Rabat – Ahmed al -Zamel is a 28 -year -old Kuwïdian chef who began to continue his passion for cooking ten years ago via Instagram, where he shared recipes that were easy to follow from all over the world.
Everything was fine for the talented chef until his recipe for “lazy cake” became a trend on Arab social networks last week. The cake consists of a chocolate cake bought at the store, garnished with chocolate milk and layers of whipped cream and more chocolate, all under a crunchy chocolate rice cereal blanket.
The chocolate delight is certainly a celestial treat for those who seek to satisfy their sweet tooth during Ramadan after a whole day of fasting. However, once Moroccans have been wind of the trend, he began to become viral for a completely different reason, linked to the chef’s name.
The creators of Moroccan content who joined the trend pleasantly avoided by saying the surname of the chef, the appellant “the cake of the one who will not be named” or “the abuse cake”.
In fact, the word “Z ****” in Morocco is a derogatory insult used mainly against homosexual men. However, the term is in fact mainly used to address a man who is detained, without any reference to his sexuality.
In a machismo way, the suspension is used to insult men who are perceived as lacking in masculinity or who have “female features” – whether apparently or in behavior. Indeed, as is the case in many other societies, the word “man” is not only a reference to his sex, but also an adjective which describes his moral.
Consequently, a man who does not hold word, for example, was not worth this title and that the risks were called “Z ****”, while a woman who displays favorable moral features, often in favor of patriarchy, would be adapted to approval to a man.
“A woman assimilating 100 men”, as the Egyptians say.
Divided opinions on the name
While some Arab social media joined the joke, making reactions from the Moroccan in the name of his own trend, many have stressed that it is a common surname in the countries of Khaliji (Gulf) and that it is “inappropriate to make people’s fun for something they have not chosen”. These comments of course refer to the inability to choose your name rather than on sexuality.
Although the origins of the homophobic insult in the Moroccan dialect are not clear, there are different words in classic Arabic which share the same root.
The taboo surrounding the insult comes from it being an insult which should not be pronounced in polished company, rather than being essentially a term used to denigrate people from a different sexual orientation. Consequently, there is little reversal against the use of speech in the Majority Muslim country, although some members of the gay community, such as the writer Abdellah Taia, have tried to reclaim the word.
Wherever this easy cake trend, we can only hope that the young chef takes the jokes in the process and continues to make delicious recipes, as long as they do not become viral enough to reach Moroccans again.
