Snip from an AP story about young people in gender-segregated Saudi Arabia reaching out to each other through short-range wireless.
The women would not give their full names when talking about communicating with the opposite sex – so strong is the taboo in this kingdom where men and women are strictly segregated. Unrelated men and women caught talking to each other, driving in the same car or sharing a meal risk being detained by the religious police. But connecting by Bluetooth is safe and easy. Users activate the Bluetooth function in their phone and then press the search button to see who else has the feature on within a 30-foot range.
They get a list of ID names of anyone in the area – names, mostly in Arabic, often chosen to allure: poster boy, sensitive girl, lion heart, kidnapper of hearts, little princess, prisoner of tears. Some are more suggestive, like "nice to touch" and "Saudi gay club."
(…)Many images feature babies – some blowing kisses – perhaps because women consider them cute. Animated cartoons doing belly dances, dreamy Arabic songs and sappy, sentimental messages are also popular. "Last night I sent an angel to watch over you, but he came back soon," said one message. "I asked him why, and he answered, 'Am not allowed to watch over other angels."'
Link (Thanks, John Parres!)
Reader comment: Baylen Linnekin says,
I blogged last month on the Saudi Bluetooth phenomenon you posted on today: Link. Here is the Arab News story that formed part of the basis of my post: Link
