Orientalism with a surgical twist is an article on Al Jazeera about the Orientalist ideology in connection with Beirut. The author,Belen Fernandez, mentions numerous works that use Orientalism to describes Beirut society. The article condemns these works which state that Beirut women are materialistic and "buxom, Cleopatra-eyed Lebanese girls". The article also cites Orientalist authors who claim that Beirut is the Paris of the East, and is surrounded by unmodernized Islamic countries. The article then claims that this trend has continued today, with an increase in plastic surgery to better one's appearance. While some commenters believed that Fernandez was claiming all of these stereotypes to be true of the city, she was doing quite the opposite. She is saying that all of these stereotypes are based off of Said's "Orientalism". There are many reasons why Beirut might be a well-off commercial city. Because it is a city, Beirut has more access to global ideas such as materialism. Plus, the beauty industry has a huge hold over cities where one believes everyone is cosmopolitan. It should be interesting that a city in the Middle East has a materialistic culture, because that is a global phenomenon that transcends regions in the world. I hope that I am becoming more aware of Orientalism, and hopefully I can see around it to discover the truth behind this facade.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/10/201210311055370407.html
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