Post-9/11 Representations of Arab Men by Arab American Women Writers

241 Pages·2016·2.97 MB·English

by  Marta Bosch-Vilarrubias

Bosch-Vilarrubias_cpi_cb_Layout 1 3/4/2016 12:31 PM Page 1
Post–9/11 Representations of Arab Men by Arab American Women Writers:
6
M A S C U L I N I T Y S T U D I E S
Affirmation and Resistanceexamines the portrayals of Arab masculinities in nov-
els published after September 11, 2001, by women of Arab descent in the United B
O
States. The book provides a historical account of the mainstream representations
S
C
of Arab masculinities in the United States, using them as a contrast to the reali- H
-
ties experienced by Arab men in the American diaspora. Considering the con- V
IL
struction of male and female Arab American identities, this book illustrates the role A
R
of feminism in Arab American literature written by women and its influence on R
U
women’s depictions of Arab men. Through an analysis of representative works by B Post–9/11 Representations
IA
Diana Abu-Jaber, Laila Halaby, and Randa Jarrar, among others, this volume
S
demonstrates how Arab American women’s anti-racist and anti-sexist struggles
of Arab Men by Arab
inform their nuanced portrayals of Arab men. This book will be essential for pro-
fessors and students of ethnic American literatures in general and Arab American
American Women Writers
studies in particular, as well as for those interested in women’s studies and mas-
culinity studies. P
o
s
b t
y –
A 9
/
ra 1
b 1
A R
Marta Bosch-Vilarrubias received her Ph.D. in English from the University of m e Affirmation
p
Barcelona, where she is currently an adjunct professor. She has extensively pub- e r
r e
lished on Arab American studies and the representation of masculinities in Arab ica se and Resistance
n n
American literature written by women. Her publications include ‘’Transitory Mas- W ta
t
culinities in Post-9/11 Arab American Literature Written by Women” in Alterna- o io
m n
tive Masculinities for a Changing World(2014), ‘’Contemporary Terrorist Bodies: e s
n o
The (De-)Construction of Arab Masculinities in the United States” in Embodying W f A
Masculinities: Towards a History of the Male Body in U.S. Culture and Literature rit ra
e b
(Lang, 2013), ‘’Post–9/11 Representations of Arab Masculinities by Arab American rs M Marta Bosch-Vilarrubias
Women Writers: Criticism or Praise?” inM en in Color: Racialized Masculinities in U.S. e
n
Literature and Cinema(2011), and ‘’The Representation of Fatherhood by the Arab
Diaspora in the United States” in Lectora: Journal of Women and Textuality(2008).
P
E
T
E
R
L
A
N
G

www.peterlang.com
Bosch-Vilarrubias_cpi_cb_Layout 1 3/4/2016 12:31 PM Page 1
Post–9/11 Representations of Arab Men by Arab American Women Writers:
6
M A S C U L I N I T Y S T U D I E S
Affirmation and Resistanceexamines the portrayals of Arab masculinities in nov-
els published after September 11, 2001, by women of Arab descent in the United B
O
States. The book provides a historical account of the mainstream representations
S
C
of Arab masculinities in the United States, using them as a contrast to the reali- H
-
ties experienced by Arab men in the American diaspora. Considering the con- V
IL
struction of male and female Arab American identities, this book illustrates the role A
R
of feminism in Arab American literature written by women and its influence on R
U
women’s depictions of Arab men. Through an analysis of representative works by B Post–9/11 Representations
IA
Diana Abu-Jaber, Laila Halaby, and Randa Jarrar, among others, this volume
S
demonstrates how Arab American women’s anti-racist and anti-sexist struggles
of Arab Men by Arab
inform their nuanced portrayals of Arab men. This book will be essential for pro-
fessors and students of ethnic American literatures in general and Arab American
American Women Writers
studies in particular, as well as for those interested in women’s studies and mas-
culinity studies. P
o
s
bt
y–
A9
/
ra1
b1
A R
Marta Bosch-Vilarrubias received her Ph.D. in English from the University of me Affirmation
p
Barcelona, where she is currently an adjunct professor. She has extensively pub- er
re
lished on Arab American studies and the representation of masculinities in Arab icase and Resistance
nn
American literature written by women. Her publications include ‘’Transitory Mas- Wta
t
culinities in Post-9/11 Arab American Literature Written by Women” in Alterna- oio
mn
tive Masculinities for a Changing World(2014), ‘’Contemporary Terrorist Bodies: es
n o
The (De-)Construction of Arab Masculinities in the United States” in Embodying Wf A
Masculinities: Towards a History of the Male Body in U.S. Culture and Literature ritra
eb
(Lang, 2013), ‘’Post–9/11 Representations of Arab Masculinities by Arab American rs M Marta Bosch-Vilarrubias
Women Writers: Criticism or Praise?” inM en in Color: Racialized Masculinities in U.S. e
n
Literature and Cinema(2011), and ‘’The Representation of Fatherhood by the Arab
Diaspora in the United States” in Lectora: Journal of Women and Textuality(2008).
P
E
T
E
R
L
A
N
G
Post–9/11 Representations
of Arab Men by Arab American
Women Writers
M A S C U L I N I T Y S T U D I E S

