Sexual Healing

“Sex,” announces Dr. Heba Kotb, a close-up of her pretty, veiled face appearing in this promotion on TV screens all over the Arab World. As if playing the part of a shocked viewer, the camera zips out, revealing a full-length shot of Egypt’s sexologist-turned-starlet. She gives a reproving gaze and beckons. “Come on, don’t be scared,” she reassures the trembling camera and its constituents back home. Slowly, it creeps back toward her. “That’s right,” Dr. Kotb addresses her audience directly once again. “We’re going to talk about sex.” And she does, every Saturday night. At 11:30 on the Egyptian satellite channel El Mehwar, red bars marked “Caution!” warn viewers of the racy program to follow. Then the culprit appears: a pleasant Muslim woman, smiling with conspiratorial charm, her name and her show scribbled beside her—Dr. Heba Kotb, in Kalaam Kibeer (“Big Talk”). Dr. Heba talks a big talk indeed. She has a message and is in a hurry to deliver it: being a good Muslim means having good sex. Seated in a swanky studio living room, eyes and spike heels a-sparkling, she welcomes her viewers to the show, introduces the topic for the evening, and begins a lecture. Whatever the topic, Dr. Kotb weaves her core message into each quick-paced presentation. That is: while people need to educate themselves about sex, they should only try it within the frame of marriage, in which sex is the key to marital happiness, and in turn Islamic society. All along, Dr. Kotb refers back to Islamic sources, reminding her viewers of the Prophet’s loving relationship with his wives

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Studies · Genital Health and Disease · Psychology

• Arab Television in Academic Scholarship

  Open Access•Helga Tawil‐souri•Sociology Compass•2008

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