Written for the LSE equality and diversity blog For a country keen on displaying its hyper-modernity, Malaysian law and social attitudes on sexual morality in general have always had a conservative bent. While there are pockets of change, much of the public discourse on sex and morality are dominated by sexist and homophobic language. A… Continue reading Two steps forward, one step back: On Dalam Botol, Malaysia’s first ‘gay’ film
Category: Sexuality
Orgasm Inc – My thoughts
The orgasm. Feminists laud it, good lovers work hard to give it, pharmaceutical companies make it a business model. The inability to experience an orgasm is thought to be as devastating as the inability to delight in the joy of wine, sunrise, spring flowers, and other wonderment. But this is hardly an overstatement. Last week… Continue reading Orgasm Inc – My thoughts
Book review: The Rey Chow Reader
(Crossposted from Elevate Difference) Edited by Bowman, Columbia University Press Not many theorists would re-imagine Jane Eyre as a Maoist. However, postcolonial thinker Rey Chow does and with great aplomb. Furthermore, it’s not in the context of English literature in which Chow invokes the fictional heroine, but rather the issue of Orientalism in today’s academia.… Continue reading Book review: The Rey Chow Reader
Last Say on Niqab Should be From a Woman Who Wears It. Obviously.
(First published over at Muslimah Media Watch. To be honest, I’m pretty fed up about having to discuss and write on this topic ad infinitum. So let’s call for a moratorium from now on) I took the a brief moment from work to watch a 12-minute segment on BBC’s Newsnight about why British women choose… Continue reading Last Say on Niqab Should be From a Woman Who Wears It. Obviously.
Forbidden Love: Indonesian LGBT book covers
The following are just a few of the many books I will have to plough through this summer. Cinta Terlarang – Sebuah Novel Untuk Dewasa (Forbidden Love – A Novel For Adults) by Andre Aciman. Synopsis (translated from Indonesian by yours truly): Elio, a young Italian man, has fallen head over heals for Oliver, his… Continue reading Forbidden Love: Indonesian LGBT book covers
A bumpy road, just like Malaysian sexual politics: A review of Body 2 Body – A Malaysian Queer Anthology
Body 2 body (2009) is the product of Malaysia’s young, hip and well-connected who’ve banded together to compile a collection of short stories and essays on living la vida non-normative. Edited by local art scene stalwarts Jerome Kugan and Pang Khee Teik, Body 2 Body is a landmark of sorts, mainly as the first anthology… Continue reading A bumpy road, just like Malaysian sexual politics: A review of Body 2 Body – A Malaysian Queer Anthology
Now that Sophie Dahl is out of our kitchen, who will be the next female TV chef?
First published at The F-Word Blog +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For the few people who care, Sophie Dahl will not be returning to our television sets to teach us how to make an eggs Benedict that’s saucy in more ways than one. Dahl had a shaky start, with mixed reviews from episode one and had more media buzz… Continue reading Now that Sophie Dahl is out of our kitchen, who will be the next female TV chef?
Privilege: A Reader
Edited by Michael Kimmel and Abby L. Ferber Westview Press A historian once said that the more one can know about something, the more you can control it. Michel Foucault was specifically talking about the control of psychiatric patients, prison inmates, and people’s sex lives, but we can certainly extend his thoughts to a plethora… Continue reading Privilege: A Reader
Malaysia's newest cane campaign
(Originally published over that Muslimah Media Watch) In Malaysia, where we are swamped with mixed messages from religious authorities and pop song lyrics, those of us lucky enough to find love are bound to run into trouble. Just a week short of Valentine’s day, three women and three men were caned under Shariah law for… Continue reading Malaysia's newest cane campaign
Muslim feminists have too much to worry about already to think about homophobia
Once a week I meet with people studying gender in the Middle East and we talk about the assigned articles we’ve read during the week. Last week, it was about sexuality and homophobia. Emerging from our discussion on homosexuality rights in the Middle East (particularly in Lebanon and Palestine) is the question why many Muslim… Continue reading Muslim feminists have too much to worry about already to think about homophobia
Alicia Izharuddin 