Lebanese-British fashion entrepreneur and digital influencer, Karen Wazen, shared a picture on her Instagram account while soaking in the sun on the beach in Lebanon in a bikini. Her picture was met with mixed comments, some commenting on her amazing figure, while others chose to slut-shame her for showing so much skin.
People slut-shaming women is nothing new. Any woman dressed in something somewhat revealing is attacked for her choices of clothing. But this time, Wazen decided to talk back and not accept this criticism in silence, taking to her Instagram stories to speak up against the judgment she received.
Among the comments she received were ones that attacked her husband for not being a “real man.”
“She is not married to a real man if so she would cover up that sweet thing,” one comment said, despite the commenter shamelessly sexualizing Wazen. They also believe that her husband’s role is to keep his wife covered up and have a say in her choices of clothing, as if she isn’t human enough to make her own choices.
Other comments compared her to an animal, while others were so worried about her destiny in the afterlife, saying that the way she is dressed will result in her going to hell.
“I really wish this kind of judgment and mentality would change…women should feel comfortable enough to wear what they like without feeling judged; whether it’s covering up or being in a bathing suit,” she said on her Instagram story.
Arab women in the public eye are often subject to scrutiny. People rush to judging them and criticize everything about them, but it is not often that a woman talks back against that scrutiny.
Instagram is a platform made for the purpose of individuals sharing whatever they want, and if someone shares images you find offensive, then unfollowing them can so easily be done in less than a second.
