have been efforts to change perceptions in mainstream media and promote men’s mental health and exhibiting emotions. Released in 2022, Netflix’s six-series Egyptian dramedy ‘Finding Ola’ addresses the idea of opening up between fathers and their sons and daughters.
Although many complain that Egyptian society pressurizes women, it is also a main cause of toxicity and trauma for men. Our society is a source of pressure for both genders.
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Is Egypt Safe for Women?
My 21-year-old cousin recently contacted me, asking for advice. She’d been hoping to travel to Egypt for a couple weeks over the winter holidays, and wanted some ideas of things to do and places to stay in Cairo. It had always been her dream to visit Egypt she said, but she didn’t want to get too excited about the trip just yet.
I have another cousin, same age, same side of the family, who just returned to the US after spending six months abroad in Europe. While looking at the pictures, I also scrolled through some of the comments friends and family members left as well, all variants of “Wow, looks amazing!” and “Hope you’re having a great time!” … In fact, not a single post was marred by mention of anyone’s crippling anxiety or overwhelming concern for his safety in the six months while he was away. Same family. Similar kinds of trips. Two very different types of reactions.
Let’s be honest. According to the conventional “wisdom” of some, Egypt is not a female-friendly place. All joking aside, the idea that Egypt isn’t safe or friendly towards women certainly exits, and it just-as-certainly isn’t true. To further set the record straight on any lingering or cultural stereotypes, we’ve reached out to ten talented, driven, and adventurous women.
Adventure Travel in Egypt: A Growing Trend
Adventure travel is a relatively new field here in Egypt. As a kid growing up in the Gulf, adventure travel was an alien topic - something you only see individuals doing on TV. It was only after I moved to Egypt in 2010 that I got introduced to adventure travel as an alternate means of exploration. At the time, I had a 9-5 job with a blooming career and as an ex-consultant with a high determination to balance my career with my newly-found love to discover my birthplace, I was able to balance between both with weekdays spent in office meetings and weekends reserved for exploration trips.
After joining a pre-existing adventure travel company for a few years, my business partner, Omar Badr, and I decided to launch Clifftop Adventures last October. With more than 6 years of combined adventure travel experience under our belt, Clifftop Adventures was born in October 2017 offering group adventure travel as well as adventure honeymoons and other milestone adventures tailor-made for individual tastes.
At first there was definitely resistance and a lot of advice from my family about staying within the society’s norm and maintaining my career. It was only after they saw how happy and positive I have become that they realized I’ve proven them wrong!
The Rise of Adventure Tourism
The adventure tourism industry is quickly growing in Egypt and travel enthusiasts are more educated on the different activities, experiences and destinations that Egypt has to offer. With dozens of established adventure travel companies in operation in Egypt and a handful offering group adventure travel around the world, the industry is in full bloom- however, it still has oodles of potential - backpacker tented camps are popping up all over Egypt, domestic sports travel such as kitesurfing trips, diving camps and back-to-basics yoga retreats are becoming abundant.
What makes me so passionate the happiness I feel when I make new travel companions and be able to share new experiences with others that keeps me going. Egypt has a lot of unique destinations to offer.
Tanis Newman and Said Khedr own Desert Divers Dahab and Sinai Rock Climbing Centre. They are regarded as the home of the Camel Diving Safari, founders of Egypt’s Rock Climbing scene and have a 5-star rating on TripAdvisor.
I had been working in marketing in London for some time, and was getting bored of big city life. I grew up in Canada, doing a lot of sports and camping/hiking/swimming/skiing on holidays with my family. I wanted to travel again, but not as a backpacker. I thought about working in travel, maybe for an adventure company to learn about the industry, then starting my own company in Canada. No concrete ideas though.
Sustainable travel has always been important to me. I’d looked for a dive center working with local people, and I found Said Khedr. He already had the idea for Desert Divers.
Challenges and Opportunities
Cash flow. It takes time to build up enough of a cushion to ride out the low season. I love watching people fall in love with Dahab and the Sinai. It’s such an incredible mix of Bedouin hospitality and adventure. Helping people do their first dives, make their first climb, trek the desert or even freedive on a single breath of air - these are ways to not only discover Dahab and the Sinai, but to discover yourself. Also seeing the staff, guides and instructors grow and develop.
We like to say that Dahab has “grown up a bit”, but I worry sometimes about the place losing its soul. People love Dahab because it’s totally different from where they live, but sometimes they inadvertently push for Dahab to become more urban. They want tables and chairs not carpets and cushions; they want cement and ceramic tiles that are easy to clean instead of a sandy beach that needs to be raked; they want fast food and fast days whereas the culture is quiet and slow. And Dahab is genuinely unique. I love how totally mixed and open-minded this place is. And I really love how family-friendly it is. A creche is an advanced concept in many western workplaces, but taking your baby to work is completely normal here - as is working from home.
I would say, there is so much opportunity here. But be unique. Copying is a disease - see someone’s supermarket is doing well, open another next door but cheaper. See someone’s resort is doing well, build your own but do a cheaper deal with a big tour operator. You know exactly how this happens here, and it’s a race to the bottom. Take an idea and have the confidence to see it through. Also never forget that you are part of a community. I hate when people say “that’s business”.
My mother-in-law, Om Saad, because she welcomed me into her family, and even though we have shared many laughs over how our traditions differ, she has a totally open mind. My mother and grandmother for the same reasons.
Freediving and Female Empowerment
I started freediving in 2015 when I moved to Dahab. At the time I got introduced to freediving through friends, one of which was already an instructor and convinced me to learn to freedive!
In the beginning, I had a fear of being submerged and drowning, so I had to kind of get over it first before I started freediving. My friends and family have always been supportive, and I’ve never had to deal with someone telling me that I cannot succeed. I didn’t know anyone thinks freediving isn’t for women as the sport is just as popular amongst women as men. Freediving is starting to become more popular in Egypt. I certainly see a lot of potential for more growth for apnea diving in Egypt.
I love the nature most; we have a truly beautiful country. At first I was repeatedly told “Girls, don’t do this on their own for a reason, you will get kidnapped, raped and we will find you dead on the side of the road”, I saw it in a much simpler way and I believed that people will actually be helpful and it was the case. The closest people to me were very concerned for my safety but very supportive, they talked with me about the possible safety hazards and why they think the trip is dangerous but told me to not come back before finishing the trip.
If someone tried to tell me I can’t be successful as a cyclist as a woman in Egypt, I wouldn’t say anything. I would just continue to do what I’m doing. I see more people interested in adventure and adventure traveling for sure, be it cycling, climbing, hiking, kayaking, etc. I’m also being contacted by several girls who want to follow suit and go on solo cycling adventures in Egypt. I believe the adventure field is just getting started here in Egypt.
My mother, my sisters and my mother in law. Try to surround yourself with people who believe in you and get out there and achieve your dreams.
At first, family and friends did not grasp what would be interesting in hiking or camping or driving in the desert or rock climbing! They simply thought I was mad. Some others so I had plenty of free time to kill, which of course is not true! Some of my friends were supportive and some were not. To some, I am seen as an untypical and unusual Egyptian female. Some see this is a pro and some as a con, but dreamers don’t really care for what others think.
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