The content The Yacoubian Building not only drew attention to the political and social corruption that Egyptians faced after the Revolution but also brought into a larger conversation the taboo of homosexuality within the Egyptian culture. The article “Conceptions About and Representations of Male Homosexuality in the Popular Book and Movie, The Yacoubian Building" written by Stephen O. Murray addresses how homosexuality in the novel is significant, especially in Arabic literature since there is an insufficient amount of exposure on that topic. Murray goes on state that “no other work with a representation of homosexuality from the Arab world has reached a wider audience” (1081). Murray exposes the concept of homosexuality through Taha’s and …show more content…
This is critical to mention because this demonstrates how the novel projects heteronormative as the superior behavior and highlights the homophobic attitude that the publishers, as well as the government, has for queer individuals. The article “THE EGYPTIAN BLOGOSPHERE” mentions that there are “homophobic laws and are institutionalized homophobic violence carried out by the state institutions” (Walsh-Haines 49). Before the wedding scene between Busayna and Zaki Bey, the novel ends with Hatim being killed. Murray mentioning that was favorable for homosexual characters to die and the novel ending with Hatim’s death exercises the norm that homosexuals are not welcomed within the Egyptian culture literally and figuratively. Taha’s and Hatim’s homosexual experience reinforces the idea that heteronormativity is positive since homosexuality was presented as negative. The fact that in the novel Hatim dies and homosexual activity strip Taha of his manhood demonstrates how homosexual harms community members. Homosexuality limits people from advancement in the Egyptian culture since that type of behavior gets used as a punishment force to leave a person vulnerable or
In “Dangerous Bonds,” Hakeem finds out that she cheated on him. There is a close up shot of Hakeem to highlight his reaction. In addition, his face occupies a majority of the frame space, showing he is only bothered by the fact that she cheated on him, not that it was with another woman. The only person who had a negative reaction to Tiana’s sexuality was Lucious. Also, he suggested that Hakeem could join a threesome with her and her girlfriend (Daniels). However, it is refreshing to see queer characters accepted by friends and family, all while enjoying relative success. Positive representation definitely matters to the audience, but if the directors want to tackle the issues of rampant homophobia, they need more obstacles for the homosexual and bisexual
...“The people in the bar were drunk, shouting and singing loudly. Aswany continues to paint Hatim as a respectable character when he describes his professionalism, saying that though all of his employees are aware of Hatim’s homosexuality, they do not sense it nor does he make a show out of it at work; rather, he is quite stern and serious with them. Hatim’s homosexuality is identified but does not let it define or confine him intellectually or professionally. In the case of The Yacoubian Building, Aswany’s purpose was not to portray a homosexual in a negative light, but to illustrate Hatim Rasheed: a flawed but likeable character, who also happens to be homosexual. By using heartening flashbacks and positive descriptions, Aswany is able to present Hatim Rasheed as more relatable than his general audience would usually be willing to consider a homosexual character.
world. It is evident through her descriptions that she is more in favor of the androgynous
It revolves around the issues of gender oppression, sexual assault, and importance of social status. Alifa Rifaat manages to express her opinions towards these themes by writing about a typical Egyptian marriage. She puts in focus the strong influence that a patriarchal society has. She also manages to prove how important social status is in society. The uses of literally elements such as theme and irony help express this view. It shows that in a typical Egyptian society women are commonly oppressed by all males in society
Now we can move onto the role sexuality plays in these works. In the film “West Beirut” (at 20 minute mark) Omar and Tarek begin to talk about the woman their uncle is with. They view her in an overtly sexual manner and even film her from Omar’s room. They share highly provocative and sexual stories, smoke a cigarette, and then confidently strut around town, while “Rock Your Baby” plays in the background. This is the beginning of sexual tones in the movie. As the movie progresses we see a shift in attention from the adolescents sexuality to sexuality in a larger frame in society. This shift is brought about when Tarek enters Oum Walid’s brothel. Upon entering we are presented with the sight of guns and two angry men. One of the women working in the brothel
In the novel She and in the stories of The Arabian Nights, both Haggard and Haddawy explore the expanding gender roles of women within the nineteenth century. At a time that focused on the New Woman Question, traditional gender roles were shifted to produce greater rights and responsibilities for women. Both Ayesha, from Haggard’s novel She, and Shahrazad, from Haddawy’s translation of The Arabian Nights, transgress the traditional roles of women as they are being portrayed as strong and educated females, unwilling to yield to men’s commands. While She (Ayesha) takes her power to the extreme (i.e. embodying the femme fatale), Shahrazad offers a counterpart to She (i.e. she is strong yet selfless and concerned with the welfare of others). Thus, from the two characters emerge the idea of a woman who does not abide by the constraints of nineteenth century gender roles and, instead, symbolizes the New Woman.
