The Naked Blogger of Cairo The Naked Blogger of Cairo CREATIVE INSURGENCY IN THE ARAB WORLD MARWAN M. KRAIDY Cambridge, Mas sa chu setts London, Eng land 2016 Copyright © 2016 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College All rights reserved Printed in the United States of Amer i ca First printing Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Kraidy, Marwan M., 1972– author. Title: Th e naked blogger of Cairo : creative insurgency in the Arab world / Marwan M. Kraidy. Description: Cambridge, Mas sa chu setts : Harvard University Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifi ers: LCCN 2015042051 | ISBN 9780674737082 Subjects: LCSH: Arab Spring, 2010– | Human body— Political aspects— Arab countries— History—21st century. | Arts— Political aspects— Arab countries— History—21st century. | Insurgency— Arab countries— History—21st century. | Po liti cal participation— Arab countries— History—21st century. Classifi cation: LCC JQ1850.A91 K72 2016 | DDC 909/.097492708312— dc23 LC rec ord available at http:// lccn . loc . gov / 2015042051 CONTENTS List of Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Laughing Cow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Th e Poodle and the Bear . . . . . . . . 80 I. IN THE NAME Th e Lion and the Ea gle. . . . . . . . . 84 OF THE PEOPLE. . . . . . . . . . 1 Th e Dictator’s Tear . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Th e People Want. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Th e Dictator’s Two Bodies. . . . . . . . 8 IV. PUPPETS Creative Insurgency. . . . . . . . . . . . 14 AND MASTERS . . . . . . . . 91 An Eye for an Eye?. . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 II. BURNING MAN . . . . . . . . 23 Th e Upper Hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Protest Suicide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Sprayman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111 Viral Pain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Stencil Standstill . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117 Th e Defender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Top Goon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132 A Bad Rap. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Giving Bashar the Fin ger. . . . . . . .141 Down and Out in Tunis . . . . . . . . 42 In Sickness and in Health . . . . . . 148 Loaves of Contention . . . . . . . . . . 46 A Better Future. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 V. VIRGINS AND VIXENS. . . . . . . . . . 157 III. LAUGHING COW. . . . . . . 55 Th e Naked Blogger of Cairo . . . . 159 Pha raoh’s Health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Th e Aesthetics A Digital Body Politic. . . . . . . . . . 62 of Disrobement. . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Living Martyr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Dutiful Daughter . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Funny Men. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 Blue Bra Girl. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Vigilance and Virulence. . . . . . . . 182 Th e Creative-C uratorial- Sextremism and Corporate Complex. . . . . . . . . 208 Islamophobia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 Th e Daesh Stain . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Th e Dilemma of the Liberals. . . . 193 Another Pha raoh? . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Abstract Bodies? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Th e Specter of Death. . . . . . . . . . 221 VI. REQUIEM FOR Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 A REVOLUTION?. . . . . . 201 Acknowl edgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273 Concept Pop? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277 vi CONTENTS ILLUSTRATIONS Fig. 1 Pinocchio in TV Screen, stencil, Cairo, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Fig. 2 Baguette Man, photo, Tunis, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Fig. 3 Martyr- Fish- Fly, mural by Ammar Abo Bakr, Luxor, 2013 . . . . . . . . . .96 Fig. 4 Th is Is Civil Disobedience, Asha‘b Assoury ‘Aref Tareqoh, undated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Fig. 5 Th e King of the Jungle Rides a Tank, stencil, Beirut, 2011. . . . . . . . . . . .128 Fig. 6 Th e Sectarian System, stencil, Beirut, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Fig. 7 A Rebel’s Diary (screen grab), blog, 2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .158 Fig. 8 Aliaa vs. Samira, mural/stencils by Ammar Abo Bakr, Luxor, 2011. . . .175 Fig. 9 Blue Bra Girl against the System, stencil, Beirut, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Fig. 10 Qahera, webcomic by Deena Mohamed, 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .191 vii The Naked Blogger of Cairo