This story just arrived:

Hey Girls, just thought I’d let you know that I have been married to an Egyptian man for 7 years. I’ve blonde hair, blue eyes, am slender, etc. Well I just turned 35 and now considered ‘old’. He is 45 and came to me and asked me to send him a young girl from America about 20 years of age. He says I’m too old for him now and needs the young girl for sex but still wants to be married to me. Guess who is leaving Egypt without him?????

I don’t know the background to this, where/how the couple met, where they live(d) in Egypt etc. If you are the lady who sent it, perhaps you could fill us in if you have a moment.

I must just add my usual disclaimer here: not all Egyptian men behave like this. It is an unfortunate truth, however, that some do and for many Western women entering relationships with Egyptian men, the possibility of situations like this ocurring does not cross their mind. In the “West” men behave in ways which “Western” women do not like, but as our behaviour is to a great extent a product of our society’s norms ( its good, bad and ugly norms), “Western” bad behaviour is within our “Western” frame of reference. In fairness to Egyptian men, while many would like to have second wives, I’m not so sure that it’s the done thing to ask the first wife to source the second!