An Arabic-language erotic magazine has been launched in Lebanon.
Jasad, the title of which translates into ‘body’in Arabic, has been founded by Joumana Haddad, cultural editor of Beirut’s An-Nahar newspaper.
‘This is not a political project. The magazine is about love for the culture of the body. It’s not a cause – but it does hope to break taboos,’she told The Guardian.
The first issue of the glossy quarterly will contain articles on self-mutilation and cannibalism, with regular features including Voyeur’s Corner, Body-Talk and My First Time – The Guardian reports.
The magazine’s launch has been met with controversy. Officials of Hizbullah, the Lebanese Shia movement, tried to close down Jasad’s stand at last week’s Beirut book fair.
The magazine has also been attacked on al-Arabiya TV’s website, with one poster calling it ‘blatant vulgarity and obscenity”.
Jasad will be on sale quarterly in sealed plastic envelopes. Outside of Lebanon, subscriptions will be available, with four issues costing $130 (£88).
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