Female Homosexuality in the Middle East: Histories and Representations

by Samar Habib

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.

Genres: Islam, Queer, Nonfiction, History, LGBT, Religion, Politics

216 pages, Hardcover

First published July 23, 2007

Reviews

[Heather Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating study of the literature of female homosexuality in medieval Arabic and the ways in which social and legal attitudes in Islamic society have shifted over time. If the book has a flaw, it's that it is too obviously a re-purposed doctoral dissertation, cobbling together a number of only tangentially related topics in order to meet the breadth-and-depth requirements of that genre.

[سیاووش · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is divided into three sections. The first is a brief review of representations of gender and sexuality in modern studies, in which the author argues for queerness as an essential, innate part of human nature instead of fhe result of socialization. The second part, the most exciting part, in my opinion, analyses female homosexuality as represented in medieval Arabic texts. I went into the book thinking all of it is going to be focused on the history of female homosexuality, so obviously I enjoyed this section more than the rest. The third and last part talks about the representations of queerness, and specifically female homosexuality in contemporary Middle Eastern (mostly Arabic) literature and cinema, and how they were received.

[Zuby Eusofe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full loads of research that is very useful and insightful for readers who want to get back in Islam again and understand the history of homosexuality that not only exist pre-Islam but also within Islamic era.

[Chris Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, meticulously researched. A courageous and groundbreaking book.

[Becca]

More modern. . .the middle ages section was helpful. . .but not the best source for info.

[Mills College Library]

306.7663 H1162 2007