Literary and Cultural Representations

Josep M. Armengol and Àngels Carabí
General Editors

Vol. 6

This book is a volume in a Peter Lang monograph series.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Marta Bosch-Vilarrubias

Post-9/11 Representations
of Arab Men by Arab American
Women Writers

Affirmation and Resistance

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bosch-Vilarrubias, Marta, author.
Title: Post–9/11 representations of Arab men by Arab American women writers:
affirmation and resistance / Marta Bosch-Vilarrubias.
Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2016.
Series: Masculinity studies: literary and cultural representations; v. 6 | ISSN 2161-2692
Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015033931 | ISBN 978-1-4331-3043-4 (hardcover: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4539-1574-5 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: American literature—Arab American authors—History and criticism.
American literature—Women authors—History and criticism.
American literature—21st century—History and criticism. | Arab American men in literature.
Masculinity in literature. | Stereotypes (Social psychology) in literature.
September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001—Influence.
Classification: LCC PS153.A73 B68 2016 | DDC 810.9/35211089927073—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015033931

Bibliographic information published by
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

© 2016 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com

All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
T able of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
Chapter One: (De)Constructing Arab Masculinities in the United States:
The Racialization and Sexualization of Arab Masculinity in America 7
Arab Americanness as a Racial Construction 10
The Historical Racialization of Arabs by the United States Government 11
The Historical Vilification of Arab Men in the United States: A Discursive
Survey of the US Stereotyping of Arab Masculinity Pre-9/11 15
Understanding Post-9/11 Arabo-Islamist Masculinity:
9/11 as a National Trauma 24
Sexualizing Abjection: Constructing the Arab Male as Terrorist 25
Muslim and Terrorist: Discursive Strategies of Abnormal
Masculinity in the Post-9/11 Prime-time Drama Homeland 33
Chapter Two: The Social and Identitary Construction of Arab and Arab
American Masculinities 43
Politicizing the Study of (Ethnic) Masculinities from
a Poststructuralist Scope 44
vi | t able of contents
Discourses on Arab/Middle Eastern/Islamic Manhoods:
Ethnographies on Arab Male Performativity and (Neo)Patriarchy 46
The Hierarchy of Patriarchy: An Assessment on Discourses
of Traditional Arab Manhood 47
Neopatriarchy: The First Step Towards the Creolization of Arab Masculinity 51
Post-1967 Neopatriarchal Arab Masculinity: Challenges and
Potentialities of (Post-)Modern Arab Manhoods 53
Emerging Arab Masculinities: Moving towards Gender Equality 55
Thirdspace and Heterotopies in the Construction
of Arab American (Masculine) Identities 56
Constructing Arab American Identities 60
Tendencies in the Construction of Arab American Masculinities:
A Contradictory Thirdspace of Cross-Cultural Refraction 72
The Construction of an Arab American Identity: Ethno-Politics,
Discrimination, and Social Construction in the Graphic Novel
Arab in America: A True Story of Growing Up in America, by Toufic El Rassi 77
Chapter Three: Arab American Feminisms and Arab American Women Writers 81
Feminism as a Genealogy: Creating Alliances among
Transnational Feminisms 82
Women-of-Color Feminisms: The Political Force of
Writing Between Borders 85
Arab American Feminisms: The Construction of
Arab Women-of-Color Feminist Genealogies in the United States 90
Arab American Women Writers: A Feminist History
of Arab American Literature and Performance Arts 103
In Love, We Remain Whole: Mohja Kahf’s Feminist
Poetry against Sexism and Racism 112
Chapter Four: Post-9/11 Representations of Arab American
Men by Arab American Women Writers 117
Men in Crisis: Unsettled Masculinities after 9/11 118
9/11 and the Consequences of Racialization in Laila Halaby’s
Once in a Promised Land 119
Failed Heterosexuality in Frances Kirallah Noble’s The New Belly
Dancer of the Galaxy: Moving Towards a Non-Binary
Understanding of Masculinity 130
t able of contents | vii
Understanding Masculine Identities as Fluid in Post-9/11
America: Some Conclusions 136
Arab American Fathers: Post-9/11 Representations of Patriarchs
Navigating a Thirdspace of Cross-Cultural Refraction 138
Multiple Fatherhoods in Laila Halaby’s West of the Jordan and
Susan Muaddi Darraj’s The Inheritance of Exile: Stories of South Philly 139
The Transformative Power of Daughters in Challenging Patriarchy in
Alicia Erian’s Towelhead and Randa Jarrar’s A Map of Home 150
The Representation of Fathers in Post-9/11 Arab American
Literature Written by Women: Some Conclusions 162
Arab American Feminists and Beloved Men: Post-9/11
New Arab American Masculinities Written by Women 163
Prejudice, Exile, and Romantic Love in Diana Abu-Jaber’s Crescent 164
Alternative Male Characters in Alia Yunis’s The Night Counter: Building
Feminist Affective Bridges 169
Mahjar Feminism and New Arab American Men: Some Conclusions 178
Conclusions 181
Notes 189
Bibliography 209