Mom always said: “Not only that you look like your dad, but you also inherited all his unfortunate traits.” With that she meant two things: my disorganisation and insomnia. I’d sleep for a few hours and then stay wide awake till early morning. While awake I’d either read or watch YouTube.
Lately, YouTube got bored and tired of my choices (history, general knowledge quizzes and depressing personality psychoanalysis) that suggested more fun stuff to watch.
It started with Joey B videos of TikTok and idiocracy that were hilarious. To me - a woman with limited access to social media - these videos were enlightening and horrifying; observing the limits many are willing to cross for recognition and being momentarily famous.
Not only that, but also how technology had created a whole generation of self-obsessed youngsters that would spend their whole day shooting meaningless videos of themselves dancing, eating, or even staring at nothing while gaining millions of followers and becoming influencers in the course. It gets worse when these influencers speak and display their immense ignorance publicly; with such courage and confidence that we - the older, self-conscious generations - are incapable of.
Luckily, there are many like Joey B who criticise the current wave of shallowness and narcissism, the inevitable side-effects of social media and being on smartphones all day long. After watching almost all of Joey B’s videos, YouTube introduced me to the topic that was the highlight of 2022: gender identity.
The year started with gender pronouns that seem outrageous in our part of the world. This was followed by a general confusion of the definition of a woman-that sadly included biologists around the world - calling us as birthing and menstruating persons (now we’re called cis women!).
Everybody was trying to be ‘politically correct’ about the issue in fear of being called a bigot or being cancelled on social media. There was a movie released on YouTube by Matt Walsh called: What’s a Woman? that debated many issues including trans women and puberty blockers that are given to children who feel confused about their gender identity.
As if this wasn’t enough, trans women's participation in biological women sport’s competition and winning effortlessly due to their biological advantage was another issue debated long and hard on different YouTube channels. YouTube then started focusing on American schools’ board meetings where parents were fighting against teachers spreading gender identity confusion among children and school libraries providing books with unsuitable sexual content.
Not to mention in some states where female students are forced to share toilets with trans students which led to few assault incidents. YouTube became a battlefield of videos between American conservatives and liberals, with each having on their side the best and most convincing spokespeople.
Jordan Peterson, Matt Walsh, and Candice Owens joined the Daily Wire, which comments on news updates and promotes Christian values that according to them the far left is trying to eradicate along with traditional family structure.
As I try to digest all this bewilderment, YouTube suggests that I watch Andrew Tate, a famous social media personality that had recently converted to Islam. Tate is described by many as a bigot, a misogynist and someone who promotes toxic masculinity.
I watched his videos and discovered that he’s an intelligent man who depends on shocking the audience with his direct comments, especially those that support gender inequality. He later got arrested in Romania on suspicions of human trafficking and shared his point of view. I switch off YouTube and decide that I had enough of the world’s mad affairs. After all, books are always the best of companions as Al Mutanabi said.
-- Rasha al Raisi is a certified skills trainer and the author of: The World According to Bahja. rashabooks@yahoo.com
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