Kifah Hannah Lecture

I was interested as to what Kifah Hanna was going to discuss, as I had minimal knowledge of Levantine literature or homosexuality as it related to arabic literature. When she mentioned the androgyny that was utilized in the works of the authors that she discussed, I was especially intrigued. Androgyny, or a space in which a person is neither characteristically 'male' or 'female', but maintains a biological sex, is a nice space in which to explore identity in its purest form, unobscured by societal constructs of gender. Oftentimes we only see ourselves within the female or male context, and for the main character in one of the works Kifah discussed, deviating from his masculinity and exploring his sexuality within a more feminine context was helpful. It broadened his perspective on his identity and caused him to be more accepting of his own sexuality.

Thinking about how ethics and desire played a role in levantine literature makes me think about how sex is treated in the States. It seems that sexuality and sex itself are see as taboo, although both concern everyone, even the asexuals. Why is it that something so natural and inherent to all of us is somehow made wrong, foreign, unwanted? How is our biological sex twisted into this strange set of societal norms known as gender? I see gender as separate from biological sex, as gender is seen differently according to what society you live in. In America, we seem to be very considered with making the line between girl and boy so thick you are inclined to believe that "men are from mars, women are from venus."

The lecture brought up these thoughts for me as I pondered what these issues meant in a context more familiar to me. I also thought about the stories that Kifah had us read, and how the severity of the censorship that these authors faced, especially the author of I Live, is not even that crazy to me, because you see censorship like that every day in some parts of the country. People feel as if they need to hide their sexuality, their lifestyle, etc. or else they will face societal repercussions. Sure, there usually isn't one action that occurs, but the silence is sometimes worse.

Overall, the lecture series this spring was a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed Steve Almond, Dr. Brown, and Jodie Mack's visits, but all of the lectures were valuable and gave me something different to think about.