Zaatari, Zeina2013-01-112013-01-112012Zaatari, Z. (2015). Desirable masculinity/femininity and nostalgia of the “anti-modern”: Bab el-Hara television series as a site of production. Sexuality & Culture, 19(1), 16-36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-014-9242-5http://hdl.handle.net/10625/50623Manuscript Draft. Contains Arabic illustrationVarying manifestations of masculinity and femininity are often on display in various forms of popular culture. The following essay will analyze the kinds of desires and commentaries on social issues and family ties that Bab el-Hara, a Syrian television series, evokes. It argues that through evoking a sense of nostalgia for a "mythic" past, it links between a nationalist desirable masculine 'anti-modernity' and particular desires around family relations, femininity, and women. Despite contradicting some of the stated desires among audiences, these manufactured desires find broad appeal in the political context of the Arab world today. This phenomenon--that such a show and its representations strike a strong chord across the region--fosters commentary on the difficult current positions of women's rights struggles in the contemporary gender politics of the region. I argue that the show promotes an 'anti-modern' masculinity capable of delivering justice on the national front. In so doing, it also erodes the possibility of a gender justice future. In this paper, I will first address the relationship between the national and popular media, discuss patriarchy, family relations, femininity, and masculinity, showcasing ideal notions of masculinity as anti-modern. I then analyze notions of nostalgia of an ideal state, family, and masculinity/manhood in comparison and contrast to the current failures of the nation/state to deliver. This leads into a conclusion commenting on the political and social transformations in the Arab world in 2011 and the challenges ahead for not only political change but social change that supports women's equality.TextenMASCULINITY AND FEMININITYTELEVISION PORTRAYALSNATIONAL AND POPULAR MEDIAGENDER ROLESPATRIARCHYARAB WORLDFAMILY RELATIONSHIPSMANUFACTURING DESIRESANTI-MODERN MASCULINENOSTALGIAWOMEN'S RIGHTSTRADITIONAL JUSTICEPOPULAR CULTUREMEN'S ROLEWOMEN'S ROLEMEDIANATIONALIZATIONGENDER EQUALITYARAB COUNTRIESFOLK CULTUREJournal Article (peer-reviewed)