Why Lebanese women love Mia Khalifa the ex-naked model
Mia Khalifa, who has famously left the porn industry & has since been an outspoken activist against the abuse & slut-shaming rampant in that industry, has found new friends. Any intersectional feminist would deem Khalifa nothing short of an icon for women worldwide, seeing the efforts Khalifa has made to empower the lives of women, starting with her own.
For those who are looking for some context, Mia Khalifa got into the industry young & naive, felt exploited, and when she could, she chose to stand up against the exploitation. Her activism came to light when she launched a petition against BangBros imploring them to take all her porn videos down from their websites after deciding to leave the industry.
Her activism is only slowly being recognized now, albeit getting less media attention than her association with the industry brought her. Recently, she also extended support for the situation in Lebanon in the aftermath of the Beirut blasts. She used the power of her influence & reach to spread awareness about it & to raise funds for the support of those affected by the blasts.
Khalifa: A crusader for the people
As a part of her relief efforts for the people in Lebanon, she’s closely working with the Lebanese Red Cross where her concerted fundraising efforts have brought in huge sums. She even auctioned her glasses – the ones she’s known for wearing in her porn videos – for $100,000 & a signed polaroid, along with some other personal effects.
THE AUCTION IS LIVE, for good this time (thank you to eBay and LRC for your help!) HAPPY BIDDING, YA FILTHY ANIMALS!! https://t.co/vf7wWDL8fj pic.twitter.com/XDX1sj2Qu4
— Mia K. (@miakhalifa) August 9, 2020
She tweeted, “THE AUCTION IS LIVE, for good this time (thank you to eBay and LRC for your help!) HAPPY BIDDING, YA FILTHY ANIMALS!!”
Later, she also came up with creative ways for fundraising, including getting a tattoo. She tweeted, “I’ll get “Mr. Beast” tattooed on me for $100k. I’m live on twitch with a tattoo artist, let’s raise some money for LEBANON! http://Twitch.tv/miakhalifa @MrBeastYT.” Her mentions are not always filled with supportive comments. Often trolls try to attack her past experiences.
I’ll get “Mr. Beast” tattooed on me for $100k. I’m live on twitch with a tattoo artist, let’s raise some money for LEBANON! https://t.co/g1KWXaVQrF @MrBeastYT
— Mia K. (@miakhalifa) August 16, 2020
Honestly, her mentions can often carry some heartbreaking comments, but her relentlessness in her campaigns & activism is commendable. She later posted about the success of her fundraising efforts, “I only cried 10,450 times . . . You guys raised over $104,000 for the @lebaneseredcross today. Between the eBay glasses auction and the twitch stream, the impact you guys made today is tangible.”
From Lebanon, with love
She’s been persistent with her efforts for support to Lebanon, including using her social media to amplify the issue, and that has now garnered her a lot of support from Lebanese women.
She shared a clip from her interview on the Sarde After Dinner podcast. She wrote in the post, “This was an emotional day, and I’m so happy to say I feel like I walked away with two new friends and a closer connection to my birthplace and childhood home than ever before.”
She added, “Although I never lost touch my [sic] Lebanese roots, in fact, I feel like as I’ve gotten older and grown into myself, I’ve nurtured them more; this conversation left me feeling validated in my heritage. Imposter syndrome can be crippling when you’re kinda whitewashed . . .”
On the podcast, she talked about her fundraising & awareness efforts for Beirut. Azouri then revealed that most of her supporters back home were women, a fact that got Khalifa verklempt.
