Week 5 Blog Post

Our readings this week focused on what masculinity looks like in the Arab world, particularly in Egypt. In Jacob's text on genealogy, the author explores how masculinity relates to social class. The author traces the effendi, an Egyptian class that, in its later years, was comprised of men in "modern professions and upper-level students". Lord Milner writes of the necessary treatment of the effendiyya in terms of colonialism in his piece "England in Egypt". 

"Treat the Effendi like a man; let him understand that you expect from him obedience, but not servility, that a reasonable objection properly urged will not be resented, and that, if he does his duty, his rights are secure --  and you will be able to get plenty of good work out of him." (47)

This quote effectively demonstrates the paradox of masculinity in this context. Men are expected to be strong but not subordinate. They have to be obedient to make a living, but dominant to have a respectable life as a man. The idea of masculinity seems to be at war with other cultural standards. In considering Cromer's thoughts on Egyptian masculinity, it seems that the Egyptian ideal of masculinity is based on a man being able to rule both himself and others. This concept ties into Inhorn's commentary on infertility as it pertains to Egypt and Lebanon. 

Inhorn's piece "Middle Eastern Masculinities in the Age of New Reproductive Technologies: Male Infertility and Stigma and Egypt and Lebanon" focuses on the importance of male fertility and the impact of male infertility in Egypt and Lebanon. The idea of masculinity seems to be significantly shaped by paternity. However, infertility has much higher rates in these areas than in the West, which Inhorn claims is a product of   genetics, culture and environment. Inhorn makes an interesting point in saying that many men don't own up to their infertility, letting their wives instead be faulted for not producing children. If, as Cromer points out, men must be able to rule themselves and others in order to be masculine, infertility becomes an obstacle to masculinity. If men cannot biologically "rule" their own bodies, they theoretically could maintain some of their masculinity by ruling over their wives and letting the blame fall on them.