Kink, masturbation and queerness are on the walls of Beirut – the walls of an art gallery called “Surface,” that is. A range of Lebanese and European websites report that two winsome lesbians – well, I actually made up the “winsome” part – are displaying their provocative paintings in a show called “Erotika.” From a woman in a black harness in a canvas called “Submission” to stripes on another woman in a piece called “SadoMasochism,” there are even artistic references to multiple orgasms.
In a city that less than a year ago was convulsively bombed into near-rubble, culture continues to be at the heart of Beirut society. Think of all the erotic shows that have been shut down by the American moral police in our cities. Why just recently there was a spasm of indignation over an anatomically correct chocolate Jesus. One can understand when Abdallad Dadur, the owner of the gallery holding the show, brags that "Once more, the Lebanese are at the forefront of moral freedoms in the Arab world."
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