Desire under conflict
The potential for queer in Hoda Barakat's The Stone of Laughter
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2179283 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Feras Alkabani (0000-0002-4507-9387) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 352-366 |
| Publication date | 2019-05-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Postcolonial Writing (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1744-9855 • E-ISSN: 1744-9863 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17449855.2019.1617976 |
| OpenAlex | W2958253011 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
This article examines Hoda Barakat’s original rendition of gender and sexual otherness in The Stone of Laughter (1990), the first Arabic novel with a queer protagonist, Khalil. The analysis sheds light on pre-modern Arabic literature’s celebratory depiction of homoerotic desire vis-à-vis the dearth and negative connotations of the theme in modern Arabic fiction. The article explores Barakat’s implementation of surrealism in her portrayal of Khalil’s sexuality and the reality of his choices within the context of the Lebanese Civil War (1975–90). Khalil’s queer identity, which marks his dissidence, becomes a form of resistance that challenges the status quo of his hetero-patriarchal society and the unresolved sociopolitical issues that led to the War
Aesthetics · Art · Context (archaeology · Human sexuality · Identity (music · Joke · Laughter · Literature · Movie theater · Political science · Politics · Queer · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · Status quo · Subversion · Islamic Studies and History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Middle East Politics and Society · Gender Studies · History · Law
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |