When Tracey Emin announced in late 2020 that her survival from an aggressive form of cancer was made possible by the surgical removal of her bladder, uterus, urethra, fallopian tubes, ovaries, parts of her intestines, and half of her vagina, there must have been an audible gasp all around not just at the sheer brutality… Continue reading Tracey Emin’s cancer
Author: Angry Malay Woman
I like plants.
Bandar Baru Bangi field notes
The following was published in the latest issue of BERITA [Malaysia/Singapore/Brunei Studies Group Association for Asian Studies] 48 (1) (2022): On my revisit to Bandar Baru Bangi (New Town of Bangi) in August 2021, I spent hours exploring the town with my assistant behind the wheel. We were also there to see Mrs Hamidah again,… Continue reading Bandar Baru Bangi field notes
Comments on Alluring Monsters: The Pontianak and Cinemas of Decolonization
On 28th January 2022, I was invited to discuss Rosalind Galt’s new book, Alluring Monsters: The Pontianak and Cinemas of Decolonization (Columbia University Press) at NTU’s Asian Cinema Research Lab. We had a great audience and Rosalind was superb. The following are my comments on her book, soon to be published in the journal of… Continue reading Comments on Alluring Monsters: The Pontianak and Cinemas of Decolonization
Book talk: Pontianak and Cinemas of Decolonization
I will be discussing Professor Rosalind Galt’s new book, The Pontianak and Cinemas of Decolonization (Columbia University Press, 2021) in a book talk organised by The Asian Cinema Research Lab at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, on 28th January 2022.
How to teach Gender and Sexuality in Malaysia
It was a huge privilege to teach Gender and Sexuality at the University of Malaya between August 2015 and June 2019. Right from the outset of my appointment, I overhauled the syllabus to reflect current, local and global debates in the field of feminist and queer theory. I felt that it was absolutely pertinent to… Continue reading How to teach Gender and Sexuality in Malaysia
Structures of feeling and dark laughter: A few more publications for 2019
Utter neglect has plagued this blog yet again. To my detriment I’m sure. I’ve missed opportunities to properly self-promote my work on this blog, the very place that launched my life in writing. To remedy that, here are some rather belated updates. 1. Back in February 2018, my friends Adil Johan, Nazry Bahrawi and me… Continue reading Structures of feeling and dark laughter: A few more publications for 2019
Pink diamonds and a pink Lamborghini: Reflections on personal narrative, charisma, and rethinking shame as political affect
Note: This was a paper presented at the International Conference on Gender and Sexuality in Asia (CoGen 2018) in Monash University, Sunway Malaysia in November 2018. Friends who have followed my research and talks in recent years know it’s a product of years of my fascination with Dato Vida. Vignette 1: In a music video… Continue reading Pink diamonds and a pink Lamborghini: Reflections on personal narrative, charisma, and rethinking shame as political affect
The New Malay Woman, a modern cosmopolitan subject
Plenty of research are re-discovering cosmopolitan female subjects and the ‘modern girl’ in the late colonial and early postcolonial eras. In my own work, I’ve added to the list the ‘New Malay Woman’ who was more than a consumer and image, but a literary voice and agent of change: [She is ] independent, highly-educated, urban… Continue reading The New Malay Woman, a modern cosmopolitan subject
New publications
I am guilty for not updating this blog, but my written work have been appearing elsewhere! Among them include an article in Signs journal, something I’ve been working on the past few years on unveiling and non-veiling practices among Malay-Muslim women and their reconstruction of self and identity. Another article is now published in Kajian… Continue reading New publications
Toughness in academia is never enough
I’ve been self-censoring myself for too long. Mostly out of fear of being poor again and of losing out on opportunities. But then I realised, much to my despair, that one can never win as a woman in academia, especially in Malaysian academia. It shouldn’t take long to identify sexism in academia. But it requires… Continue reading Toughness in academia is never enough