Resisting Sectarianism: Queer Activism in Postwar Lebanon

Description

The Middle East is often portrayed as oppressively patriarchal and homophobic. Yet, in recent years the region has become a vibrant and important arena for feminist and LGBTQ activism. This book provides an insight into this emerging politics through a unique analysis of feminist and LGBTQ social movements in the context of Lebanon's postwar sectarian system. Resisting Sectarianism argues that LGBTQ and feminists social movements are powerful agents of political and social transformation in Lebanon. Drawing on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, the book takes the reader inside these movements to see how they attract members and construct campaigns, forge alliances, and the multiple ways in which they generate important forms of resistance to, and change within, the sectarian system. The book also traces the strong obstacles that sectarian parties and religious authorities employ to weaken LGBTQ and feminist activism. Cover Half Title Title Copyright Contents Figures Tables Acknowledgements Preface Chapter 1 ‘No homophobia, racism, sexism, classism’ Chapter 2 ‘We are hated by everyone’: Sexuality and Sectarianism Chapter 3 ‘The law prosecutes the weakest’: The rise of the LGBTQ movement Chapter 4 ‘What kind of relationship can be considered contrary to nature?’: contesting criminalization Chapter 5 ‘I exist’: The politics of ambiguous visibility and pride Chapter 6 ‘LGBT is at the bottom of our list’: International actors and rights Chapter 7 ‘We have always been there’: Tactical alliances and protest spaces Chapter 8 Conclusion: Contesting Sectarianism Notes References Index