The suspicious-looking individual to the right is a Muslim. Would you feel nervous if you saw her on an airplane?
The reason I ask is that my attention was drawn to the NBC game show “Deal Or No Deal,” which I haven’t actually seen on television, but appears to involve suitcases that may or may not be filled with large amounts of cash, presented to contestants by a bevy of hot models. The show’s website emphasizes the models, and when I checked it out the featured model to appear on my screen was this one, #13, name of Leyla. It struck me from her name and her visage that she might just be, you know, one of them, even though the web bio supplied for her only told me that she came from Toronto. And that she has “the face of an Angel and the drive of a tigress,” and was once a tomboy but is now “no longer a tomboy by any stretch of the imagination,” if you get my drift, phwarrr phwarrr. Fortunately the Persian Mirror was more forthcoming in identifying Leyla Milani and claiming her as one of their co-ethnics, which means in all likelihood she’s Muslim as well.
So, you ask, what does this have to do with the price of chapatis? Well, not much, really, except that the reason I was investigating “Deal or No Deal” in the first place was because of this Craigslist ad that was picked up today by Gawker:
Do you get nervous when you see a Muslim on an airplane? Have your opinions about Muslims changed since September 11? Do you have family or friends that get nervous around Muslims?
A NEW SHOW SEEKS New York families who have traditional family values but are uneasy around Muslims.
The show will profile families in different communities across the country. This one hour documentary-style series from the producers of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “Deal or No Deal” will take a look at the people and cultures that make up America.
This series will also explore other issues that families from varied backgrounds face in their day-to-day life and provide opportunities to them that they might not have access to otherwise. This is not a home makeover show.
This is a paid opportunity.
If you are interested or have any questions about this show, please e-mail the following information to AshtonRamsey@Yahoo.com.
I repeat: THIS IS NOT A HOME MAKEOVER SHOW. So even if your closets are jammed full of last year’s hijabs and were decorated in Saddam-era 1980s Arabesque kitsch, do not apply. It’s also not a game show, presumably — or is it? what do the suitcases contain? are there airplanes involved? — although it is a “paid opportunity.” I guess you can email Ashton if you want to know more.
Like most Iranian “muslims” in North America that I’ve met, it doesn’t look like she’s practicing…I mean, if I’m supposed to judge by appearances.
I would ask for the window seat though. I’m sure she’s the type to get up and go to the bathroom every 5 minutes to look at herself, apply a wack of makeup….AKA annoying.
And yes, this is pure unadulterated hate. I prefer real women of colour.
as opposed to a figment of your imagination?
as opposed to bottle blondes with coloured contacts, nose jobs, etc.
real, as in genuine, authentic. the real deal.
~.~ iwa l’ewa ~.~ ~.~ Character Is Beauty ~.~
Jesus another “Ohhooohhhhh she’s such a HOT woman” thread…Let the objectification begin.
Yes the racist bigot from middle America will see this version of a Muslim and immediately decide to be kind to the man who wears a beard and prays 5 times a day or a Sardar with a turban. Yes that is what will happen.
what about EXOTIC joat ;), yes i’m being facetious..
any crap can get on reality tv these days…
i swear, i live on dvd’s of movies and real, non reality bull these days..
KUSH, KUSH — catching breath — this is the complete version and better audio quality — I’ve scoured the internet for this… you got to listen to this man. I love how he goes.. “mmooaaawf keejiega…”
mmooaaawf mmooaaawf mmooaaawf … i’ve been saying that again and again. cant quite get that timbre 🙂
Thanks for calling it out, JOAT. Like I said, can we stop?
KUSH, KUSH — catching breath — this is the complete version and better audio quality — I’ve scoured the internet for this… you got to listen to this man. I love how he goes.. “mmooaaawf keejiega…”
Thanks, hairy_d. I know the beauty lies in the whole scene and complete dialogue. Maybe, we can find the video on the internet where he actually notices her sleeping in her train coach and puts the letter in the movie Pakeezhah.
Well done.
HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT………..HOT?
