First published at Loyar Burok as part of #LoyarBerkasih’s Valentine edition. When one cares enough to wonder about the moment a woman becomes a feminist, their overheated imagination conjures a woman done wrong by a male lover or wronged by simply being overweight and unattractive by society’s arbitrary standards, or imagined as a homosexual misandrist… Continue reading A feminist’s take on love
Research and publications
When ‘feminist’ and ‘gender’ become embarrassing dirty words in academia
I am a research student in gender studies in one of the constitutive colleges of the University of London and feel extremely privileged to be part of such a thriving intellectual community. But one brief episode of anti-intellectual feminism in the main building’s lift was enough for me to rethink the breadth of my social… Continue reading When ‘feminist’ and ‘gender’ become embarrassing dirty words in academia
Between worlds: the jilbab and being transgender in Indonesia
It is a scene that wouldn’t be unfamiliar in France or Belgium: a woman’s hijab is snatched away by strangers on the street from her head despite her protest. She is told she shouldn’t wear it, or rather, she has no right to because her wearing it mocks other women and femininity itself. But it… Continue reading Between worlds: the jilbab and being transgender in Indonesia
How did DGM do last year?
This is somewhat late, but in a mercifully brief moment of vanity, I’d like to post a summary of Dove Grey Matter’s blog health in the past year, based on hits, number of comments, and overall awesomeness. This is what WordPress found out: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads WOW. Yes, that’s a ‘Wow’, and thanks mainly to… Continue reading How did DGM do last year?
Judge a book by its cover?: Women and sex on retro Malay book covers
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. But you might well be able to sell a book based on its cover. The world of Malay book jackets of the past (circa 1960’s to mid 1970’s) was a different place then, where nude women as decorative elements were apparently no big deal. Nowadays,… Continue reading Judge a book by its cover?: Women and sex on retro Malay book covers
No one likes a female critic
Or rather, there are too few female critics to dislike. By ‘no one’ I mean the people who find strongly opinionated women intimidating, those who fall to their feet in worship at the altar of an equally opinionated male critic – the same idolised figure with whom a few would love to share a teh… Continue reading No one likes a female critic
Introducing Privilege-denying Malay guy. Patriarchy-apologists be damned!
UPDATE: PDMG has moved to a more inclusive space – Privilege-denying Malaysian guy In the spirit of the hugely popular Privilege-denying Dude meme that’s been circulating the feminist blogosphere, my fellow feminist compadres Tariq and Munira, have started the long overdue Privilege-denying Malay guy. Of course there is no denying that Malay privilege is enshrined… Continue reading Introducing Privilege-denying Malay guy. Patriarchy-apologists be damned!
Maryam & Manan: What Underage Marriages Say About Our Society
My first piece on the Malaysian legal blog, Loyar Burok: Underage marriages are not simply perversions of marital norms but an index of our unequal society. The news concerning the marriage of a 14-year old girl and 23-year old man reveals a thing or two about what can be expected of young women and of… Continue reading Maryam & Manan: What Underage Marriages Say About Our Society
2010 – the year in rape reports [Trigger warning]
Most annual retrospectives look at “big” stories that grabbed the year’s headlines: war, natural and environmental disasters, celebrity “news”, famous deaths, the busting of confidential US diplomatic cables, to name a few. Few however would chart both the shock and banality of sexual violence committed by men against women and girls in the year gone… Continue reading 2010 – the year in rape reports [Trigger warning]
What is Orientalism?
Because an elegant definition of Orientalism cannot go ignored in the academy: Orientalism, to David Said, is known as Eastern culture and is typically thought of as a combination of Asian, Japanese, Siamese, Chinese and other non-European cultures. The concept of Orientalism relates to music because it creates a stereotype for the different types of… Continue reading What is Orientalism?
Alicia Izharuddin 