Lesbianism in Contemporary Arab Cinema and Literature: Identities, Bodies, Spaces

这个项目探讨了女同性恋在当代（21世纪）阿拉伯电影和文学中的表现。它探讨了女同性恋者的身体如何在其所占据的空间中表现出来，并审视了阿拉伯文化空间中的二元性，因为这些空间将女同性恋定为犯罪，但却忽视了女同性恋。该研究探索了一个尚未被充分研究的话题；虽然男性同性恋在阿拉伯世界的性文学中有很好的代表性，但在女同性恋的身体上却不是这样。主题元素将集中在阿拉伯电影和文学文本中的女同性恋的色情化和性化，以及阿拉伯女同性恋如何表现她们的性行为和宗教信仰，传统习俗，文化和家庭期望。我将研究女同性恋的性、快乐和亲密是如何为读者（在文本中）和观众（在电影中）构建的，以及女同性恋的身体是如何在不同的空间中表演/体验它们的。我还将探讨这些（错误的）表述在多大程度上涵盖了女同性恋欲望的全部范围，包括刻板印象/概括，如男/女二分法，以及诸如扭和BDSM的做法。这是对当代阿拉伯电影和文学文本中女同性恋表现形式的定性研究。我计划在使用主题和叙事分析方法的同时，对我的主要电影来源和文学文本进行文化分析和酷儿女权主义分析。我的主要来源在之前的研究中没有被研究过，在阿拉伯酷儿尤其是女同性恋身份的背景下具有社会和政治意义。我将分析总共6个电影来源，包括电影，短片和纪录片。我还将分析6种文学文本，包括小说和非小说作品。女同性恋研究在学术研究中代表性不足，在更广泛的非学术环境中往往被忽视。我的研究通过对当代阿拉伯电影和文学表现中的女同性恋欲望、性和快乐进行原创性研究，来对抗女同性恋的隐形。在学术界内外，由于某些社会文化对羞耻、禁忌、贞洁和荣誉的看法，在阿拉伯背景下，围绕（酷儿）女性性行为的话题受到限制。因此，研究这个话题打破了沉默和消除的文化和代际循环。我的研究为（阿拉伯）女同性恋机构和身份政治提供了新的视角，这对于扩大性别和性研究领域的学术研究和煽动社会变革是必不可少的，特别是通过打击阿拉伯文化禁忌和荣誉概念，这些禁忌和荣誉概念通常围绕着酷儿性行为。我的工作也为文化政策提供信息，因为它涉及关注阿拉伯酷儿的文化机构和酷儿组织，特别是电影平台。

This project explores representations of lesbianism in contemporary (21st century) Arab cinema and literature. It explores how the lesbian body performs in relation to the space it occupies, and examines the duality in Arab cultural spaces as spaces that criminalise yet overlook lesbianism. The research explores an understudied topic; whilst male homosexuality is well represented in the literature on sexuality in the Arab world, the same cannot be said about lesbian bodies. The thematic elements that will be focused on are the eroticisation and sexualisation of lesbians in Arab films and literary texts and how Arab lesbians (un)perform their sexuality and religiosity, traditional customs, and cultural and familial expectations.I will examine how lesbian sex, pleasure, and intimacy are framed for the reader (in text) and spectator (in film) and how the lesbian body performs/experiences them in different spaces. I will also explore the extent to which these (mis)representations encompass the full scope of lesbian desire, including stereotypes/generalizations such as the butch/femme dichotomy, and practices such as kink and BDSM.This is a qualitative study of representations of lesbianism in contemporary Arab films and literary texts. I plan to conduct cultural analysis and queer-feminist analysis of my primary cinematic sources and literary texts while using thematic and narrative analytical approaches. My primary sources have not been studied in previous research and are socially and politically significant within the context of Arab queer and particularly lesbian identities. I will analyse a total of 6 cinematic sources that include films, short films, and a documentary. I will also analyse 6 literary texts that include fiction and non-fiction writings. Lesbian studies are underrepresented in academic research and are often overlooked in broader non-academic contexts. My research combats lesbian invisibility by offering an original study of lesbian desire, sex, and pleasure in contemporary Arab cinematic and literary representations. Within and beyond academia, engaging in topics that revolve around (queer) female sexuality in Arab contexts is restricted due to certain sociocultural perceptions of shame, taboo, chastity, and honour. Thus, researching this topic breaks cultural and generational cycles of silencing and erasure. My research offers new perspectives on (Arab) lesbian agency and identity politics which is intrinsic to expanding scholarship in the field of gender and sexuality studies and instigating social change, particularly through combating Arab cultural taboos and conceptions of honour which often revolve around queer sexualities. My work also informs cultural policy as it concerns cultural institutes and queer organisations that focus on Arab queerness, particularly cinematic platforms.