"Sex manual controversy in Turkey"

newspaper article illustration, ink & gouache (this version digitally enhanced)

Turkey's population was growing rapidly, and more and more people were moving into the cities which seemed to be at bursting point. Family planning centres started appearing. In Istanbul I saw condoms in shop windows. Shock horror. And as if all this wasn't controversial enough, a sex manual was published, providing a field day for the media.

For an article on this subject I used a new version of an illustration I had drawn a few years before for a children's book. A veiled Muslim woman confidently pilots a hi-tech flying carpet over a Middle Eastern village, while a terrified man in Arabian Nights garb hangs on for dear life. Down in the village, a black dog is the only creature to witness this wonder. Some Muslims have claimed that a woman is on the same spirtual level as a dog. This woman is just soaring right above all the restrictions put on her gender.

Knowledge is power, which includes knowledge of our own sexuality. And that goes for both sexes. Or should we have a fear of flying?