DAMMAM: Months after her sister caused controversy on its cover, Vogue Arabia has chosen Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid to cover its coveted September issue. However, not everyone is pleased with the sight of another Hadid sister gracing the magazine cover.
Bella’s older sister Gigi Hadid made an appearance on the inaugural cover back in March. She wore a hijab in the issue, and as a result was accused of cultural appropriation.
The September cover has prompted fierce debate on how Vogue Arabia should choose cover stars having a stronger Arab connection.
“This is really bad. I was hopeful with the change in editor in chief but I’m disappointed that for this monumentally important and defining September issue, Vogue Arabia has decided to put yet another Hadid on the cover — it’s like their half Palestinian heritage and American supermodel status makes them the only worthy Arab models.. And it’s shot by Karl Lagerfeld? Why? There is no lack of competent and able Arab fashion photographers that should have been given this opportunity,” wrote Instagram user @malakelsawi.
@nihed192Still wrote: “Waiting for an actual Arabic women to be on the cover of Vogue ‘Arabia’.”
@nayra.salim commented: “Bella is an American ... she has never been to Palestine, can’t speak Arabic, she doesn’t know Arabic traditions, she’s grown up in USA!”
In an Instagram post, Bella wrote she was “honored and proud” to be on the cover, “specifically to represent and cherish my half-Palestinian blood from my father and his strong, loving, wonderful Arab side of my family.”
“This cover is in honor of my teta Khair Hadid, my family, and my Arab/Muslim friends out there ...,” she wrote.
Some social media users acknowledged Bella”s Palestinian roots and welcomed the cover.
“As an Arab, she makes me so proud. Glad to see she”s representing us,” wrote @onlyyyangel
@jasminezrl wrote: “Roots are roots. Her dad”s Palestinian so ultimately she is too. And she acknowledges it.”
“You can”t erase someone”s heritage just because you don”t like them,” commented another user.
Bella Hadid causes stir with Vogue Arabia cover
Bella Hadid causes stir with Vogue Arabia cover
Lunar New Year bowing service in China stokes controversy
- Customers could hire proxies to bow and show respect for family members
- Odd jobs app UU Paotui withdraws service after online outrage and mockery
BEIJING: A Chinese odd jobs mobile app has canceled a service that let users hire proxies to bow to their elderly relatives during Lunar New Year family visits, sparking scrutiny of China’s “hire-anyone-for-anything” service sector. Promotional images of the now-deleted service depicted an orange uniform-clad delivery worker on their knees bowing, forehead nearly on the floor, in front of a smiling elderly couple. Online responses ranged from outrage to mockery.
“Filial piety should not be commoditized,” one Weibo user said, referring to the culture of respect for and deference to older family members.
Visiting loved ones and offering good wishes are an important part of the traditional Lunar New Year holiday, although bowing is not widely practiced today.
“After careful consideration, we have voluntarily removed the services that caused controversy,” said odd jobs app UU Paotui, based in central China’s Henan, in a Wednesday WeChat post.
As of Friday, the app still offered a New Year greeter service — with immediate dispatch options — but the 999 yuan ($144.77), two-hour bowing-for-hire package was no longer visible.
Buyers of the now-deleted bowing package could hire gig workers to buy and send gifts, “perform traditional etiquette,” and offer “one minute of auspicious blessings” to loved ones, among other services. The services were meant to help people living far from their families and those with mobility issues maintain traditional customs, UU Paotui said, adding it would offer triple compensation to customers who had already booked.
People who have moved away for work typically return home to visit their families for the most important festival on the Chinese calendar, creating a travel rush commonly referred to as the world’s largest annual human migration. In a nod to the increasingly virtual nature of social life in China, UU Paotui suggested replacing the in-person visits with an app could help avoid awkward social interactions.
“If you don’t want to have social anxiety during the new year, the experience has to be online!” said a Monday Weibo post announcing the service.
Time-poor consumers boost proxy services
Proxy services are not uncommon in China, where labor costs are relatively low and convenience is at a premium for urban consumers.
Outside the holiday period, UU Paotui users can hire someone through the app to accompany them to hospital, feed their pets, or wait in queues at restaurants and other busy locations.
A Wednesday commentary in the People’s Daily, the Communist Party newspaper, called the bowing service “very awkward” and urged closer scrutiny of the proxy service industry.
“Real innovation should meet needs while also safeguarding values,” it said, pointing out that paying a proxy to cover work shifts, for example, could come with legal risks. The controversy comes amid increasing concern for China’s often overworked delivery workers, who can sometimes be seen sprinting through shopping malls and residential compounds to deliver an order on time.
President Xi Jinping met delivery workers on Wednesday to wish them a happy new year and acknowledge their hard work.
“The city couldn’t function without workers like you,” he said.
