Our World - Confusing Censorship

I've written about the confusing nature of censorship in this country quite a bit, and it still continues to confound me after all these years.  The problem is in the inconsistency with which the censorship is applied which I believe has to do with individuals in control of this applying their beliefs or interpretations.   All the photos in today's post were taken in a "Female Only" section of a local department store in Jeddah.

Product packaging often shows the product that is inside the package, especially if the product cannot be seen through the packaging. The first photo is censored in such a way so that hardly any of the product inside the package is visible.  All that can be seen is some of the model's skin and a small snippet of the product being sold.  The female model's body is covered randomly with 4 stickers - most of which cover up the product and still leave plenty of her skin showing.  I mistakenly thought the whole point of censorship was to cover up the woman's skin which would be considered forbidden to see in Islam...

This second photo has just on sticker that covers up a small keyhole area where cleavage might possibly have been visible, but the model's thighs, shoulders, and arms are left exposed.  At least most of the product is viewable so the customer has an idea of what she is buying.

This 3rd photo pretty much totally covers up the product inside the package, while leaving what appears to be the almost nude model's body totally exposed.  The censorship on this one is particularly puzzling to me - I don't understand why the censor doesn't try to cover her skin instead of the product itself.

This shows the same product packaging as the first photo but with the stickers completely covering up the product inside.  But instead on this one, we can see that the model is wearing a necklace which wasn't visible in the first photo, and which ironically is not being sold. The below photo is a headless mannequin sporting a sexy lingerie item - and this all apparently is totally okay here...
Saudi Arabia - Land of Contrasts and Contradictions!

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Saudi Faceless Women

I still don't understand the inconsistency with which this type of censorship is applied here in Saudi Arabia. It's so random that I feel it must be attributed to each individual company's policies and not necessarily a government agency.  The faceless women in advertisements sometimes even includes children's faces and men's faces as well, but most often it's only applied to women. The mannequins here in Saudi Arabia, however, are all consistently headless. There are no statues of entire people or living things (body parts are allowed though) and I believe the reason for this is religious, regarding worship of idols being prohibited.  

Saudi Arabia - Bare Chested Men

In a country where women must appear in public covering everything except their hands and face, and where even women's faces on advertising or in magazines are often censored with black markers, men are held to different standards.

Gyms for men in Saudi Arabia often feature large photos of bare chested men to attract customers.  It's a difficult to understand cultural contradiction.

Jeddah: Red Lobster Family Entrance

Restaurants in Saudi Arabia generally have an entrance and eating section for families and another separate entrance and eating area for single men.  Strict gender segregation is part of the culture here, and it is one of the things that bothers me most about life here.  It is unnatural, and after 8 years here, I still haven't gotten used to it or grown to like it at all.

I personally happen to feel that the severe gender segregation in Saudi Arabia causes more problems than it is trying to prevent - as a result, many men have no idea how to behave themselves around women, harassing them, calling them nasty names, and saying inappropriate things.  There is also a very high divorce rate here - many young men and women have an unrealistic idea of relationships and marriage and many couples do not really know one another very well when they marry.  The gender segregation also seems to promote homosexuality, a reality which Saudi Arabia prefers to deny the existence of.

Abu Zaid Restaurant

Men in Saudi Arabia are generally not called by their given names, but as the father of their oldest son.  The same goes for women.  So if a couple's oldest son is named Sultan, the father would be called Abu Sultan, and the mother would be called Umm Sultan.  If the children are only daughters, then the oldest daughter's name is used, but only until a male child is born, at which time the parents would be known as the father or mother of the male child.  To those not familiar with this custom or cultural tradition, it may not seem fair and might appear to slight the female children of the family.  Many businesses in Saudi Arabia are also named in this manner.