I watched LBC’s World Bellydance Championship last Thursday after calling a number of people to remind them to watch it too. I’m a serious fan of bellydancing and so it was natural that I will be interested in seeing what the show has to offer. After all, with the primitive internet speed I have, YouTube bellydance videos tend to suck the life out of me.

I think Thursday was the first episode of the show, which featured six bellydancers from different countries. There was even a Russian and Ukrainian present and they did exceptionally well. However, I have a few comments on the reception of the show in the media and by the public, and not entirely about the dancers’ performances.

Here’s a theory I have been developing lately in response to the blatant phobia Arab people have of the monster otherwise known as the female body: A great number of Arab people indulge in the almost sadistic illusion of projecting all the centuries-long faults of society, religion, and human error on women.

In our Arab societies, women’s sexuality and in simpler terms their bodies are treated as either treasured possessions of men or perpetrators of corruption and amorality. A unique attitude prevalent in Arab societies is medieval in the sense that it perceives, and treats, them as inferior humans personifying a forbidden desire. The idea is that women must be brought to submission lest they sabotage the otherwise-perfect texture of society through their diabolic allure. The same attitude maintains, without shame or sense of contradiction, that women’s sexuality should be unleashed without restriction according to the whims and fancies of men within the context of unequal relationships. People have this attitude because it is relatively simple, it has a popular support base from men and women alike, and some societies/religions authorize it.

In addition to that, it is obvious that when a certain group is in power (politicians, religious leaders, media people), it is in its best interest to keep other groups at the bottom of the food chain. This comes to play when we realize that the vast majority of people in power in the Arab region, and I am tempted to say all but I will resist it, are men.

Putting all these arguments together, there is no wonder many people object to LBC’s decision to air this show. Obviously, the women will be quasi-naked (although some should not be allowed to expose their figures so), and they will most likely look attractive as they dance to Um Kolthom, and by extension will spread corruption and up the level of STD-infested horniness in the Arab world. I find the naiveté of the position remarkable and only matched by the amount of success these dancers will enjoy because of the show.

I read many articles criticizing the show, and others fiercely resenting it on religious and political grounds; arguing that we should concentrate on serious issues in the region instead of the sexy abdomens of some women. That is a shallow argument of course because there is plenty of seriousness in our media and an alternative must be present as well.

It is not rocket science: people who don’t like seeing pretty women dancing (or enough boobs to last one a lifetime and then some) should change the channel. They should also refrain from dancing in private parties and should abandon a key element in Arabic culture: bellydancing. I know some people who are like that, and they are miserable wretches who get married in lifeless weddings.

Bellydancing is a significant part of our heritage. It was just about the only positive stereotype the world had of us before 9/11; when Arab was synonymous with filthy-rich and clueless middle-aged man in a hatta. Let’s not denounce it merely because it is a feminine art.