Has anyone else found it a bit odd that every single magazine cover lauding Lebanon's march towards freedom has personified the uprising in hot women? Newsweek did it (and here), as did The Economist, and US News and World Report, and the Weekly Standard, and, if I had a copy of Time, I'm sure I'd find the same. It's not that I have any particular problem with the idea, but is there some archetype I'm unaware of that paints Democracy as a slim, 5'4"-5'8" women with curly hair and soft features? Are the schools segregated and only the female institutions are offering their charges the day off to protest? And, more to the point, isn't this emphasis a tad counterproductive? I'd be interested to see what imagery the Arab media is using (paging Abu Aardvark), as nothing seems quicker to instigate a fundie backlash than painting the movement as a girls-only uprising.
Speaking of which, it does seem that the fundie backlash is beginning, in the form of Hizballah-led peaceful rallies. With any luck, they'll stay that way.
Update: Seems that Insty noticed this too.
