This paper is a critique on the application of sexual categories for male-male encounters. The paper will start with an analysis on the development of ‘homosexuality’ as a modern category for sexual preference in Western societies. In comparison to that, the social and cultural frame of Muslim societies will be shown.
Furthermore, various discourses applied to cross-cultural encounter between Western and Muslim societies will be examined to answer the question in how far sexual categories are used to explain social conditions and how categories from Western societies are transferred into a Muslim context without critical reflection.
In the last part, the paper will deal with the question in how far developing social networks based on male-male sexual acts in Muslim countries are adapting to a ‘global gay identity’ and with which consequences. To illustrate this, recent studies about homosexual men in Turkey and Lebanon will be referenced.
For the most part, this historical ‘evidence’ has been described in studies based on a small amount of reliable information and with unfortunate usage of definitions and categories common to European and North American sociology.
‘Homosexuality’ is such a term. It is by no means neutral and applicable to Muslim or other non-Western societies. It ascribes meaning to certain social occurrences and obstructs the perspective on the actual realities. Pre-knowledge from one’s own cultural background is applied to the subject instead of obtaining knowledge from the subject itself.
Amongst sociologists it is recognised that ‘the homosexual’ is a historical construct and that it is necessary to make a distinction between homosexual behaviour, which is and has been present in most cultures and homosexual identity, which is a rather young phenomenon originating from Western European and Northern American culture.
Sexuality has a history of its own with ideas, practices and values that are different in various times and spaces. Additionally, the variety of these historical examples shows that a single definition for homosexual behaviour in Islamic societies cannot be found because different people in different social situations define sexualities differently.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Muslim Homosexuality – Global Homosexuality?
1.2. The status of current research
1.3. Definitions and Terms
2. Cultural traditions and social frames for homosexual behaviour
2.1. Homosexuality as a modern social category in Western societies
2.2. Modes of male-male encounters in Muslim societies
3. The Orientalist and Colonial discourse on sexual practices
3.1. The ‘other’ sexuality
3.2. Literary discourse and Sex-Tourism
3.3. Michel Foucault and his homosexual Orientalism
3.4. Excursus: Iran
4. Postcolonial discourse on sexual categories
4.1. Modes of Homosexuality in Turkey and Lebanon
4.2. Globalisation as frame for adaptation
5. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper examines the applicability of Western-centric concepts of "homosexuality" and "gay identity" within the socio-cultural contexts of Muslim societies. It aims to critique how colonial and orientalist discourses have historically framed male-male sexual encounters and explores whether emerging social networks in countries like Turkey and Lebanon represent a genuine adaptation to globalized gay identities or if they mask deeper, local power dynamics.
- Critique of the universal application of Western sexual categories.
- Analysis of Orientalist and colonial lenses on non-Western sexual practices.
- Investigation of Foucault’s interpretations of Middle Eastern sexuality.
- Exploration of emerging gay subcultures in urban Turkish and Lebanese environments.
- Discussion on the intersection of globalization, social status, and sexual self-identification.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1. The ‘other’ sexuality
Homosexuality as an allegedly common practice in Islamic societies added to the exotic character of the Orient as Westerners, who projected their Christian taboos onto foreign cultures, imagined it. From medieval times on the cross-cultural interaction between Christians and Muslims had focused on sexual morality as the polemic core of mutual denigration. The assumed tolerance for same-sex intercourse in Islam was seen as an indicator for the general self-indulgence of Muslims.
Especially during the 18th and 19th century the geo-political realities and cultural particularities in the Arab world were used as a screen on which European fantasies about unobtainable sexuality were projected. The sexuality of the Arabs was defined as an “other” sexuality, which differed fundamentally from European sexuality like some kind of ethnological characteristic.
In The Thousand Nights and a Night translated and adapted in 1885 by Richard Burton, he is referring to a Sotadic zone that includes the southern Mediterranean shores, the coast region of Africa, Asia Minor, East Asia as well as the ‘New World’.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the paradox between official cultural discourse and social reality regarding male-male encounters in Muslim societies, questioning the use of Western sociological categories.
2. Cultural traditions and social frames for homosexual behaviour: Examines how Western identities are constructed and contrasts them with the social and cultural frames prevalent in Muslim societies.
3. The Orientalist and Colonial discourse on sexual practices: Analyzes how historical and colonial narratives have defined and distorted the perception of oriental sexuality through literature and the works of figures like Michel Foucault.
4. Postcolonial discourse on sexual categories: Investigates contemporary attempts to adopt global gay identities in Turkey and Lebanon and the influence of globalization on local social networks.
5. Conclusion: Synthesizes the finding that Western models of gay identity fail to encapsulate the complexities of non-Western realities and emphasizes the need for more nuanced, culturally situated approaches.
Keywords
Homosexuality, Muslim Societies, Orientalism, Colonialism, Gay Identity, Sexuality, Globalization, Foucault, Male-Male Encounters, Gender Segregation, Turkey, Lebanon, Social Construction, Postcolonial Studies, Queer Theory
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental premise of this work?
The work explores the mismatch between Western concepts of "homosexuality" as a fixed identity and the diverse, historically specific ways male-male sexual behavior has been lived and understood in Muslim societies.
What are the central themes discussed?
The key themes include the critique of Western-centric sexual sociology, the role of colonial orientalism in shaping perceptions of "oriental" sex, and the impact of globalization on local identity formation.
What is the primary objective of this research?
The research aims to challenge the universality of "gay identity" as a model of social liberation and to highlight how such categories can fail to reflect the actual socio-sexual realities of men in Muslim contexts.
Which scientific methods are applied?
The author employs a discourse analysis approach, critically examining historical reports, Orientalist literature, and contemporary sociological studies to uncover how Western categories are imposed or adapted.
What does the main body cover?
It covers the history of sexual categorization, the critique of Michel Foucault's views on the Orient, and case studies regarding modern social networks in Istanbul and Beirut.
Which keywords best characterize the study?
Key terms include Homosexuality, Orientalism, Gay Identity, Colonialism, Muslim Societies, and Globalisation.
How does the author evaluate Foucault's influence on the subject?
The author views Foucault’s interpretation of sexuality in the Orient as highly selective and distorted by his own Eurocentric assumptions, noting his failure to account for local power structures.
What role does the "global gay identity" play in Turkish and Lebanese societies?
The author argues that while some urban subcultures adopt "gay" terminology and aesthetics, this often leads to a disconnect between lived reality and the idealized, consumer-based Western models they mirror.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Alexandra Samoleit (Autor:in), 2008, Gay identity in a cross-cultural comparative discourse. A critique on the application of sexual categories for male-male encounter, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/950129
