Memory can sometimes be a strange beast. While thinking about this piece, I suddenly remembered an article that Cath Elliot wrote on the Bad Sex in Literature award two years ago under the title, Flaccid prose and the first comment the article provoked: flaccid is an unnecessary man-hating word to use in the title. I’m… Continue reading The hidden penis: on censorship, the female gaze and the queer eye
Research and publications
Book review: Women of colour and feminism
First published at Feminist Review. (Thanks Mandy!) If many postmodern feminists would have it, colour or“race” wouldn’t be of primary concern in theorising oppression; a woman would be seen as much more than her race, class, and sexuality. In other words, every woman’s experience of oppression is nuanced, different. And if the postmodern approach is… Continue reading Book review: Women of colour and feminism
Film review: Diagnosing Difference
This review also appears on Bitch Magazine’s latest issue No. 45, codenamed Art/See. As an undergraduate in genetics, I learned about “abnormal gender” from medical texts, which taught me that the line between what was female and what was male was clear; anything in between was a chromosomal disorder and an aberration in nature. The… Continue reading Film review: Diagnosing Difference
Marketing Muslim lifestyles and redefining modesty
This post was first published on Muslimah Media Watch If a hijab in Pucci-designed print could speak, what would it say? I attended a seminar presented by Professor Reina Lewis on Muslim women’s lifestyle magazines last night and was faced with this bizarre question. It all started with the actual seminar itself, which showcased the… Continue reading Marketing Muslim lifestyles and redefining modesty
Worrying quote of the day
“Loads of people who work in the sex industry are academics – education is a very expensive habit,” said Catherine Stephens, an activist for the International Union of Sex Workers who has been a sex worker herself for 10 years. “At a brothel I worked in, I think I was the only one not doing a… Continue reading Worrying quote of the day
When did talking about race become taboo?
Whenever I’m back home in Malaysia, I’m frequently faced with the annoying question of what race I am. It’s annoying because it jumps right at me from nowhere, from people I hardly know, from strangers. Yes, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that some Malaysians are just rude but one thing is for sure,… Continue reading When did talking about race become taboo?
Feminisme: Antara mitos dan fakta
Ramai yang berpendapat bahawa golongan wanita dan lelaki feminis yang berpegang kepada prinsip “kesamaan” begitu khusyuk dengan isu-isu hak asasi manusia dan anasir-anasir berwajah kebaratan yang lain, seperti sekularisme dan liberalisme. Tidak kurang juga para bijak-pandai yang mendakwa gerakan feminisme sebagai satu-satunya punca keruntuhan akhlak dan rumahtangga. Ada pula yang khuatir feminisme menggalakkan persaingan antara… Continue reading Feminisme: Antara mitos dan fakta
Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses
Looking back, I knew that I never wanted to be a student in religious studies, but oddly enough, here I am digging into it and taking apart the psyche of believers (and non-). If the case is still true in today’s terms, being a scholar in religious matters in Malaysia would really mean studying Islam,… Continue reading Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses
From the crypt: A most "nebulous" concept that national unity
This was my very blog post, written on The Star Online’s citizen’s blog nearly three years ago. It’s a response to Johor’s Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) Abdul Ghani Othman’s comments on the “abuse” of the term ‘Bangsa Malaysia’ and pointing out how UMNO politicians continue to reproduce colonial strategies to maintain racialised power. NB: The… Continue reading From the crypt: A most "nebulous" concept that national unity
Whose revolution? Critiquing Seyran Ates and her Islamic sexual revolution
The calls of lawyer, activist, and writer Seyran Ates for a sexual revolution in the heterogeneous Muslim world may surprise many, particularly when the movement is commonly associated with free love, hippies, and public nudity. In a recent interview with German magazine Spiegel, Ates begins with discussing what she means by this and her experiences… Continue reading Whose revolution? Critiquing Seyran Ates and her Islamic sexual revolution
Alicia Izharuddin 