Female homosexuality in the Middle East : histories and representations / Samar Habib.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Habib, Samar.

Series:

Routledge research in gender and society ; 13.

Routledge research in gender and society ; 13

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Lesbianism--Middle East.

Lesbianism.

Lesbianism--Islamic countries.

Homosexuality--Middle East.

Homosexuality.

Lesbianism in literature.

Lesbianism in motion pictures.

Arabic literature--History and criticism.

Arabic literature.

Middle East.

Islamic countries.

Physical Description:

viii, 195 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Routledge, [2007]

Summary:

. This book, the first full-length study of its kind, dares to probe the biggest taboo in contemporary Arab culture with scholarly intent and integrity female homosexuality. Habib argues that female homosexuality has a long history in Arabic literature and scholarship, beginning in the ninth century, and she traces the destruction of Medieval discourses on female homosexuality and the replacement of these with a new religious orthodoxy that is no longer permissive of a variety of sexual behaviours. Habib also engages with recent gay historiography in the West and challenges institutionalized constructionist notions of sexuality.

Contents:

Introduction: Contemporary views of female homosexuality in the Middle East

Constructing and deconstructing sexuality : new paradigms for "gay" historiography

An overview of medieval literature concerning female homosexuality

A close reading of Aĥmad Ibn Yusuf Tifashi's Nuzhat al Albab : toward re-envisioning the Islamic Middle East

Contemporary representations of female homosexuality in Arabic literature and criticism

Some like it luke-warm : a brief history of the representation of (homo)sexuality in Egyptian film

Conclusion: Homosexuals, the people of Lot, and the future of Arabic homosexuality.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [179]-192) and index.

Includes filmography: page 192.

ISBN:

9780415956734

0415956730

OCLC:

76820908