Category: Sexuality

Books from my pre-feminist days

The past is a foreign country: people read different things there. While currently surrounded by books of a feminist nature, I would revisit from time to time my old books from salad days, and think about how much (or little) I’ve matured in my reading taste. As a teenager approaching early adulthood, I had an… Continue reading Books from my pre-feminist days

Foreign bodies as sexual playgrounds

This post was featured in the first Asian Women Blog Carnival at ciderpress’s blog. So there was this American guy, Jake, who sat with Gareth and me at lunch last Saturday and was telling us how much he wanted to go to Malaysia because it’s apparently a great place to meet women, and claimed that… Continue reading Foreign bodies as sexual playgrounds

Notes on Islam and feminism in science fiction

I’ve been reading a lot about feminist science fiction lately, mostly of out fascination for its philosophical what-ifs and fantastic plots and situations. And as a casual reader of the genre rather than a fan, I am intrigued by the questions raised by feminist science fiction writers about culture and heteronormativity (guest contributor Gareth shares… Continue reading Notes on Islam and feminism in science fiction

Book review: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

By special guest contributor, Gareth: A few months ago, Alicia asked me why science fiction was such a boy thing and what is the point of the genre. I cobbled together an answer about science fiction being used to create a narrative space removed from the here and now into which pertinent questions and ideas… Continue reading Book review: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

Book review: The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie – Intimacy and Design by Malu Halasa and Rana Salam

Syria’s unlikely notoriety for racy underwear collides head on with the stereotyped image of the veiled and prudish Muslim woman. In a way, ‘The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie‘ (2008, Chronicle Books) had come at an opportune time to dispel these fossilised images, but at the same time will feed to a ‘Western’ obsession with… Continue reading Book review: The Secret Life of Syrian Lingerie – Intimacy and Design by Malu Halasa and Rana Salam

For Muslim women, the personal is political

The recent fatwa on assumed female homosexuality has opened another can of worms. Yet again, the Malaysian religious authorities insist on tightening their grip on Muslim women by policing the way they dress, and who they choose to love, without fully understanding the complex nature of human sexuality. Meanwhile, a worrying proportion of the Malaysian… Continue reading For Muslim women, the personal is political

Nafsu buas: the politics of imagined lust in Malaysia

‘Animalistic lust’ (nafsu buas) is a common spice in Malay tales of adulterous wives, transgender paramours, and homosexual men and women. ‘Animalistic’ or ‘buas‘ here is a blanket term for all that is unbridled and transgressive. Though derived from the Arabic word to mean ‘soul’, ‘nafsu‘ is often accompanied with pejorative connotations, and it is… Continue reading Nafsu buas: the politics of imagined lust in Malaysia

I know I'm not supermodel material, but please objectify me too! aka my feminist rage against naked calendars

A few nights ago I sat down in a brainstorming session with a group of very eager female Oxford undergrads where we talked about the next Ladyfest Oxford programme next May and about who was going to organise what. You might be pleased to know that yours truly has volunteered to organise a workshop on… Continue reading I know I'm not supermodel material, but please objectify me too! aka my feminist rage against naked calendars

Shame and stupidity: a brief history of Malaysian womanhood

Malaysian women of different cultures and ethinicities welcome visitors from abroad in their colourful traditional costumes. They all smile benignly, and they all look beautiful. This is the ‘Malaysia, truly Asia’ tourism campaign. But wait – the lady in the sari (second from left) does not look Indian at all; she’s very light-skinned unlike the… Continue reading Shame and stupidity: a brief history of Malaysian womanhood