Creepy

Despite laws now in place requiring businesses in Saudi Arabia that cater to women to actually employ females to sell those products, there are still some businesses that don't seem to have gotten the message.  Most lingerie and cosmetics shops in malls have made the switch to replace salesmen with a female sales force.  But I have still seen shops here and there that still employ men to sell brassieres and panties to Saudi women - ironic for a place where there is strict gender segregation enforced.  These photos were taken in a Jeddah mall just a few days ago.   

Unexpected

This isn't the type of thing one might expect to see in a shop window of a mall here in Saudi Arabia, where women are required to wear black outer cloaks, covered from head to toe...

Our World: Mannequin Legs are Okay

All store mannequins in stores in Saudi Arabia are headless.  When out in public, Saudi women must wear floor length loose-fitting black cloaks called abayas over their normal clothing and cover their heads with scarves called hijab.  In advertising, on product packaging, and in magazines, women's faces and skin are often marked out with black markers.  It seems to be perfectly all right though for store mannequins to wear sexy clothing and show off their cleavage, arms and legs, even though I feel it sends a confusing mixed message. 

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Family Only Lingerie Shop

"Family Only" has become a common sign outside many businesses in Saudi Arabia.  Restaurants have historically had family sections apart from single men's sections.  But now lingerie shops are required by law to restrict single men from going inside without a female family member.   It's always confusing to me to see window displays such as this sporting a half naked headless mannequin, yet women in public must be totally covered - usually in black formless cloaks - from head to toe.

Censorship Confusion

This is a really huge sign inside a mall in Jeddah.  I just don't understand why whoever put this sign up felt that the two girls' faces on the left needed to be blurred out, while the girl on the right wasn't.  It's all so confusing to me...

Accessories Souq

Colorful scarves and jingling coins worn by belly dancers are available in this souq in Al Balad. There are no clubs where one can go to see belly dancers performing in this strict religious country, however I'm sure many men throughout the country may get their own private shows at home.

Our World: Dressing in Public

The men pictured above are a good example of the freedom men in Saudi Arabia have as far as choosing what they wish to wear in public. Men can even wear shorts and T-shirts, and when swimming in public, they can wear swimsuits without shirts, no matter how buff and sexy or how overweight, hairy, and grotesque they may be.

This photo shows how women and girls are required to dress when in public in Saudi Arabia. I've seen women dressed like this swimming in the Red Sea also.

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Hovel

Just across the street from a beautiful high end mall in Jeddah are hovels like this one where poor expat laborers live. The stark contrast upon exiting the mall and seeing how some people in the world live is quite mind blowing.

Our World: Gold Mesh Outfit

This is probably something one might not expect to see for sale here in Saudi Arabia. I can't imagine a woman wearing this to a gender segregated function with only other females present. And any function where men would be present, women are always dressed in abayas. Okay, so I guess that leaves some lucky husband who might be charmed and dazzled in the privacy of his own bedroom by his wife. I'll stop now...

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Headless and Faceless

All mannequins that I've seen here in Saudi Arabia are headless, and public images of women always have the faces blurred or pixelized. Somehow I don't quite understand why it's okay for the female mannequins to have bare legs like these or to show cleavage like many I have seen... It's perplexing to me.

Our World: Red Okay if NOT Valentine's Day

Normally you can see this type of merchandise in shops all over Saudi Arabia, but in February of each year around Valentine’s Day, there is a ban on selling items such as this. This year alone, religious police arrested over 140 people for celebrating Valentine’s Day. The religious police have historically banned products that come in red – such as roses, teddy bears, lingerie, heart shaped chocolate boxes, etc. – in an effort to prevent people from expressing their love for one another on this pagan holiday. I have written more about this subject on my other blog, Susie’s Big Adventure, in these posts: Valentine’s Day Massacre and Happy Valentine’s Day…or Not!

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