The Quest for Lesbian Ethics in Contemporary Middle-Eastern Cultures

Abstract

Abstract

In this paper, I want to show how the lesbian is denied any ethical framework for selfassertion within the morality of the closet. Drawing on Foucault’s, Bulter’s, and Wittig’s theories of bodies, power and sexuality, I examine the perplexing position of the lesbian within the moral codes of hegemonic Arab cultures that play a major role in making an arbitrary connection between morality and institutionalized heterosexuality in a manner that legitimatizes homophobia, either openly or in a subtle manner. In this context, I expose various types of discourses that are used as a means of controlling both the private and public spheres and of maintaining control over both worlds. “If power is everywhere”, as Foucault argued, so too is resistance possible from multiple sources. Hence, in my paper, I confront several forces that forbid the emergence of lesbian ethics in most Middle-Eastern societies

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Bibliography: Al-Ghafari, Iman: The Quest for Lesbian Ethics in Contemporary Middle-Eastern Cultures, INSEP, Vol. 2, Issue 1/2014, pp. 19-38. https://doi.org/10.3224/insep.v2i1.17061