READ TO THE BOTTOM OF THE POST BEFORE SENDING ME A MESSAGE. I KNOW.

This is one of the most beautiful, insightful, sensual and fascinating blogs I’ve ever read. It challenges popular misconceptions about Islam, gender and the Arab world, and both her articles and poetry are deeply inspiring.

However, yesterday evening Amina, aka Gay Girl in Damascus, was kidnapped by armed men. They remain unidentified and are suspected to have been from the Syrian security forces or Baath Party militia. From past confrontations, it would seem that her arrest is for reasons of politics rather than of sexuality. She is still missing. I hope she is safe.

Edit, 10th June: Take a look at this article by Liz Henry at Bookmaniac.org. Curiouser and curiouser. The detective work in the comments section is almost more fascinating than the post itself. Just how real is Amina…?

Edit, 13th June: I’ve been watching this story with interest for the past week, and it just keeps getting weirder. The blog itself was always mesmerising, but all that has happened since “Amina” disappeared – especially the detective work done by other bloggers – has fascinated me in such a way that I no longer know quite how to feel about it, especially after watching this video and hearing it from the writer’s own point of view…

On the one hand, this engaging sockpuppet and the drama surrounding her “abduction” brought attention to the Syrian uprising, moderate Islam and LGBT activism in a way that many people would not otherwise have been aware of. And this man, obviously a very talented writer, will probably get a book deal…

Yet has he caused more harm than good? The Syrian government are already citing this as one example of fabricated western propaganda, and the credibility of the (many) genuine online activists in similar situations to “Amina” will be damaged. Individuals, organisations and charities wasted precious time trying to help someone who never existed. The character built intense and intimate relationships with people and publications over the internet, and they feel understandably betrayed.

Dear Hive Mind, what do you think?

You may have seen the video for Beyonce Knowles’ new single. It’s slick, sexy, and – at a glance – full of Femdom imagery.

In what seems to be an awkward nod in the direction of this year’s Arab Spring uprisings, our protagonist and her dancing desert harem aim to tackle the full force of the patriarchy. Could this be a breakthrough? Is the ninth most powerful woman on the planet finally leading a revolution in gender equality? Do girls actually run the world now? Well, no. Beyonce’s revolution appears to consist entirely of stroking the men’s chests, writhing around in the sand at their feet and pelvic-thrusting a skimpy gusset at them. At the end, the women stand before the men and salute. It’s a disappointment, to say the least.

Popular culture has never been great at feminism. The Girl Power craze of the ’90s taught teens that what women should really, really want are eye-catching outfits, a rich footballer as a husband and whatever the arsing hell a “zig a zig ah” is – as opposed to an equal status in politics, religion, the economy, sexuality and any of the multitude of other fundamentally skewed bases of human society.

Femdom, as a fetish, means different things to different people. However, if being empowered means nothing more than a woman putting on a corset and catsuit to pander to a man’s sexual peccadilloes whilst ignoring her own, a Dominatrix may as well be a slave. We can teeter around on our high heels and sing Beyonce lyrics as much as we like, but if the power we have is only aesthetic, we don’t even run ourselves, let alone the world.

Anyway, here’s an angry woman on YouTube: