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Rabat – Ahmed al-Zamel is a 28-year-old Kuwaiti chef who started pursuing his passion for cooking ten years ago via Instagram, where he shared easy-to-follow recipes from around the world.
All was going well for the talented chef until his “lazy cake” recipe became a trend all over Arab social media this past week. The cake consists of store-bought chocolate cake, topped by chocolate milk and layers of whipped cream and more chocolate, all under a blanket of crunchy chocolate rice cereal.
The chocolate delight is certainly a heavenly treat for those looking to satisfy their sweet tooth during Ramadan after an entire day of fasting. However, once Moroccans caught wind of the trend, it started going viral for a whole different reason, related to the chef’s last name.
Moroccan content creators who joined the trend jokingly avoided saying the chef’s last name, calling it “the cake of he who shall not be named” or “the bad name cake.”
In fact, the word “z****” in Morocco is a derogatory slur used essentially against homosexual men. However, the term is actually mostly used to address a man who is held in contempt, without any reference to his sexuality.
In a machismotic way, the slur is used to insult men that are perceived to lack masculinity or who display “feminine traits” – whether in appearance or behavior. This is because, as it is the case in a lot of other societies, the word “man” is not only a reference to one’s gender, but also an adjective that describes one’s morals.
Accordingly, a man who doesn’t keep his word, for instance, wouldn’t be worth that title and risks being called a “z****,” while a woman who displays favorable moral traits, often in favor of the patriarchy, would be approvingly likened to a man.
“A woman equating a 100 men,” as the Egyptians say.
Divided opinions on the name
While some Arab social media joined in on the joke, making Moroccan’s reactions to the name a trend of its own, many pointed out that it’s a common last name in Khaliji (Gulf) countries and that it’s “inappropriate to publicly mock people for something they didn’t choose.” These comments were of course referring to the inability to choose one’s name rather than sexuality.
While the origins of the homophobic slur in Moroccan dialect are unclear, there are various words in classical Arabic that share the same root.
The taboo that surrounds the slur comes from it being an insult that shouldn’t be uttered in polite company, rather than it essentially being a term used to disparage people of a different sexual orientation. Consequently, there is little pushback against the use of the word in the Muslim majority country, although a few members of the gay community, such as writer Abdellah Taia, have attempted to reappropriate the word.
Wherever this easy cake trend goes, one can only hope that the young chef takes the jokes in stride and continues to make delicious recipes, as long as they don’t go viral enough to reach Moroccans again.