I apologize for launching the hawt-fest. The point of the post was to put the “Are-You-Afraid-Of-Muslims” reality show in suitably absurd context. I am curious what people think of the premise of the show. And I wanted to come up with a whole “Are You Scared of Desis” parody, but didn’t have the imagination at that moment…
Raj Kumar was obviously a heinous rogue in Pakeezah for his dastardly objectification of Meena Kumari’s feet. What a scoundrel.
Appreciating a woman’s beauty is one thing. Ignoring the fact that she’s a human being and being totally insensitive to her feelings and right to be treated with consideration is a different matter. Both aren’t necessarily the same thing. Nobody (so far) on this thread has done the latter.
Less hypersensitivity and political correctness, more correctness and common sense, please.
Badmaashi aur badtameezi mmooaaawf keejiega, huzoor.
Does anyone besides me think that this woman is totally amazingly hot? Wow! This just made my day. Thank you Sepia.
Of course, the objectification could not be possible without the target transforming herself into an object.
this chick is definitely NOT hot
forgive me for possibly sounding crass to some of you, but if anything she is CTFFTB material
please dont bother me with such complaints
Ohhhhhh! Wow! Really tasty.
Did anyone say she was hot?? rolls eyes
But ok fine, she is.
The objectification began when TV shows decided a suitcase is not a suitcase unless you have a hot chick carrying it, or when carrying suitcases on TV became a real job. This is just the sad inevitable conclusion of that objectification.
Are you for real?
She’s a model. She willingly consents to a certain degree of objectification. I get that. She gets that. But what if she weren’t a model? You guys still would have said the same things.
The objectification most certainly could be possible without the “target” turning herself into an object. In fact, I’ll bet my life on it.
this is not true… there have been other posts in this blog featuring fine looking chicks but the comment thread has not resorted to objectification
in this case, the central theme of this posting revolves around the “hotness” of this chick – i mean just read the first two sentences in this post – hence it is natural that the comments follow the pattern set by the author
whats wrong with objectification. my lifes goal is to be treated like an object…
This thread brought up an interesting point that’s been brought up on Sepia before: that desi guys go for Middle Eastern or Middle Eastern/Latina chicks. Why? What’s wrong with desi girls???
Liking a l@tina ch!ck doesnt mean that you dont like desi girls. you can like both. Im sure most desi guys dig desi girls. im sure most guys dig desi girls….
Yes. I am.
A certain degree? her entire profession depends on objectification. Without objectification, she wouldn’t get paid.
If she weren’t a model, it would depend on the manner in which she dressed, If we can agree that some dress styles are geared towards accentuating physical characteristics more than others, then that is a form of self-objectification. Please explain to me how a women wears clothes that accentuate her “objects” then turn around and scream objectification when those objects are noticed Please understand, I say NOTICED, I hope no one reframes the argument into a “A woman can wear whatever she wants and still has the right not to be catcalled, assaulted, and raped!”
do you think a woman doesnt have a right not to be r@ped? thats f-ed up…
I guess that was my issue. I can appreciate a hot woman myself but anytime there is a picture of a hot chick the context of the thread goes down the tubes and every other post reads like this or this or this and makes this place sound like myspace.
And if she wasn’t hot would this post exist? Meaning hey hot muslim (who knowns if she even is) lets talk about how she’s going to change the perception of the world to other muslims. That’s the part that annoyes me, the heehaawwww fest.
That nasty sucking sound you hear, folks, is this comment thread going down the tubes…
(Puliogre, #75 was completely uncalled for)
And ANOTHER thing…she looks WHITE for all intents and purposes, blond hair, blue eyes so we are implying that when Islam needs this level of PR so when a muslim gets the “acceptable” look in the west it’s all good. The middle east is filled with chicks that look like this, it doesn’t matter that they may not naturally look that way, and I knew quite a few in Bahrain, but yet again we are saying “to be accepted as different you need to LOOK like the WESTERN standard” which means you gotta be a HOT blond!
Just because a woman is a model, does not mean that she is to be treated as an object. Yes her beauty is being used to sell a product, however, she is a HUMAN being! Yes she is hot-fantastic, she has looks that only maybe 5% of the population attains, so this is her gift to the world. Don’t downsize her on the level of respect each and every woman deserves.