A Movie with a Messy Ending: Mess as a Queer tactic in Lebanese Cinema
Abstract
This article is concerned with the "queer mess” that non-normative bodies create to disrupt three main pillars of Lebanese patriarchy as proposed by two contemporary Lebanese queer movies. I argue for a queer mess that transgresses the heteronormative power and the social dynamics while opening the space for non-normative bodies to exist. It is a liberating mess that favors the bodies of those who don’t measure up on the homophobic, classist, poverty, and sectarianist matrix. Through the lenses of textual analysis, I present two main queer Lebanese tactics; “Disclosure of sexuality for a better and more authentic family connection”, and “Disobedience” against the normative power; mainly the power of hegemonic masculinity and Lebanese sectarianism. I situate both tactics in relation to class and educational privileges as they shape each of the queer strategies.
Date Issued
2023
Publication Type
Article
Subjects
Queer cinema
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Queer mess
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Lebanon
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Queer Activism
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Anti-sectarianism
Language(s)
en
Journal
Men and masculinities
Publisher
Sage
ISSN
1552-6828
Access(Rights)
metadata.only