do you plan on writing a character from the MENA(Middle East and North Africa)? here are some stereotypes you should avoid, and some facts about the region! brought to you by your local arab iraqi!

fellow MENA friends if you want to add onto the thread/correct me, please do so!

A HEADS UP! i had this thread up two days ago, but I accidentally deleted it! i want to repost it as i believe this is important for non-MENA to see, but also to add anything i might have missed! please rt it and spread the word if you can, so more people can be informed!

a few important notes before i get into the stereotypes, research is your best friend. understand that the MENA region is immensely diverse in culture and appearance! researching each country and their culture, habits, and history will do you wonders!

google is a great resource! if you have any MENA friends who are willing to share information with you, do so! our experiences are unique and you may learn things that aren't readily available online!

not everyone in the MENA region is arab or muslim! while there's a huge group of these people there, there is much more diversity in religion and languages we speak!

this should go without saying, but any implications of terrorism and such should be pretty obvious. writing your character as such is insanely harmful and feeds into the false stereotype we are terrorists out to get you.

yes, we suffer from many terrorism related issues, but +

+ most of the time we are the victims, and a massive majority of MENA look down on these acts and groups. assuming that we are okay with people like this representing us is harmful. educate yourselves.

writing your female characters as exotic/portraying them as belly dancers comes off as insanely fetishistic. there is so much to our culture than that. also, western portrayal of belly dancing is NOT accurate. an example would be disney's alladin, as to what NOT to do.

assuming all woman are oppressed by nature and are unable to do anything which is NOT the case. yes, sexism exists like in much of the world, but it is not as rampant as westerners like to pretend it is. there are some cases where countries such as +

+ saudi arabia have strict policies pertaining to woman, but a majority of the middle east looks down on their treatment of woman.

another point is writing stories where there is a white savior to take a woman away from her strict family, anything along those lines is disgusting. i also discourage non-MENA from writing stories of a woman breaking free from her family is not your story to tell.

portraying all men to be antagonistic, to be woman-beaters and abusers is a stereotype i see more often than i would like to, and like my points above apply here.

anything that pertains to oil in our lands is harmful as it comes off as insanely stereotypical. especially since the us has ruined countries for the sake of oil, portraying arabs as greedy when it comes to it is offensive and insensitive.

middle easterners are not inherently violent or barbaric, and portraying/describing them as such is insanely offensive and inaccurate! in fact, we advocate for peace on many levels.

if there is anything else MENA folk want to add onto this thread, or even correct, please do so! and feel free to ask questions as well!

any blatant racism and disrespect will get you blocked, please stay civil!

ALSO we, as MENA, have issues pertaining to our region, especially the middle east. here is a very handy resource that you can consult and spread! https://twitter.com/tbsfireproof/status/1277642916379459584?s=20