Arab cultural discourse has been slow to respond to changing sexual behaviour. The contributors to this collection pick up the slack, ranging across such disciplines as literature, history, sociology and psychology.Is Damascus the โchastity capitalโ of the Middle East, where perceptions of wealth and class fuel female rivalries? How do gay men cruise in Beirut? How do young women in Tunis cope with both social pressures to become thin and family pressures to gain weight? What do Lebanese creative-writing students write about sexual practices versus public behaviour?The fresh, compelling research topics covered include masculinity and migration; colonialism and sexual health; fantasy and violence; and domestic workers and sexual tensions.