Unlike sex, the history of sexuality is dependant upon society and limited by its language in order to be defined and understood.
The focus of this essay is to explore sexuality presented by Philoclea in the New Arcadia. Philoclea cultivates a relationship towards another women in the book. Yet readers understand that Zelmane is in fact Pyrocles. Sidney allows the reader to be given the impression that until Pyrocles admits to be Zelmane, Philoclea would be shown to have a homosexual tendencies. Philoclea herself is certain that a same-sex friendship is giving way to sexual desire.
Ha Jin is a very talented writer. He uses first person narrative, setting, and personal appeal to show his readers that cruelty and judgment against homosexuals is not needed in today’s society. He uses these three things to show that the criticism in this book is taken to an extreme. These aspects along with many others create a story that readers are not only interested in, but can relate to as well.
The idea of sexuality as constructed by Ancient Romans is wholly complex as was most of Roman society. An interesting way to look at Roman sexuality is through the lens of Roman society. Ancient Roman sexuality was not uniform throughout society and different societal classes created different types of sexualities. Three authors examine sexuality from three different social realms, the realm of the prostitute, the realm of Roman patricians in terms of contraception, and the realm of Vestal Virgins. Prostitutes in Rebecca Flemming's article, "Quae Corpore Quaestum Facit: The Sexual Economy of Female Prostitution in the Roman Empire" are a representation of lower class sexuality. Mary Beard's article, "The Sexual Status of Vestal Virgins" examines a form of deviant sexuality based around religious values. Lastly, Keith Hopkins' article," Contraception in the Roman Empire" examines the sexual practices of upper class Romans using contraception and abortifacents, vital conclusions about Ancient Roman society and sexuality can be determined.
In the novel Woman at Point Zero the author, Nawal El Saadawi, retells the life story of Firdaus, the main character, a tragic hero who rebels against the social norms within her oppressive culture seeking the same respect and prestige that is bestowed upon her male oppressors, only to be executed for her attempt to obtain the same privileges as men. This essay will demonstrate how the aspects and expectations of Egyptian culture influence Firdaus’s decisions as she struggles to be her own woman in a society controlled by dictatorial political and patriarchal structures all while exposing the evident discontentment she has with the way Egyptian society views women, and the glorification of things that go against ideal societal structures.
Perhaps the main reason I liked this book was the unfaltering courage of the author in the face of such torture as hurts one even to read, let alone have to experience first-hand. Where men give in, this woman perseveres, and, eventually, emerges a stronger person, if that is even possible. The book’s main appeal is emotional, although sound logical arguments are also used. This book is also interesting as it shows us another face of Nasir – the so-called “champion of Arab nationalism” – who is also the enemy of pan-Islamism. The book is also proof of history repeating itself in modern-day Egypt.
Class and love and marriage are three of the themes that are portrayed in Naguib Mahfouz’s Midaq Alley. The era which the story takes place is an era where societal norms began shifting towards modernity due to the impact of western colonization. Midaq Alley was written to portray a society within a larger society, which allows for analysis and comparison of the two. Cultural norms are constantly challenged throughput the novel and what is and what isn’t socially accepted is a theme that is recurrent throughout the text. “Midaq Alley deals with themes which transcend the Cairene setting, and are of relevance to Egypt if not the Middle East as a whole” (Deeb 121-130.)
The novel Midaq Alley not only shows the changes in society that occurred in Cairo during this era, it also shows the changes that occurred to the inhabitants of Midaq Alley. One of the big things that I thought was important was the fact that Hamida became a prostitute. In Arab society women are normally more strict with their sexual activity outside of marriage. The book is a great book and shows drastic changes over all walks of life and the old world style clashes with the new world system.
There are different gender identities such as male, female, gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual that exist all around the world. There is inequality in gender identities and dominance of males regardless of which sexuality they fall under. The males are superior over the females and gays superior over the lesbians, however it is different depending on the place and circumstances. This paper will look at the gender roles and stereotypes, social policy, and homosexuality from a modern and traditional society perspective. The three different areas will be compared by the two different societies to understand how much change has occurred and whether or not anything has really changed.