And the sun will rise in the west and set down in the east
And when it came time for the end...
And when it came time for the end...
And when it came time for the end...
The men will look like the women
And the women like the men
"Mean Machine" - The Last Poets
In the apocalyptic spoken word piece Mean Machine, the Last Poets allude to the hadith where men looking like women and women looking like men is seen as one of the signs of the last days. It isn't completely clear how this sign ought to be interpreted, and I actually don't intend to suggest that it includes the subsequent discussion in this entry, but it seemed like an intriguing springboard from which to introduce the next topic.
For reasons I don't particularly want to get into at the moment, I've been thinking alot about transgendered individuals and the difficulties they face. What some might find surprising, especially given the kinds of typical accusations made against Muslims when it comes to sexual matters, is that even many religiously conservative Muslims can be quite sympathetic when it comes to transgendered individuals (It might be useful to keep in mind that transgenderism is different from homosexuality and is also different from cross-dressing. Transgendered individuals don't just want to perform certain acts or wear certain clothes but instead they often feel like they were born in a body of the wrong gender... their "inside" doesn't match their "outside".) Here is one story about events in Iran along these lines. And another on Kuwait (So one is from a shia perspective and the other gives a sunni view)
2 comments:
Interpretation, interpretation! Men have looking like women and vice versa can be traced all the way back to the native american winkte or two-souls and perhaps further back. The Old French way of dressing with the powdered faces and wigs could pretty much qualify. The end of the world has been predicted pretty much since the beginning of history. You'd think people were in a hurry or something.
Good point... yes, I think people have been expecting the end since the beginning...lol... But from a certain perspective they are actually right. Even if judgement day is 1000 years off , judgement day is still "just around the corner", mainly due to our own mortality. Even if we never in our lifetimes see the mahdi or the dajjal or jesus, we all have our own individual Last Day, you know?
But about gender, looking at different cultures is actually kind of interesting. I mean, if you think about it, even certain aspects of the sunnah for men might appear feminine from Western perspective (not wearing pants, wearing perfume, kohl for the eyes, certain hygenic practices, etc.) and vice-versa (wearing silk ties, gold watches, shaving, etc.)
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