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Burning Herself Up: The Social Status of Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt
| Article
# : |
10924 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1993 |
1,931 Words |
| Author
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Karin van Nieuwkerk
Karin van Nieuwkerk lectures on social anthropology at the
University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands and bases this
article on fieldwork conducted between 1988 and 1990 in Egypt. |
In Egypt, at religious festivals, entertainers are the main attraction. Pitched beside tents providing religious recitation and zikrs (a Sufi ritual trance dance), small theaters feature singers, dancers, acrobats, and magicians. Unless accompanied by performances from professional singers and dancers, a family festival--celebrating a wedding, engagement, or birth--is no celebration at all. Entertainers are essential. They bring forth the guest's happiness and make them dance. And the more expensive and famous the entertainers, and the greater number, the more prestige the host family gains.
Despite their importance, entertainers generally are not accorded much prestige or honor. On the contrary, Singers and dancers, especially females, are looked down upon by many Egyptians. Theirs is a disreputable profession. The abusive term "son of a dancer" means no less than "son of a whore." Singing and dancing are not highly regarded as professions for men either, but they are not perceived as dishonorable. Although female singers and dancers working at weddings are considered more respectable than nightclub performers and female singers are deemed more decent than dancers, all are deemed immoral. Why is performing considered such a shameful living for women?
Religious authorities strongly condemn professional singing and dancing, and growing pressure from Muslim fundamentalists continually aggravates the situation of female singers and dancers. But although the unsavory reputation of cheaper nightclubs explains some of the shame, the underlying reason has more to do with social views on femininity and masculinity, especially the public perception of male and female bodies. There are divergent notions of the social construction of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality in the Muslim world. The two main discourses are what author Fatima Mernissi called the implicit and the explicit theories.
Sexuality and shame
In the explicit theory, men are powerful persons who provide for their families. In exchange for support, women should be obedient and serve their providers. Loyalty, chastity and complete dedication to the husband are prerequisites for securing maintenance. Whereas men are defined in terms of economic value and as providers, women are defined in terms of affection and as mothers and housewives. Sexually, the desires of the men are central. Male desire is conceive as strong and capricious. Women should satisfy the sexual needs of their husbands so as to prevent men from committing adultery or taking another wife. Only women who
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